SINGAPORE: Earlier this year, House Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin wrote in a Facebook post that he was surprised that he had been mistaken for Health Minister Ong Ye Kung since people usually mistake him for Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.

More recently, a case of mistaken identity happened again. On May 23 (Tuesday), Mr Tan shared over social media that he had been “happily doing my run by the river” after working out at the gym “when two runners zipped by and “MR CHAN!!!” Rang out. Accompanied by a big smile and wave.”

He added, “What the… I was too tired to respond coherently,” before adding the following hashtags: “#Sigh #FacePalm #FaceOff #NoWheretoHideFace, #GiveUpLah #Whyliddat“.

The Speaker then decided to post a “reference photo” of himself with Mr Chan whom he has known since their days at Raffles Junior College.

“I know it’s not easy to spot us since we are in kilat digital camouflage…but in the event you do see two guys walking, Mr Chan Chun Sing is on the right, while the buay song face (Hokkien version of RBF) chap on the left is me.”

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Buay song means to be unhappy or angry about something.

“Wait. Or is it me on the right and him on the left…,” he wrote, before adding jokingly, “And while we are good and old friends for years, we aren’t holding hands…! #DeepFakebeforeDeepFakeInvented

Speaking of Deep Fakes, the faces of Messrs Tan, Chan, and Ong, along with that of Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, were digitally superimposed on the faces of the original singers from OG Taiwanese boy band F4, which the Speaker shared in a video over TikTok.

In a 2016 interview on MediaCorp’s Channel 8, Mr Chan revealed that he had been RJC batchmates with Messrs Tan and Ong, as well as with Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.

/TISG

Guest asks Tan Chuan-Jin ‘You are Mr Ong Ye Kung right?’ Tan Chuan-Jin replies ‘errrr. No. I’m Mr Chan Chun Sing’