SINGAPORE, June 25 — Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong will not be standing in the coming General Election on July 10.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong dated yesterday, Goh, 79, said that he had made the decision “after much thought and with a heavy heart”, having served as Member of Parliament for the Marine Parade constituency for more than four decades.
“Marine Parade is my second home. I love the people... Many have urged me to stand for another term. But I should not. I would not have the same energy when I cross into my 80s,” Goh said.
He added that it had been his “greatest honour and privilege” to have served the People’s Action Party, the residents of Marine Parade and all Singaporeans for the past 44 years.
“I will continue to contribute to Singapore in other ways,” Singapore’s second prime minister wrote.
In a letter today, PM Lee said that he accepted Goh’s retirement decision “with sadness” and thanked him for his “calm and steady” leadership through crises such as the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s and the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak.
“Your contributions continued after you stepped down as PM. In Parliament, you weighed in during key debates, including on integrated resorts and ministerial salaries,” Lee wrote.
“You guided the younger Members of Parliament, providing them with historical perspective and inculcating in them the values and ethics of public service.”
Goh was first elected into Parliament in 1976 and was re-elected in nine subsequent general elections.
Between 1979 and 1990, he served as the minister of various ministries including trade and industry, health and defence.
He was appointed deputy prime minister in 1985 and succeeded Lee Kuan Yew in November 1990 as Singapore’s second prime minister — a post he held from 1990 to 2004. — TODAY
