Avuncular-looking Mr Seng Han Thong is an avid reader, and a collector of memorabilia. Quiet and modest, he is the very image of a Chinese scholar steeped in Confucian values.

He is an Assistant Secretary General at the NTUC and is best known for his role as advisor to the taxi operators' association. This is a difficult lot of people who speak their mind in a myriad of languages. Han Thong is their best match because he can get by in as many languages. Proficient in English, Teochew, his mother tongue, Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese, Han Thong also manages to communicate in Malay.

To his 74-year-old mother, Han Thong is a blessing. At just 24, he took over as the head of the household when she was widowed, caring for a huge four-generation family of 10 members comprising elderly grandmother, mother, four siblings, Han Thong's wife and baby daughter .

A lesser man may have bolted. Not this "ge ge". He stood by his family, seeing them through their education, marrying off his three sisters, educating his younger brother and watching them all settle down.

Responsible son

Han Thong refuses to say much on this chapter of his life. But, his mother is on record in a Straits Times report three years ago as having said: "He was very responsible. He used to take care of his three younger sisters and brother. He made sure they did their homework and stayed out of trouble."

He remains magnanimous, giving credit during my interview to each member of his family, especially his wife who was his pre-university sweetheart, and his children. They lived through the difficult years in their cramped three-room Bendemeer Road rental flat.

"My family is very close because we have all been through much together. Even now, my brother and sisters are very close to my son and daughter and I love their children too. My sisters had the grades to continue studying after their A levels, but we could not afford further education. When our younger brother managed to get a place in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, we decided to tighten our belts and see him through to his Masters degree. Even my married sisters chipped in."

"I try to give my family whatever I can. In our younger days, we couldn't afford many things. We used to salivate when our neighbours ate durians because we could not afford it. Today, we always eat durians together. It is a three-generation durian party."

His son is studying history at the prestigious Cambridge University while his daughter is a teacher. The family now lives in Seletar Hills with Han Thong's mother.

From political writer to politician

Good providence smiled on Han Thong where his career was concerned. After his A levels in the Teochew-clan association run Tuan Mong High School, he joined the civil service as a court interpreter. He later switched jobs and became a journalist. In this profession at the Nanyang Siang Pau, Shin Min Daily News and Lianhe Zaobao, he saw much of the other side of life as a court reporter working erratic hours.

As a political reporter for the Lianhe Zaobao, he was just as energetic in sourcing for scoops from the streets and political circles. That was when he met then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Han Thong joined the PAP in 1996 and became MP at the Ang Mo Kio GRC, the constituency of current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. At the point when he left journalism, Han Thong had put in 21 years in the Chinese press, rising to the position of Deputy Chief Editor at the Lianhe Zaobao.

Taxi man's friend

At the NTUC, Han Thong still surrounds himself with his first love, his books. Most of these are on Chinese history and philosophy.

Displayed prominently at eye-level is his pride and joy the book to commemorate the 80th birthday of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Han Thong had edited that book jointly with Mr Lee's granddaughter, Li Xiuqi.

"When I met Mr Lee many years ago, I found him quite an overpowering man, one who could intimidate those around him. But he has mellowed," said Han Thong.

Karung guni habit

The little known side of Han Thong is his "karung guni" habit. He is an avid collector of stamps, books, road signs and anything of historical value.

"When I buy books, I always buy two copies. One is for me to read and pass on to others, while the other is kept untouched. My house is filled with books from wall to wall."

Commemorative issues of magazines such as National Geographic are part of his collection. Last year, he amassed a collection of SARS stickers used in many buildings when people were cleared of the bug after a screening. They have value in his eyes because be sees life as snapshots of history in the making.

Even today, we hear that Han Thong never goes to bed without completing his daily quota of reading. Once a scholar, always a scholar.

NTUC communicator

Han Thong oversees Corporate Communications at the NTUC and is also Vice Chairman of NTUC Media Cooperative.

"I learnt Cantonese during my interpreter days. That was also the time I picked up a London Chamber of Commerce accountancy qualification by night study. I had to interpret financial terms."

Separately, he has also picked up an MBA from Brunel University in Britain at the late age of 43.

As advisor to the taxi operator's association, he also had a major role to play during the SARS period, speaking up for them during a time when their income dipped drastically when people avoided taking taxis.