Anthea Ong

Anthea Indira Ong Lay Theng (Chinese: 王丽婷; pinyin: Wáng Lìtíng; born 1968) is a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) for the 13th Parliament of Singapore. Ong is also a full-time entrepreneur and social advocate, being the founder of social organisations including Hush TeaBar and A Good Space.

Anthea Ong
Born
Ong Lay Theng

1968 (age 52–53)
NationalitySingaporean
OfficeNominated Member of Parliament[1]
Political partyNon-partisan

Background

In her youth, Ong attended Cedar Girls' Secondary School and National Junior College. She earned a business degree in the National University of Singapore.

Professional career

Ong is a professional certified coach by the International Coach Federation. She has served over 40 clients from Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines, Japan, France, Portugal, Spain, UK and the USA.[2]

In her corporate career, Ong held leadership roles with multinational organisations including Pearson Plc, New York Institute of Finance, The Terrapinn Group and United Overseas Bank.[3]

Between 2002 and 2008, Ong founded the Singapore-based education and technology consultancy, Knowledge Director Group.[4]

From 2008 to 2013, Ong was Managing Director (Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore) at Omega Performance Inc, a Washington DC-headquartered strategy and performance-improvement consulting group for banks and financial institutions.[4] Additionally, she was also the Asian Lead of the Global Corporate Responsibility Board for Informa Plc. [4]

In December 2013, Ong left the corporate world to focus on her social entrepreneurship and advocacy efforts.[5]

Social advocacy

In 2013, Ong founded the social project Playground of Joy, introducing an educational programme that integrates mindfulness into its curriculum.[5] Ong is working on expanding her Playground of Joy project to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, while also serving children with special needs and financial assistance within Singapore.[5]

In 2014, Ong founded the social enterprise Hush TeaBar, Singapore's first silent tea bar.[6] Through its employment of the deaf and individuals with mental health issues, Hush seeks to bridge the gap between the hearing and non-hearing world.[7] Through Hush, Ong hopes to address the epidemic of mental health issues faced by most Singaporean workplaces and schools.[8]

In 2017, Ong co-founded A Good Space, a not-for-profit initiative, with the support of National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC).[9] Through naturing a community of changemakers, A Good Space looks to improve volunteerism for social causes in Singapore.[10]

Within the same year, Ong founded Our Tree Stories, a social movement where Singaporeans are asked to share their stories about their favourite trees.[5] The movement was created to encourage Singaporeans to humanise trees, in an attempt to improve awareness about climate change and conservation.[5]

In May 2018, Ong founded Workwell Leaders Workgroup together with 25 prominent Singaporean work leaders, including representatives from Johnson & Johnson, DBS Bank, Deloitte and National University Health System. The workgroup looks to champion mental well-being as a leadership priority in workplaces.[11]

In December 2019, Ong launched the first-ever public consultation on mental healthcare in Singapore, intending on utilising the findings to support her Budget 2020 speech.[12]

In February 2020, given the "overwhelming response" that they have received for their public consultation on mental healthcare, Ong and her team of volunteers launched the community initiative "SG Mental Health Matters", through a website meant as a "coalescing point" for advocacy efforts in mental wellness within Singapore.[13]

Ong was one of 3 Singaporean women[14] who went on an expedition to Antarctica to study climate change in 2018, funded by the 2041 Foundation.[15]

Additionally, Ong served as the president of the Women's Initiative for Ageing Successfully (WINGS) from 2014 to 2016 (board member from 2010), an organisation helping women embrace ageing with confidence.[9] From 2014 to 2016, she was also a Founding Board Member of Daughters of Tomorrow, a registered charity that supports the empowerment of women through individualised coaching.[9]

Political career

Ong was one of the 9 Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP) chosen on 17 September 2018 for the 13th Parliament of Singapore.[16] Speaking to The Straits Times after her appointment was announced, Ong said that she intended to speak on issues of social inclusion, mental health and volunteerism.[17]

