Public criticism arose over confusion surrounding Huang's change of surname prior to the
2020 Singaporean general election. Of Chinese Indonesian descent, Huang's birth name was
Shawn Wei Zhong Ingkiriwang. According to Huang, his great-grandfather, an
Indonesian Chinese, had changed the original Chinese surname "
Huang" to the more
Indonesian-sounding "Ingkiriwang", as Chinese Indonesians faced
social and political pressure to adopt Indonesian-style names. In 1989, Huang executed a
deed poll in Singapore to revert to the original surname "Huang". However, due to what he described as administrative confusion, he continued to be publicly identified as "Ingkiriwang" as late as 2018, including when he served as parade commander for Singapore's 53rd
National Day Parade (NDP). Another controversy emerged over Huang's conduct during that same NDP rehearsal, where reports alleged that he had thrown lunch boxes at a fellow military volunteer after not receiving his own. Huang later denied the allegation, stating that he had returned the lunch boxes politely, with two
warrant officers (WOs) serving as witnesses. On this occasion, Huang declined to comment and limited interactions on his social media platforms, while the group was later disbanded. == Awards ==