ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong<\/p>\n
Ong Keng Yong is possibly the perfect man for the position of
\nsecretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN), as he speaks many of the major languages of the region:
\nEnglish, Mandarin, Malay and Arabic.<\/p>\n
Born in Singapore on Jan. 6, 1954, Ong studied law at the
\nUniversity of Singapore where he obtained an LLB (honors) and at
\nGeorgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he got his
\nmaster's degree in Arab Studies.<\/p>\n
Ong's career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore
\nbegan in 1979, and he had his first overseas posting in 1984 as
\nthe charge d'affairs of the Singapore Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi
\nArabia. Later, he served as counsellor at the Singapore High
\nCommission in Kuala Lumpur, and as minister counsellor and deputy
\nchief of mission at the Singapore Embassy in Washington D.C. in
\n1991.<\/p>\n
At the age of 42, he was one of Singapore's youngest heads of
\nmission, serving the post as high commissioner to India and then
\nas ambassador to Nepal.<\/p>\n
Between oversees postings, Ong served in various political
\ndirectorates overseeing ASEAN at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
\nincluding the director of the Policy, Planning and Analysis
\nDirectorate II. He was also in charge of APEC and affairs related
\nto the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).<\/p>\n
From 1994-1995, he was concurrently the spokesman of the
\nforeign ministry. On his return from India in 1998, Ong acted as
\npress secretary to the Singaporean prime minister and also as
\ndeputy secretary. A year later, he became chief executive
\ndirector of the People's Association, which is Singapore's most
\nimportant community-based organization and oversees some 1,700
\ngrassroots communities. -- JP<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-secretary-general-ong-keng-yong-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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