Ong's maiden speech involved a call to make mental health a national priority.[18] In response to the Employment (Amendment) Bill, to which she lauded the reference to employee well-being,[19] she stressed that mental well-being should be a whole-of-government priority with the recognition that "subjective well-being” is key in ascertaining one's quality of life. In her speech, she also states her wish that policies act empower rather than enable Singaporeans to be ready for challenges ahead.[20]

Publications

Ong has published a book titled "50 Shades of Love: Unearthing Who We Are". Within the book, she penned 50 shorts explaining how love in its different forms has lifted her up throughout different seasons in her life.[21]

Ong has written commentaries and opinion-editorials for media platforms including The Straits Times, Today (Singapore newspaper), The New Paper and Business Times, covering various social issues in Singapore including mental health, multiculturalism and homelessness.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

Bibliography
  • Ong, Anthea (2018). 50 Shades of Love: Unearthing Who We Are. Singapore: Candid Creation Publishing. ISBN 9789811194122.

References
  1. "9 new Nominated MPs to join Parliament". Straits Times. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019.
  2. "Coach to Serve". Anthea Ong. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  3. "Learn and Live". Anthea Ong. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  4. "Anthea Ong". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  5. "Learn.Laugh.Live.Serve". Anthea Ong. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  6. Ang, Vivien (2018-12-18). "Doing good through silence, reflection and self-care is Hush Tea Bar's mission". The Business Times. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  7. Lee, Alfreda (2015-06-03). "Hush – Singapore's First Silent TeaBar Opens And Brings The Party To You". TheSmartLocal - Singapore's Leading Travel and Lifestyle Portal. Archived from the original on 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  8. "Spilling the Tea on Silence: Anthea Ong of Hush TeaBar". Social Space. 2018-09-07. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  9. "A Good Space". Facebook. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  10. Ong, Anthea (2018-10-12). "A Good Space helps you help others". The Business Times. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  11. hermes (2018-09-17). "Collective action needed to create caring, inclusive workplaces". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  12. "NMP conducts public consultation on mental healthcare in preparation for Budget 2020". The Independent SG. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  13. "ABOUT US". SG Mental Health Matters. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  14. Sim, Sherlyn (2018-04-23). "Singaporean takes the plunge in freezing Antarctic". The New Paper. Archived from the original on 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  15. Space, A. Good. "A Journey to Antarctica with Anthea Ong". A Good Space. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  16. "9 new Nominated MPs chosen to join Parliament". The Straits Times. 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  17. "9 new Nominated MPs chosen to join Parliament". The Straits Times. 2018-09-17. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  18. hermes (2019-02-28). "Parliament: Make mental health a 'national priority', like diabetes". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  19. "Time for Singapore's employment laws to include "clear" and "deliberate" guidelines for workers' psychosocial health and safety requirements: NMP Anthea Ong". The Online Citizen. 2018-12-13. Archived from the original on 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  20. ""Strong, United S'pore" only possible if mental health is a S'pore govt priority: NMP Anthea Ong". Mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  21. "Words & Tunes". Anthea Ong. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  22. Ong, Anthea (2018-10-12). "A Good Space helps you help others". The Business Times. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  23. Ong, Anthea (2019-03-08). "Comment: Mental health must be a national priority". The New Paper. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  24. Ong, Anthea (2019-03-08). "How to make mental health a national priority". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  25. Ong, Anthea (2019-06-26). "Greater whole-of-society push needed to tackle homelessness". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  26. Ong, Anthea (2019-07-06). "Time to commit to national target on inclusive employment". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  27. Ong, Anthea (2019-07-08). "Make mental health education mandatory in Singapore schools". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  28. Ong, Anthea (2019-08-24). "Let's talk about the 'men' in mental health". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  29. Ong, Anthea (2019-09-09). "Making CareShield Life and long-term disability care more inclusive". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  30. Ong, Anthea (2019-10-18). "Let's redefine multiculturalism for a truly inclusive Singapore". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  31. Ong, Anthea (2019-10-25). "Boss, do you care about our mental wellness?". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  32. Ong, Anthea (2020-01-31). "Suicides can be prevented - we all need to work together". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
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