Ng enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in December 1986 and was a fighter pilot in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). During his military career, among the appointments he held were: Commanding Officer, 144 Squadron; Commander, Changi Air Base; Deputy Head, Joint Communications and Information Systems Department; Head, Air Plans; Director, Joint Operations; Deputy Chief of Air Force. He was also Military Private Secretary to the Minister for Defence from December 1995 to July 1996.[5]
On 10 December 2009, Ng succeeded his elder brother, Ng Chee Khern, as the Chief of Air Force.[6] He was succeeded by Hoo Cher Mou on 25 March 2013,[7] after his appointment as Chief of Defence Force on 27 March 2013.[8] He was promoted from the rank of Major-General to Lieutenant-General on 27 June 2013.[9] Ng was the second general from the RSAF to be appointed as Chief of Defence Force, after Bey Soo Khiang in 1995.
Ng retired from the SAF on 18 August 2015 and was succeeded by Perry Lim as Chief of Defence Force.[10][11]
Political career
On 18 August 2015, Ng announced that he would enter politics after retiring from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).[12] On 22 August 2015, the People's Action Party (PAP) announced that Ng would be part of the six-member PAP team that would be contesting in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC in the 2015 general election.[13] The PAP team won, clinching 72.89% of the electorate's valid votes in the constituency.[14] Ng was appointed subsequently appointed Acting Minister for Education (Schools), and served as Second Minister for Transport, and Minister for Education (Schools) concurrently from 1 November 2016 to 30 April 2018.
On 23 April 2018, Ng joined the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and was appointed Deputy Secretary-General.[15][16][17] He was then appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office on 1 May 2018. On 22 May 2018, Ng was elected Secretary-General of the NTUC by the NTUC Central Committee.[18][19]
In the 2020 general election, Ng's PAP team lost to the WP team led by He Ting Ru by a margin of 4.26%, losing his parliamentary seat. He also left his positions in the cabinet, while remaining as Secretary-General of the NTUC.[20][21]
On 19 November 2020, he was co-opted into the PAP's Central Executive Committee (CEC) despite not being a Member of Parliament. This was thought to be due to his role as the Secretary-General of NTUC which would allow the trade union to be represented on the CEC.[22]
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.