The amount he has contributed so far? $5,000 to a local non-profit organisation called Kindness Mart, an online supermarket delivery platform where all proceeds go towards those in need. "I chose them 'cos they purchase necessities for various homes in Singapore, which I find more appropriate during this period," adds Thomas. 

This act of generosity is just one of Thomas’ many financial contributions to good causes — the 51-year-old has been running his own charity for the past nine years and has donated over $300,000 out of his own pocket to build two schools for impoverished Cambodian children.

“Actually, the boss [of Durian Edition] asked if I needed any help with my Cambodian charity and offered to raise some money for the school. As the school has enough funds to last a year, I suggested that we donate the money to local charities instead. So I approached my friends at Kindness Mart,” the actor reveals to 8days.sg during our phone interview on Tuesday (Aug 18), after the virtual press conference of upcoming Mediacorp drama Superdad.

The drama, which is Thomas' last before he retires from acting, also stars Chen Hanwei, Jeremy Chan and Paige Chua. The actor plays a happy-go-lucky man who loses the respect of his wife and daughter when he remains unmotivated after running into financial trouble. 

Oh, and there are also magical chocolates involved that bestow superpowers upon anyone who eats them (hence, Superdad). And Thomas discovers the ability to teleport and travel through time. 

But back to the actor’s latest business venture. 

He excitedly tells 8days.sg that he really digs the brand’s Mao Shan Wang burnt cheesecake and reveals that they plan to launch durian mooncakes for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.

“We wanted to do durian by-products as the season will be over in a week’s time, and people won’t get to eat fresh durian. Therefore, we have collected enough durian puree to last the next six months for our MSW burnt cheesecake and durian mooncakes,” says Thomas. 

With so much in Durian Edition's pipeline, you’d think Thomas is in it for the long run. After all, Superdad’s gonna be his swan song. 

Turns out, Thomas only plans to be part of the business for the time being, or at least until leisure travel is allowed again. Apparently, he had intended to take a gap year, but as usual, COVID-19 ruined everything.

8 DAYS: So how did you get involved with Durian Edition?
THOMAS ONG: (Laughs) I was a customer who ordered so many durians during the Circuit Breaker period that I eventually became friends with Durian Edition’s boss. In fact, I ordered so much that the boss offered me a discount. When I realised I had nothing else to post on social media, I asked him if he could do an exclusive package or a bundle for my followers and he agreed and that's how I started helping him promote his business.

You also donate your earnings to charity. That's very generous of you. 
Not everything is for charity lah! (Laughs) I need to make money also! (Laughs)

Besides endorsing the brand and promoting it on your social media, how else do you contribute to the business? 
I’m also in charge of marketing, delivering and food tasting… (Laughs) Actually, I don’t know why they included me, I think it’s ‘cos I like to eat durians and have nothing better to do… (Laughs) 

That sounds awesome actually. How have customers reacted when they find out that Thomas Ong is delivering their durians? 
They still recognise me behind the mask! But too bad, we’ve gotta keep a safe distance so we rarely take pictures. And also, there’s no time as there are too many orders. Other customers want their durian fast too!

So how much do you earn from all of this? 
Actually, we haven’t discussed it yet. We were just so excited to do business together. But I think it’s time for me to talk to them about it. There are plans to plaster my face on the mooncake boxes too. (Laughs) If there’s any payment… I guess I get to eat durians all day? (Laughs) Eh, Mao Shan Wang is not cheap, okay! And my family gets to eat free MSW! 

So where did $5,000 you donated to Kindness Mart come from? 
Oh, they give me a fee for being their ambassador. So I used half of that to donate to charity and saved the other half for my future travels. 

How long do you see yourself to be in this durian business for?
Until I can fly freely and when there is no quarantine period when I land in other countries! I wanted to backpack for a year! But until then, I'll be involved with this business. 
 
You seem pretty passionate about entrepreneurship.
Yes, I once tried my hand at selling corporate gifts over 20 years ago. (Laughs) But I stopped because the company couldn't grow any bigger. But that's like more than 10 years ago and [that business] is not relevant now. I also tried to set up a crystal biz. 

Oh yes, you told us about that earlier this year. So what happened to it? 
I found a partner and we were in the planning stage when I realised that we had different directions [on where to take the business]. But crystals still remain my hobby. 

What is one type of business you’ll never get into? 
Wow that’s a tough question. Give me options. 

Um, how about F&B? 
(Laughs) Oh, I’ll never run a pub! The business requires late nights and I can’t do that. My friends, who run pubs, need to drink and mingle with clients… They can't sleep… I need my sleep, so I prefer doing businesses with regular hours. (Laughs)

Catch Thomas in Superdad, which will be available on demand for free from Aug 31 on meWATCH. The drama premieres Sep 2, 9pm on Ch 8. 
Photos: MeWatch, Thomas Ong/Instagram

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