Shawn Huang Wei Zhong

Shawn Huang Wei Zhong PBM (né Ingkiriwang; Chinese: 黄伟中; pinyin: Huáng Wěizhōng; born 1982)[2] is a Singaporean politician and former fighter pilot. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Jurong Spring division of Jurong GRC since 2020.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Huang.
The Honourable
Shawn Huang Wei Zhong
PBM
黄伟中
Huang in 2021
Member of Parliament
for Jurong GRC
(Jurong Spring)
Assumed office
10 July 2020
Preceded byDesmond Lee
Majority60,501 (49.24%)
Personal details
Born
Ingkiriwang Shawn Wei Zhong[1]

1982 (age 40–41)[2]
Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
EducationUnited States Air Force Academy (BS)
Tsinghua University (MBA)
OccupationPolitician
Military service
Branch/serviceRepublic of Singapore Air Force
Years of service2000–2018
RankLieutenant-Colonel

Before entering politics, he served as an F-16 fighter pilot in the Singaporean Air Force (RSAF) between 2000 and 2018. He has also been a director at Tasek Jurong, a charity organisation, since 2014.

Early life and education

Huang graduated with a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 2006.[3] In 2015, he was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship[4] to pursue the Tsinghua-MIT Global Master of Business Administration at Tsinghua University.[5][6]

Career

Military career

Huang[7] joined the Republic of Singapore Air Force as a pilot trainee in 2001 and has over 1,000 flying hours on the CT4B, S211, A-4 Super Skyhawk and F-16 Fighting Falcon. He held several staff and operational appointments and was the Commanding Officer of the 140 Squadron. He continues to serve his National Service as a F-16 fighter pilot.

On 14 September 2017, Huang was the parade commander for President Halimah Yacob's inauguration ceremony held at the Istana.[8][9]

On 9 August 2018, Huang was the parade commander for Singapore's 53rd National Day Parade, in conjunction with the Republic of Singapore Air Force's 50th anniversary.[1]

Political career

Huang was fielded for the 2020 general election as one of five candidates representing the People's Action Party (PAP) in Jurong GRC.[10] On 11 July 2020, Huang was declared an elected Member of the 14th Parliament.[11]

Controversy

Public criticism arose over Huang’s change of surname prior to the 2020 Singapore General Election. Huang's birth name was Ingkiriwang Shawn Wei Zhong. His great-grandfather, an Indonesian Chinese, had changed his original Chinese surname "Huang" to the Indonesian-sounding "Ingkiriwang".[12] In 1989, Huang had a deed poll to change his Indonesian Chinese surname to the original "Huang". However, due to administrative confusion, Huang was still known as "Ingkiriwang" until as late as 2018 when he was the parade commander for Singapore's 53rd National Day Parade.[5]

Another criticism arose over Huang’s poor temperament during the 2018 National Day Parade rehearsal. Reports made on Huang who allegedly threw lunch boxes at another military volunteer after he failed to receive his lunch box. Huang subsequently explained that he returned the lunch boxes politely with two other Warrant Officers as his witness.[1]

Awards

In 2019, Huang was awarded the Public Service Medal.[13]

Personal life

Huang has a daughter named Geraldine.[14]

References
  1. Baharudin, Hariz (28 June 2020). "Singapore GE2020: PAP new face Shawn Huang rebuts allegations about past behaviour, clears air over name". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  2. "MP | Parliament of Singapore".
  3. "Top graduates honored for accomplishments" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2016.
  4. "Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship". Archived from the original on 24 July 2019.
  5. Ng, Trini (29 June 2020). "Ingkiriwang? PAP's GE2020 candidate Shawn Huang responds to debate over surname change". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  6. "The Republic of Singapore Air Force". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  7. "GE2020: Final 4 of 27 new PAP candidates introduced, including former fighter pilot". CNA. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  8. Mohamad Salleh, Nur Asyiqin (14 September 2017). "President Halimah Yacobs Swearing in". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019.
  9. "Inauguration Ceremony". The Straits Times. 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
  10. "GE2020: Tharman remains in Jurong GRC, Desmond Lee out". mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  11. "GE2020 Results: PAP wins Jurong GRC with 74.62% of votes over RDU". AsiaOne. 11 July 2020. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  12. Ng, Trini (29 June 2020). "Ingkiriwang? PAP's GE2020 candidate Shawn Huang responds to debate over surname change". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  13. "Public Service Medal 2019". 17 November 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020.
  14. Lee, Jeremy (5 March 2022). "Jurong MP Shawn Huang Gets Emo In Parliament While Speaking On S'pore's Science & Technology". Must Share News. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
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