Ling How Doong
Encyclopedia
Ling How Doong is a politician
and lawyer
from Singapore
. A member of the opposition
Singapore Democratic Party
(SDP), he served as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for the constituency of Bukit Gombak
from 1991 to 1997.
(PAP), Dr Seet Ai Mee
, to win the constituency of Bukit Gombak at the general election. Ling won 51.4% of the votes in the constituency to Dr Seet's 48.6%. Ling was one of three SDP MPs to be elected – with the party's leader Chiam See Tong
retaining his seat in Potong Pasir
, and Cheo Chai Chen
winning in Nee Soon Central
. The leader of the Workers' Party
, Low Thia Khiang
, was also elected in Hougang
, giving the opposition parties a total of four seats. At the previous election, Chiam had been the only opposition MP to win a seat, so the results were seen as a significant success for the opposition.
In 1994, the SDP appointed Ling to take over from Chiam as the party's parliamentary leader after Chiam fell out with the rest of the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC). Chiam resigned as the party's Secretary-General and was replaced by Dr Chee Soon Juan
. After he publicly criticised them, the CEC attempted to expel Chiam from the party (which would have forced him to vacate his parliamentary seat), but he won a court case to prevent them from doing so on procedural grounds.
Ling hit the headlines in 1996 after Chiam whispered something into his ear during a debate in Parliament, to which Ling loudly responded "Don't talk cock!" (a Singlish
phrase meaning "Don't talk rubbish / nonsense"). Ling was formally censured by Parliament for using inappropriate language in the chamber as a result of this.
Chiam joined the Singapore People's Party
(SPP) after Parliament was dissolved ahead of the election, was re-elected as Potong Pasir's MP representing his new party. However, Ling was defeated in his bid to be re-elected as MP for Bukit Gombak at the 1997 general election, losing to the PAP's Ang Mong Seng
. Ling won 28.4% of the votes to Ang's 65.1%, with Syed Farid Wajidi from SPP taking 6.5% of the votes. Cheo was also defeated in his re-election bid. The SDP was thus left with no seats in Parliament.
For the 2001 general election, Ling's old seat of Bukit Gombak was abolished following boundary changes. Ling stood in Cheo's former constituency of Nee Soon Central, and was defeated by the PAP's Ong Ah Heng. Ling received 21.5% of the votes to Ong's 78.5%.
At the 2006 general election, Ling contested the seat of Bukit Panjang
. He won 22.8% of the votes, losing to the PAP's Teo Ho Pin
who gained 77.2%. During the election campaign, he was threatened with a defamation lawsuit by Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong
and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
as a result of an article published in the SDP's party newspaper. On 24 April 2006, Ling said that he would not apologise as he did not know about the article until it had been published. However he eventually agreed to a settlement and issued an apology for the publication the article.
and Nan Hwa High School. He was called to the Bar
in at the Middle Temple
in London
in 1972.
Ling has been a practicing lawyer since 1972.
Ling is married and has three sons.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. A member of the opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...
(SDP), he served as the Member of Parliament
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
(MP) for the constituency of Bukit Gombak
Bukit Gombak
Bukit Gombak is a neighbourhood in the west-central area of the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore. In the Malay language, bukit means hill and gombak a bunch or collection of something....
from 1991 to 1997.
Political career
Ling was the Chairman of the SDP in 1991 when, in a surprise result, he defeated the incumbent MP from the governing People's Action PartyPeople's Action Party
The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....
(PAP), Dr Seet Ai Mee
Seet Ai Mee
Dr. Seet Ai Mee is a former politician from Singapore. A member of the country's governing People's Action Party , she served as the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bukit Gombak from 1988 to 1991. In 1991, she was made the Acting Minister for Community Development...
, to win the constituency of Bukit Gombak at the general election. Ling won 51.4% of the votes in the constituency to Dr Seet's 48.6%. Ling was one of three SDP MPs to be elected – with the party's leader Chiam See Tong
Chiam See Tong
Chiam See Tong is a politician and lawyer from Singapore. He is the country's longest-serving opposition Member of Parliament . Between 1984 and 2011, he represented the constituency of Potong Pasir in Singapore's Parliament....
retaining his seat in Potong Pasir
Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency
Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency is a Single Member Constituency in the central region of Singapore.-Location:The SMC encompasses Potong Pasir, Lorong 8 Toa Payoh and Tannery...
, and Cheo Chai Chen
Cheo Chai Chen
Cheo Chai Chen is a politician and businessman from Singapore. He served as the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Nee Soon Central from 1991 to 1997, when he was a member of the Singapore Democratic Party...
winning in Nee Soon Central
Nee Soon Central Single Member Constituency
Nee Soon Central Single Member Constituency is a defunct Single Member Constituency in the northern area in Singapore. The seat consists of Yishun New Town with it consisting of Yishun Central and a few private housing estates in the vicinity...
