Ng Eng Hen on life after politics: Noodles, grandkids and that viral Wikipedia SAF crest
After more than 40 years of working, including 14 years as Singapore’s defence minister, Dr Ng Eng Hen is enjoying having his life back.
That means eating at hawker centres, travelling with his family, spending time with his grandchildren — and taking his own photos, even if they may not quite meet the mark.
In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao published on Aug 18, Dr Ng, 67, shared how he has been spending his time since retiring from politics in April 2025.
He initially met the reporter for coffee at a coffee shop at Block 203 Toa Payoh North, opposite SPH Media.
It was a familiar haunt for Dr Ng, who said he used to enjoy the zi char from Hong Sheng Restaurant there because its takeaway food was wrapped in opeh leaves.
The stall closed on Dec 29, 2024.
‘I’m biased towards good noodles’
Food has featured prominently in Dr Ng’s retirement.
Asked what he would choose if he could eat only one type of food for the rest of his life, his answer was simple: noodles — of any kind.
“I’m biased towards good noodles,” he said.
Dr Ng, who was also Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, has been active on social media over the past year, documenting his visits to hawker centres and coffee shops across Singapore.
On Aug 16, for instance, he posted photos of himself enjoying a bowl of liver bak chor mee at Kim Tian.
His preference for Asian food becomes particularly apparent when he travels.
“I cannot tahan too much ang moh jia,” he said, using Hokkien for Western food.
“After two, three days, I’m dying.”
Dr Ng, who is heading to Australia soon, added that he already knows of a few good pho restaurants there.
Viral SAF crest Wikipedia screenshot
Asked whether his selfie-taking skills had improved since leaving office, Dr Ng explained that while he was at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), he had staff to take photos for him.
These days, when he is alone, he simply “points and shoots”, adding that his wife helps take photos when they are together.
“I apologise if the pictures don’t match standards,” he quipped.
Dr Ng also addressed one social media post that got people’s attention.
In July 2025, his SAF Day post went viral after eagle-eyed netizens noticed that the SAF crest he uploaded appeared to be a screenshot from Wikipedia.
Dr Ng shared that he had already left office by then and no longer had access to his MINDEF accounts.
“So I just logged on, Google SAF crest, took a screenshot and posted that... But they said it was authentic,” he said with a laugh.
The post made the rounds on social media, with netizens describing his DIY approach as “hilarious” and “endearing”.
Checks by Stomp showed that the post has since been amended to feature a regular image of the SAF crest.
‘I’m in a good place’: Ng Eng Hen
Asked if he has any plans for the future, Dr Ng said: “I’m retired, I’ve been working very hard for 40 over years.”
He acknowledged that some people struggle with retirement because they suddenly lose the structure that work provides.
“But structure is not life,” he said.
Instead, Dr Ng saw retirement as an opportunity to “reclaim” the life he had before politics — going around Singapore, eating his favourite food and taking short vacations.
He also spends plenty of time with his five grandchildren, whom he described as an “absolute delight”, taking them to the zoo, museums and playgrounds with his wife.
There have also been “a few requests” for him to join boards, although he appears in no hurry to fill his calendar again.
“We’ll see what comes,” he said.
“I have no need for actualisation. If I haven’t actualised by now, I can’t believe I can do much more actualisation.”
Instead, whether he takes on anything new will depend simply on whether he feels he can add value.
For now, Dr Ng appears content with this new chapter of his life.
“I’m in a good place,” he said.
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