SINGAPORE — Former presidential candidate Mr Ng Kok Song’s “formula” for longevity has taken to the global stage in a massively viral TikTok video.
Many comments on the video, mostly from users who appear to be outside of Singapore, thanked Mr Ng for his succinct, yet valuable advice.
Interestingly, most of the commentors did not seem to be aware of his presidential bid or background, which were also not mentioned at all in the Daily Mail report.
One TikTok user wrote: “Better than a doctor’s visit!”
“Awesome lifestyle from a prominent senior citizen. Follow his advice for healthy, wealthy retirement days. Thank you, sir.” wrote another.
Addressing several comments poking fun at Mr Ng’s age, a top comment wrote: “He has a lot of good wisdom to share. I don’t know why people comment about his age like it’s a bad thing.”
After his presidential election run earlier this year, Mr Ng appears to have kept up to these principles, as seen from his recent TikTok videos where he regularly shares life advice and documents meet-ups with friends.
In another TikTok video posted on Oct 23, Mr Ng even teases the upcoming launch of a “meditation series”, which appears to focus on meditation as a way to improve mental health.
Mr Ng had also taught Christian meditation to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
In an interview with New York Times in 2010, Mr Lee said that he started meditating about two to three years before after noticing that Mr Ng looked “completely serene” despite his wife’s death. Both Mr Ng and his late wife meditated every day.
This was later highlighted during Mr Ng’s run for the presidency, where he further encouraged youths to practise meditation to address mental health issues.
Describing mental health as an issue he is “very passionate” about, Mr Ng added that tackling youth’s mental health challenges would be crucial to Singapore’s future success.
In his most recent TikTok video, Mr Ng shares a snippet of a video call with a neurology and Alzheimer’s specialist, Dr Rudolph Tanzi from Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States, who first coined the ‘Shield’ acronym in his research to improve cognitive function and protect against age-related decline.
Mr Ng said he had read Dr Tanzi’s books and adapted the acronym into his lifestyle, before sharing it in his now-viral video.
In the 53-second clip, Dr Tanzi thanks Mr Ng for helping grow Shield’s popularity and discusses the origins of the formula.
“Shield your brain with that acronym,” Dr Tanzi concludes.
“It is heartening that so many of you guys have picked up on my version of it and helped spread this life-saving message,” Mr Ng writes in the video captions.
TODAY has reached out to Mr Ng for comment.