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Goh Chok Tong. Photo by Helene C. Stikkel.

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Goh Chok Tong

Goh Chok Tong, born on 20^th May of 1941, served as Singapore鈥檚 deputy prime minister between 1990 and 2004 and as the second prime minister between 1990 and 2004.   He was appointed as Emeritus Senior Minister after his retirement from Cabinet.

 Prior to serving in these positions, Goh Chok Tong served as the Member of Parliament representing and for 32 years and 12 years respectively. Goh Chok Tong is the only former prime minister of Singapore who is still living.

Discussed below are the top 10 fascinating facts about Goh Chok Tong.

1. Goh Chok Tong Served as a Member of Parliament for Over 4 Decades

Goh Chok Tong. Photo By R. D. Ward.

Known in his younger days as 鈥淏old鈥� and a competitive swimmer, Mr. Goh was persuaded to join politics in 1976鈥檚 General Election as a PAP candidate by Hon Sui Sen who was then Minister of Finance.  

Mr Goh was elected to represent Marine Parade SMC at the age of 35 years in 1975. After his successful entry into politics in 1975, Mr. Goh went on to represent the Marine Parade area for over 4 decades.

2. Goh鈥檚 Long Public Service Career Almost Ended Around 1965

Sometime during his long public service career, Mr. Goh successfully obtained a scholarship to study for a master鈥檚 degree after getting a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of Singapore.

Unfortunately, he was informed that the Public Service Commission did not want to release him from government service after only two weeks into his postgraduate studies. This made him return to civil service around 1964.

He again almost left the civil service in 1965 after getting a job at Shell. It took the intervention and persuasion of the then deputy prime minister, Mr. Goh Keng Swee to persuade him not to leave the civil service.

3. Goh Was Not the Preferred Successor of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew

Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, preferred Mr. Tony Tan over Mr Goh Chok Tong as his successor.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew alleged that Mr. Goh was unfit to succeed him because he was awkward with crowds and tended to please everyone. In his televised speeches and even in public, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew referred to Mr. Goh as being 鈥渨ooden鈥� while denouncing his abilities.

However, most second-generation PAP leaders including Mr. Tony Tan, who was Mr. Lee Kuan Yew鈥檚 preferred successor, supported Mr. Goh which eventually led to his appointment as the second prime minister of Singapore.

4.Goh Chok Tong鈥檚 Leadership Style Was Different from That of His Predecessor

While his predecessor鈥檚 leadership style was a no-nonsense authoritarian style, Mr. Goh鈥檚 leadership style was open-minded, consensual and consultative. 

With his relaxed and affable personality, Mr. Goh helped to give the impression of a 鈥榮oftening鈥� government rule. Mr. Goh set up the Institute of Policy Studies in December 1987 after the Feedback unit which was set up in 1985.

5. Goh Implemented a Revolutionary Tax

The goods and services tax (GST) in Singapore was implemented in 1994 during the reign of Mr. Goh. The tax was the brainchild of the then minister of finance Mr. Richard Hu.  The GST tax was an effort to switch to consumption-based taxes from income-based taxes.

The GST tax was basically aimed at taking money from people based on how much they bought rather than how much they earned. The GST tax was applied on basic daily necessities that people required. The government offset the tax by providing subsidies and grants and also by reductions in income tax and vehicle taxes among others.

6.Despite Major Global challenges, He Grew the Economy By 89.6% In 14 Years

Economic growth. Photo by Abhilasha369.

Mr. Goh grew the economy of Singapore by 6.4% on average every year when he was the prime minister. This implies that within the 14 years he was in power, Mr. Goh, grew the economy by a whopping 89.6% in total.

Mr. Goh grew the economy of Singapore despite the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and the Asian financial crisis in 1997; the two events which shook the region.

7. Goh Put in Place Measures to Reverse Rising Income Inequality

Growth in the economy however resulted in high levels of income inequality which Mr. Goh attempted to reverse. To reverse the inequality, Mr Goh enhanced access to education which he believed was required to succeed in an economy driven by knowledge in several ways.

He started Edusave scheme to provide grants and scholarships to students who had demonstrated outstanding performance in 1993. This scheme was aimed at ensuring children from poor backgrounds have an opportunity to further their education.

To enable workers, upgrade their skills, he started the Skills Redevelopment Programme in 1996.  He started another programme to improve Singapore鈥檚 schools and education in 1999 called 鈥淧rogramme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools鈥�

He set up a government agency to ensure Singapore鈥檚 workers were competitive as the country relied on multinational corporations to invest in the country called the 鈥淲orkforce Development Agency鈥� in 2003.

To enhance home ownership, he set up the Home Ownership and Education Scheme in 2004.  The scheme provided housing grants and education and skills training.  All these were strategies that Mr. Goh put in place to address rising income inequality.

8.Goh Made Singapore More Likable Internationally

President Bush and Mr.Goh. Photo by Eric Draper.

Singapore become friendlier with many countries and regions such as China, Japan, Korea and European Forum during his reign as the prime minister.  He created a forum with these countries which assisted in cultivating and maintaining friendly relations.

He helped Singapore cultivate important relationships with the Middle -East, Australia and Japan by establishing trade ties.

9.Goh Mentored Many People in The Politics of Singapore

Goh Chok Tong. Photo by Nurlan Meir.

During his long stint in public service as a prominent politician, Mr. Goh mentored many of the great leaders in modern day Singapore.

 He is the one who brought the incumbent prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, as well as the current female president of Singapore into politics.

10. Goh Has Mentored His Preferred Successor for His Parliamentary Seat

Mr. Goh named Dr. Tan See Leng as his preferred successor at the constituency level which was unprecedented.

Dr Tan was mentored by Mr. Goh for about two years during which he accompanied him in meet-the-people tours as well as in many social projects at Marine Parade