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The Honourable
Desmond Choo
朱倍慶
Choo in 2021
Mayor of North East District
Assumed office
27 May 2017
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Preceded byTeo Ser Luck
Member of Parliament
for Tampines GRC
(Tampines Changkat)
Assumed office
11 September 2015
Preceded byIrene Ng
Majority46,742 (32.82%)
Personal details
Born1978[1]
Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Spouse
Pamela Lee
​
(m. 2011)​
[2]
RelationsChoo Wee Khiang (uncle)
Children2[3]
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
OccupationPolitician

Desmond Choo Pey Ching (Chinese: 朱倍慶; pinyin: Zhū Bèiqìng; Jyutping: Zyu1 Pui5 Hing3; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chu Pōe-khèng; born 1978)[1] is a Singaporean politician and former police officer who has been serving as Mayor of North East District since 2017 and Assistant Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress since 2015.[4] A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Tampines Changkat division of Tampines GRC since 2015.

Education

Choo attended Ai Tong School, Catholic High School and National Junior College, before graduating from the University of Chicago, majoring in economics under the Singapore Police Force Overseas Merit Scholarship.[5]

Career

Choo was awarded a government university scholarship and upon graduation, he served his scholarship bond in the Singapore Police Force, where he served 12 years in senior officer ranks including commanding officer of the Woodlands Neighbourhood Police Centre, head of the Special Investigation Section and deputy commander of the Clementi Police Division. He also served a stint on secondment to the Ministry of Manpower, where he was the deputy director of the Foreign Workforce Policy Department and was also a bodyguard assistant for the swearing-in of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other new cabinet ministers at the Istana on 12 August 2004.

Choo resigned from the Singapore Police Force with the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police to join the NTUC in 2010. After serving on probation as the deputy director of the NTUC's Youth Development Unit, he later became deputy director of the Industrial Relations Unit. He also concurrently served as the executive secretary of the Union of Security Employees and the Singapore Shell Employees Union.

After a stint in 2013 in the private sector with Kestrel Capital Pte Ltd, an investment firm, Desmond returned to the public sector to rejoin NTUC in April 2014 and is now the assistant secretary-general of National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). Choo is also the Director of Policy Division at NTUC that oversees the economic and social policies, strategic communications and international affairs. He advocates for young workers and young families, helps workers cope with restructuring and make the most of new job opportunities highlighted in the Industry Transformation Maps. He is also the Executive Secretary of the Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore and Advisor to the Young NTUC Committee.

Political career

A member of the country's governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is currently a mayor of the North East District of Singapore.

Choo stood as a candidate for Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP) at the 2011 general election in Hougang SMC, where he was defeated by the Workers' Party by 35.2% of the valid votes.[6] After Yaw was expelled from the Workers' Party and lost his seat in Parliament in 2012, the PAP announced that Choo would be the party's candidate in the 2012 Hougang by-election.[7] He was defeated in the by-election by the Workers' Party with 37.9% of the valid votes.[8]

He was then appointed Chairperson of Manpower Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) in the 14th Parliament of Singapore.[9]

Choo went to contest in Tampines GRC in the 2015 general election with 72.06% of the valid votes. He is a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Tampines GRC for Tampines Changkat since 2015.

Personal life

Choo married in July 2011.[citation needed]

Choo's uncle, Choo Wee Khiang, was a PAP Member of Parliament from 1988 to 1999[10] who had been convicted of cheating in 1999 after resigning from his position in Parliament.[11] Choo had described his uncle as a source of inspiration and counsel.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Mr Desmond Choo". www.parliament.gov.sg.
  2. ^ "Desmond Choo - Page Info". Official Facebook page. Facebook.
  3. ^ "Desmond Choo's Photos". Facebook. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. ^ Teo Wang Gek. "Contest will be tough, says PAP's Desmond Choo". The Big Story. The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  5. ^ PAP Press Conference: 11am, 10 May 2012 – Desmond Choo Pey Ching Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, pap.org.sg, retrieved 20 May 2012
  6. ^ Parliamentary General Election 2011: Hougang SMC Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine, singapore-elections.com, retrieved 20 May 2012
  7. ^ PAP chooses Desmond Choo as Hougang by-election candidate Archived 2012-05-21 at the Wayback Machine, sg.news.yahoo.com, 10 May 2012
  8. ^ MP Png holds his first Meet-the-People session Archived 2012-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, My Paper, 31 May 2012
  9. ^ "4 first-term PAP MPs appointed as deputy chairmen in Government Parliamentary Committees". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  10. ^ "GE 2011: PAP's new candidates". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  11. ^ Teoh, Hannah (2011-12-08). "Former table tennis president and manager charged with corruption". www.asiaone.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-29. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  12. ^ "Hougang man has a heart for the needy". Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2019.

External links

Parliament of Singapore Preceded byIrene Ng Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC (Tampines Changkat) 2015 – present Incumbent Government offices Preceded byTeo Ser Luck Mayor of the North East District 2017 – present Incumbent
Current mayors of the Districts of Singapore
Member of multiple Parliaments of Singapore
Authority control databases
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