Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Tan Cheng Bock

Tan Cheng Bock. Photo by Tdxiang (Tan Ding Xiang). Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Tan Cheng Bock

Tan Cheng Bock is a Singaporean politician and physician. Since 2021, he has been the chairman of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP). Tan was born in Singapore on April 26, 1940. He was born into a Hokkien-speaking family.

Tan went to Raffles Institution and Radin Mas Primary School (RI). He was a classmate of future Prime Minister and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at RI. He earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree from the University of Singapore (now National University of Singapore) in 1968.

Between 1980 and 2006, he served in Parliament as a member of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). In May 2011, he resigned from the PAP to run in the 2011 presidential election.

1. Tan was the third born in a family of six

Dr Tan Cheng Bock, the third of six children, came from a low-income family. He attended Radin Mas Primary School, where he was inspired to help others by his teacher, Mr S. Ratnagopal. When he was 16, tragedy struck. His father, a clerk with the Singapore Harbor Board, died of tuberculosis suddenly.

2. Tan followed up on the family’s benevolent fund

Tan went to the Singapore Harbor Union and learned that his family was entitled to a $28,000 benevolent fund. However, he was turned away because his father had fallen behind on union subscription fees. The persistent teen discovered a receipt proving otherwise, but the union refused to budge.

Despite the fact that his father’s friends advised him not to pursue the matter because the union was so powerful, the Raffles Institution (RI) student was unfazed. He sought legal aid and returned to the union on a regular basis for more than a year, demanding what was rightfully his father’s.

His perseverance paid off, and the family received $14,000, which helped them purchase their first refrigerator.

3. Tan was a general practitioner before becoming a politician

In 1971, he opened his first clinic, Ama Keng Clinic. At the time, Lim Chu Kang was still a village of attap and zinc roof houses, with villagers growing vegetables in small plots and rearing pigs in their backyards.

Dr. Tan recalled in a Facebook post on December 31, 2018, that water was supplied by wells and standpipes, and that most homes did not have electricity at the time. He once gave birth in the dim light of a kerosene lamp.

4. Tan has held many positions in office

Dr. Tan Cheng Bock at home on Nomination Day, posing with his poster. Photo by Tdxiang (Tan Ding Xiang). Wikimedia Commons

 He has held the positions of:

• Medical Director of Jurong’s Ama Keng Medical Clinic since 1971
• Chairman of the Society of Private Practice
• Council Member of the College of General Practitioners
• Committee Member on the Council of the Singapore Medical Association (SMA)
• Chairman of the SMA Trust Fund, Board Member of the SMA’s Ethics Committee
• SMA’s Representative on the Ministry of Health’s Committee on the Regulation of Medical Clinics
• And part-time clinical teacher in general practice at the National University of Singapore.

5. He joined politics under People’s Action Party

People’s Action Party headquarters. Photo by Seloloving. Wikimedia Commons

Tan entered politics in the 1980 general election under the banner of the People’s Action Party, becoming the Member of Parliament-elect for the Ayer Rajah SMC with an 83% vote. Tan’s subsequent election results averaged 77%, making him one of Singapore’s best-performing candidates, with his best-ever score being 88% in his last election in 2001.

6. He resigned as a Member of Parliament

Tan resigned as a Member of Parliament following the 2006 general election. He was also the Chairman of the Jurong East Town Council from 1989 to 1991, the West Coast-Ayer Rajah Town Council from 2001 to 2004, the Bukit Timah Community Development Council from 1997 to 2000, and the Feedback Unit at the Ministry of Community Development from 1985 to 1989.

7. Tan led a team of MPs to argue for the use of the CPF for education in 1988

CPF Building shot from front of Capital Tower, Singapore. Photo by Nlannuzel. Wikimedia Commons

A significant number of able students were unable to enter local universities due to limited places. Tan considered education to be a type of investment, and all his GPC asked for was an additional option for CPF members to choose whether to invest their investible savings in stocks and shares or in education.

The main objection was that using such retirement savings could leave the account holder with insufficient funds at the end of his or her working life. Labor Minister Lee Yock Suan stated that there were alternatives available, such as interest-free soft loan schemes. In response to Tan’s claim that Lee had not clearly stated his position on the issue, despite the fact that the idea had been discussed for years.

Lee insisted that his position had always been clear, that he “was against it, but you have pressed me to study it, and I shall.”  The GPC’s proposed set of guidelines on the use of CPF for Education were eventually implemented, paving the way for the first wave of Singaporean students studying at local tertiary institutions.

8. He persuaded MND to allow free parking in Singapore

Free Parking sign. Photo by germi_p. Unsplash

Tan persuaded the Ministry of National Development (MND) to allow Singaporeans to park their cars for free in HDB estates on Sundays and public holidays in order to promote family unity. 

9. Dr. Tan nearly died from meningitis in 2005

Meningitis colorful word on the wooden background. Photo by Sohel Parvez Haque. Unsplash

In an August 2011 ST interview, he recalled losing 7 kg while battling the infection in a high-dependency ward. This prompted him to step down from politics in 2006.

10. Dr Tan, has come out of retirement to run against his former party

Progress Singapore Party headquarters. Photo by Seloloving. Wikimedia

The man who came close to becoming Singapore’s president in 2011 is back in business. After a brief absence from politics, Dr. Tan Cheng Bock announced that he will run in the next general election with his own political party, the Progress Singapore Party.

At 81, he believes that the regime’s heavy-handed approach is stifling Singapore’s progress and has dedicated himself to mentoring young Singaporeans in their efforts to build a more inclusive, compassionate, and democratic Singapore.