Singaporean Ong comes well equipped to be the secretary-general of ASEAN, a post he assumed in January this year. From 1974 to 1998, he worked at the Singapore Foreign Ministry, traveling to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the US and Nepal. After 24 years as a diplomat, he was seconded to the Prime Ministers Office as press secretary, before coming to Jakarta.His main job, he said, is to clarify ASEAN issues and policies and make people understand them.