. The leader of the Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Singapore
The Workers' Party of Singapore is a centre-left opposition political party in Singapore. The party currently has six elected seats in Parliament, with the party's Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, Chairman Sylvia Lim, Chen Show Mao, Muhamad Faisal Manap and Pritam Singh serving as Members of...
, Low Thia Khiang
Low Thia Khiang
Low Thia Khiang is a politician and businessman from Singapore. He is currently the leader of the opposition Workers' Party, and since 1991 has been a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Hougang until 2011 where he contested and won in Aljunied GRC. He is in charge of the Bedok...
, was also elected in Hougang
Hougang Single Member Constituency
Hougang Single Member Constituency is a Single Member Constituency whose borders roughly enclose the town of Hougang, located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. The boundary includes a portion of Hougang and is an opposition held seat with its Member of Parliament the Workers' Party's Yaw...
, giving the opposition parties a total of four seats. At the previous election, Chiam had been the only opposition MP to win a seat, so the results were seen as a significant success for the opposition.
In 1994, the SDP appointed Ling to take over from Chiam as the party's parliamentary leader after Chiam fell out with the rest of the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC). Chiam resigned as the party's Secretary-General and was replaced by Dr Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan
Chee Soon Juan, PhD is a politician and political activist from Singapore. He is currently the leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party ....
. After he publicly criticised them, the CEC attempted to expel Chiam from the party (which would have forced him to vacate his parliamentary seat), but he won a court case to prevent them from doing so on procedural grounds.
Ling hit the headlines in 1996 after Chiam whispered something into his ear during a debate in Parliament, to which Ling loudly responded "Don't talk cock!" (a Singlish
Singlish
Colloquial Singaporean English, also known as Singlish, is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore.Singlish is commonly regarded with low prestige in Singapore. The Singaporean government and many Singaporeans alike heavily discourage the use of Singlish in favour of Standard English...
phrase meaning "Don't talk rubbish / nonsense"). Ling was formally censured by Parliament for using inappropriate language in the chamber as a result of this.
Chiam joined the Singapore People's Party
Singapore People's Party
The Singapore People's Party is a left of centre opposition political party in Singapore. The party's leader is Chiam See Tong.-Foundation:...
(SPP) after Parliament was dissolved ahead of the election, was re-elected as Potong Pasir's MP representing his new party. However, Ling was defeated in his bid to be re-elected as MP for Bukit Gombak at the 1997 general election, losing to the PAP's Ang Mong Seng
Ang Mong Seng
Ang Mong Seng is a Member of Parliament of Singapore who represents Hong Kah GRC.In the 2006 general elections, his party, the People's Action Party , had a walkover as Hong Kah GRC was not contested...
. Ling won 28.4% of the votes to Ang's 65.1%, with Syed Farid Wajidi from SPP taking 6.5% of the votes. Cheo was also defeated in his re-election bid. The SDP was thus left with no seats in Parliament.
For the 2001 general election, Ling's old seat of Bukit Gombak was abolished following boundary changes. Ling stood in Cheo's former constituency of Nee Soon Central, and was defeated by the PAP's Ong Ah Heng. Ling received 21.5% of the votes to Ong's 78.5%.
At the 2006 general election, Ling contested the seat of Bukit Panjang
Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency
Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency is a Single Member Constituency located in the western area of Singapore. The seat consists the main portion of Bukit Panjang and was formed in the 2006 electoral boundary redraw...
. He won 22.8% of the votes, losing to the PAP's Teo Ho Pin
Teo Ho Pin
Dr. Teo Ho Pin is a Singaporean politician from the People's Action Party who has been serving as a Member of Parliament in Singapore since 1996. He is currently the Member of Parliament of the Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency in Singapore...
who gained 77.2%. During the election campaign, he was threatened with a defamation lawsuit by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong
Lee Hsien Loong is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. He is married to Ho Ching, who is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew....
and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
as a result of an article published in the SDP's party newspaper. On 24 April 2006, Ling said that he would not apologise as he did not know about the article until it had been published. However he eventually agreed to a settlement and issued an apology for the publication the article.
Life outside politics
Ling was educated at Anglo-Chinese SchoolAnglo-Chinese School
The Anglo-Chinese School ; is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore, and Indonesia.The name is usually abbreviated as "ACS", with the junior college as "ACJC", and its students and alumni referred to as "ACSians" , or "ACS boys" .ACS was the first school...
and Nan Hwa High School. He was called to the Bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
in at the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1972.
Ling has been a practicing lawyer since 1972.
Ling is married and has three sons.