MR SMILEY
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER CHARLES
CHONG, SENIOR MANAGER OF QUALITY & SAFETY AT SINGAPORE AIRLINES
ENGINEERING CO LTD & MP FOR PASIR RIS-PUNGGOL GRC
- Li Xiuqi
Mr
Charles Chong is a gregarious sort of chap, who wears a constant smile
and talks very fast. From the moment we sit down, he's rattling off
engaging details about himself, and amusing you with tales about his
political life.
He stood for election in 1988 and describes the opposition guy (the
late Abandi Singh) as "a real joker". He relates that in his
student days, he would travel long distances to hear his rally speeches
and have a good laugh. "But when I became the butt of his jokes,
it didn't seem as funny as before," he says, chuckling.
Mr Chong, 50, has worked all over the world - Bahrain, Dubai, Toulouse,
Seattle, just to name a few - in the course of his career with SIA Engineering.
He's got lots of stories about the quirks of people from all countries.
For example, he quips, "The Germans stop for lunch at 1pm sharp
and come back at 2.30pm. The French, they may come back at 3pm. The
Spanish, you'd be lucky if they come back at all!"
Asked to name a defining experience, he talks about the plight of the
exploited foreign labourers that he saw in the Middle East. "But
over the years, I realise that I can't change the world overnight,"
he says with a laugh. "I think you become a bit more realistic."
A man of action, he adheres to a demanding fitness regime of jogging
and swimming but finds golf frustratingly boring. In his free time,
he brings his wife and two sons, aged 16 and 20, on trips to exotic
locations, including having the whole family take a diving certificate
course so they could go diving. But his favourite holiday was to a game
reserve in Africa which had no fences. "The sense of danger - it's
exciting," he says.
