He died in Alexandra Hospital after being stricken by pneumonia that led to the failure of his organs. He was 90.

The stalwart of the labour movement and loving family man had not been well for 11 months, said his youngest daughter Madam Ho Geok Choo, 52, an MP for West Coast GRC.

He was a People's Action Party MP from 1963 to 1984, representing Bras Basah and later, Khe Bong, a ward with many one-room HDB flats.

His fluency in Hokkien led then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to seek him out for the PAP.

MPs who had served with him recalled his humility and dedication to improving the lot of workers, as well as his fierce loyalty to friends and colleagues.

Former MP Chan Chee Seng, 80, said Mr Ho 'behaved like an old gentleman' who did not speak as much as he listened when they met for meals in recent years.

'His Mandarin speeches in Parliament were full of stories about Chinese history,' he added.

As a labour MP, Mr Ho was admired for being outspoken, yet unpretentious and humble, which President S R Nathan noted in a personal tribute.

NTUC chief Lim Swee Say, his predecessor Mr Lim Boon Heng and president John De Payva issued a statement expressing sadness at the passing of 'a dedicated, respected and yet fiery union leader'.

'Despite having only a secondary education, he had helmed the NTUC leadership during the tumultuous early years of NTUC's formation,' it said.

As a union leader, Mr Ho was a star player in persuading workers to accept profound changes in industrial relations, when the Government introduced the 1968 Employment Act to attract vital foreign investments.

But he also fought hard in Parliament to protect their rights.

Former Speaker Tan Soo Khoon recalled: 'His down-to-earth style enabled him to reflect the feelings on the ground in a simple but effective way. As a new MP, I learnt a lot from him.'

Mr Ho was born in 1918 in China and was six when he came to Singapore with his father to join his mother.

He started school at nine and left at 17 to help his widowed washerwoman mother make ends meet.

He worked as a lorry attendant, deliveryman, dispenser, and taxi driver. Then he became a proof reader with The Straits Times, and that led to his becoming General Secretary of the Singapore Printing Employees Union.

With his humble beginnings, he always had a soft spot for the less privileged.

Former Khe Bong grassroots leader Ho Tih Chwee recalled the case of a hawker who died. When his son applied to take over the hawker licence, he was turned down because of discrepancies in the identity cards of father and son.

Mr Ho said: 'See Beng got some of his branch officials to go to the grave of the dead man and took a picture of the inscriptions on the tombstone. In Chinese tradition, the names of the children of the dead person are inscribed on the tombstone of the dead man.'

It worked. The hawker's son got his licence.

Mr Ho leaves his wife, five children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

siewhua@sph.com.sg