Veteran diplomat Prof Tommy Koh has voiced his dismay at the recent media portrayal of property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, calling him a “good man”.
The Ambassador-at-Large at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the Facebook post on Wednesday (Nov 12), two days after media reports on Ong being issued a letter of warning from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
ICA had allowed Ong to retain his Permanent Resident (PR) status but cautioned that future adverse conduct could lead to revocation.
In his post, Prof Koh included a picture of a Straits Times article with the headline “Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng retains PR status, issued ICA warning letter”, saying that he is “not happy” with media coverage of the topic.
“He is a good man and not a bad man and we should not demonise him,” wrote the lawyer and academic.
He also said that Ong, a Malaysian citizen, has made “enormous contributions to Singapore”, especially in the hospitality industry, the entertainment industry and the real estate industry.
Prof Koh went on to list several of Ong’s contributions, including bringing Formula One and world-renowned opera singer Luciano Pavarotti to Singapore.
