‘A difficult separation’: DJ The Flying Dutchman on ending his on-air partnership with Glenn Ong (2025)

SINGAPORE – On Jan 6, when veteran local radio DJ The Flying Dutchman (FD) was moved from SPH Radio station Kiss92 to sister station One FM 91.3, it ended a 10-year on-air partnership with fellow radio DJ Glenn Ong.

FD, whose real name is Mark van Cuylenburg, tells The Straits Times it was not an easy break-up.

Heco-hostedKiss92 morning show The Big Show with Ong – they have worked closely since their Mediacorp days in the early 2000s – and Angelique Teo, who joined the duo in 2021.

On One FM 91.3’s The Morning Drive on weekdays from 6 to 10am,he was paired with Lavinia Tan for a few days, then with Carrie Chong, after Tan went on maternity leave.

“If you add up all the years we’ve been together, it’s a difficult separation,” says FD, 68, of Ong. “I was going into a situation where it was a partner I’d never worked with, so it was a bit daunting. But Iwas really surprised how comfortable I got with Carrie so quickly.”

The transition also felt like a homecoming. When FD and Ong moved to SPH Radio from Mediacorp in 2015, they helmed One FM 91.3’s morning show until 2023, when they were transferred to Kiss92.

“On One FM, I don’t have as many worries about what I say. The Kiss92 audience is much younger, so you tend to try and be as politically correct as you possibly can. And with Carrie, one of the joys of working with her is that she is very much one of the boys.”

Still, he misses the on-air bickering with Ong, which was all done in good fun. “I miss the digs at me, like when he would make a comment about my age or something. I have worked with some of the best people in radio, and this guy is one of them.”

In recognition of his 45-year radio career that began at Rediffusion in 1980, FD received the Lifetime Achievement Award at SPH Media’s annual English, Malay and Tamil Media (EMTM) Group awards ceremony on April 4.

“I’ve had such a privileged career – not many people can say that. The people I’ve worked with, the people I’ve met, the people I’ve relied on for motivation when I was feeling down. I don’t see getting the award as the end, I see it as recognition for what I’ve done.”

He still enjoys every minute he is on air and has no plans to quit. “The minute I feel this is work, then I will start thinking of retirement.”

He adds: “When you are behind the microphone, you feel you can do almost anything. And when you get that one message back that says, ‘Hey, that was funny’ or ‘Hey, you put a smile on my face’, the entire shift feels like a breeze.”

With his decades of experience, FD now mentors younger DJs at SPH Radio like The Owls (the night-time team on Kiss92’s weekday show from 8pm to midnight), dishing out advice on the fundamentals of presenting, such as how to keep your cool while on air, and skills like enunciation.

“As old-fashioned as this may sound, I feel that radio presenting is an aspirational job, meaning the listener wants to be like you, the listener wants to sound like you.”

He acknowledges that the media landscape has changed much since he started in the industry, but feels radio shows will always have their audience.

“You can give me podcasts, you can give me streaming, (but) nothing will kill the radio star. We’re that morning link for people, we’re that evening link for people in the office, we’re that voice that tells you it’s okay, life’s all right. As long as we can do that, we have a responsibility to do it right.”

Outside of radio, FD owns several businesses, including an events company, but they do not take up much of his time as they are run by his business partners. He also does not accept as many event hosting jobs as he used to as he prioritises his leisure time.

FD, who married homemaker Michelle Anne Seow in 1991, has four daughters in their 30s and 40s as well as four grandchildren. The oldest grandchild, who is in his early 20s, just finished national service in Singapore. The other three – aged two, four and six – are living with his second daughter in Australia.

“I sleep, I binge on Netflix, and I have nice weekends spent with my children, which is crazy important to me.”