10 Facts About Goh Chok Tong, The Veteran Politician Who’s Retiring from Politics

(Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article mentioned that GST is the brainchild of Mr Goh Chok Tong. That is incorrect and while he did implement it during his tenure as PM, it was the brainchild of Mr Richard Hu, the minister of finance from 1985 to 2001. We apologise for any confusion caused.)

I’m pretty sure this man needs no introduction.

He is Mr Goh Chok Tong, our former PM and an MP of Marine Parade GRC for 44 years.

On 25 Jun, he shocked everyone in Singapore by announcing his retirement from politics, saying that he won’t be taking part in GE 2020.

Here are 10 facts about the man who has impacted our lives in so many ways.

1. The Younger Goh Chok Tong

Everything has to start from somewhere, so let’s go all the way back to the beginning.

Mr Goh Chok Tong was born on 20 May 1941. In his younger days, he was known as ‘Bold’ and is a competitive swimmer.

Mr Goh was brought into politics by then Minister for Finance Hon Sui Sen who persuaded him to join the 1976’s General Election as a PAP candidate.

In that election, Mr Goh, at the age of 35, was elected as an MP for Marine Parade SMC and has served the Marine Parade area as their MP for 44 years since.

2. He Could’ve Left Civil Service In 1965

He studied at a neighbourhood school in Pasir Panjang and went on to study at Raffles Institution.

After that, he went on to get a degree from the University of Singapore (now known as NUS) and successfully obtained a scholarship for a master’s degree.

Unfortunately, two weeks into his postgraduate studies, he was told he cannot continue as the Public Service Commission did not want to release him from government service.

He returned to civil service in 1964. A year later in 1965, he managed to get a job at Shell and was planning to leave civil service but was persuaded not to leave by then-DPM Goh Keng Swee.

He eventually stayed and managed to obtain a Master’s degree from Williams College in Massachusetts, USA.

3. Tony Tan Could’ve Been Our Second Prime Minister

Imagine a Singapore which has Mr Tony Tan (yes, our previous president) as our prime minister.

That was what could’ve happened.

When Mr Lee Kuan Yew was choosing a successor, Mr Goh wasn’t his first choice; he had wanted Mr Tony Tan to take over his position.

To Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong has a tendency to please everyone and is awkward with crowds.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew had even denounced Mr Goh’s abilities, calling him ‘wooden’ in public and televised speeches.

In the end, he decided to give in to the second generation of PAP leaders’ opinions, including Tony Tan, who wants Mr Goh in the hot seat.

4. A More ‘Open-Minded’ & ‘Consultative’ Leading Style

When Mr Goh took over as prime minister, he promised that he would be more open-minded and consultative than Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

While Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s governing style was described as ‘no-nonsense authoritarian’, Mr Goh’s was described as ‘consultative and consensual’.

He helped to give the impression of a ‘softening’ government rule with his relaxed and affable personality and set up initiatives like the Feedback Unit in Mar 1985, as well as the Institute of Policy Studies in Dec 1987.

Mr Goh Chok Tong served as Singapore’s second prime minister from 1990 to 2004.

5. You Can Thank Him For The Goods & Services Tax

If you’ve wondered when GST started, it was implemented in 1994 when he was prime minister, according to NLB’s e-resource.

The GST was thought up by Mr Richard Hu, Singapore’s then-minister of finance (1985-2001), and introduced in 1994 in an effort to switch from income-based taxes to consumption-based taxes.

Basically, instead of taking money from you based on how much you earned, they take it away from you based on how much you buy.

The GST was applied even on basic necessities needed in everyday life and were offset by reductions in various other taxes like the income tax, motor vehicle tax, more grants and subsidies.

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6. He Grew Singapore’s Economy By 89.6% As PM

When Mr Goh Chok Tong was Prime Minister, he helped Singapore’s economy grow by an average of 6.4%.

That’s a whopping 89.6% (if we multiply 6.4 by 14 years of PM-ship).

What made this even more impressive is that during his tenure as PM, there were two major events that shook the entire year: the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak.

Unfortunately, Singapore’s rapid economic growth also resulted in rising income inequality, which he tried to solve in various different ways.

7. Tackling Income Equality

One way he tried to do so is to arm every Singaporean with the education required to succeed in the knowledge-based economy.

In 1993, the Edusave scheme was started, which gives grants and scholarships to students with exceptional performance.

This way, it’s not only the rich kids who have the money to further enrich themselves.

In 1996, the Skills Redevelopment Programme was started which allows workers to upgrade their skills.

PRIME (Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools) was set up to improve Singapore’s schools and our education in 1999.

In 2003, the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) was set up to ensure that Singapore’s workforce remains competitive since we depend on MNCs coming in to invest and set up their operations)

And in 2004, he rolled out the Home Ownership + Education Scheme. Sounds chim, but all you need to know is the HDB housing grants, education, skills training that we all have today?

It’s all due to him and his team.

8. The Walking Friendster Of S’pore

I would’ve used Facebook or Instagram but, well, you know, we have to take into account his age. #JustSaying

When he was the prime minister, Singapore became good friends with everybody.

He managed to create a forum involving ASEAN, China, Japan, Korea and the European Forum.

When Michael Fay was caned and the US got pissed off, he managed to smooth things over.

He also managed to sign a Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US in 2003 on his birthday month (May).

Even after he stepped down as PM, he travelled extensively and helped Singapore cultivate important relationships:

• Established economic ties with the Middle-East
• Made Singapore and Australia become good friends
• Upgraded the friendship status of Japan and Singapore from ‘Good Friends’ to ‘Very Good Friends’.

9. Mentored Many People In Politics

Having been a veteran in Singapore politics for many, many years, you can bet that a great many leaders we have today might’ve been because of him.

And you’re right.

For one, he brought PM Lee Hsien Loong into politics:

Singapore’s first female president too:

And speaker Tan Chuan-Jin:

10. Who’s Going To Take Over Him At Marine Parade

Right, so ESM Goh, who’s been a common sight in Marine Parade (SMC, then GRC), is going off, who’s going to take over him.

He has named his successor and said that he hopes Dr Tan See Leng will take over his position and represent the constituency well.

Dr Tan has been an understudy for Mr Goh for the past two years and was involved in many meet-the-people sessions as well as many social projects in the area.

Dr Tan, after the announcement, said that he is honoured and has ‘big shoes to fill’.

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