Mr Goh Chok Tong reminisces about Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s ‘most awesome’ speech
Mr Goh Chok Tong arriving at the Istana to pay his respects on March 23, 2015. Photo: The Straits Times
SINGAPORE — In the midst of massive queues gathered near the Parliament House by members of the public who are keen on paying their last respects, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong chose to poignantly reminisce about Mr Lee’s impressive speeches in Parliament.
In a post on Facebook at about 4pm today (March 25), Mr Goh said he recalls “vividly” Mr Lee’s many speeches. The “most awesome” was the one he made in February 1977 at the old Parliament House, when Mr Goh had just been elected a Member of Parliament (MP), he noted.
Mr Lee had been speaking on the debate on the President’s Address, and he spoke for nearly 4 hours from 3.45pm to 7.30pm.
“I sat spell-bound in the back row. No one moved,” he said.
Mr Goh said Mr Lee ended his speech with a rider on psephology, asking why Marine Parade as a new HDB estate with more 5-room and 4-room flats, did worse electorally than another new estate Buona Vista. Marine Parade won with 76 per cent of the votes cast as compared with 81 per cent for Buona Vista.
“Was it because the candidate in Marine Parade was new while Ang Kok Peng was known, being a second term MP shifted from Crawford? Mr Lee did not provide the answer. He added that whoever could solve the riddle would have one of the qualifications to succeed him but only one,” he noted, adding that he rushed to the washroom after Mr Lee’s speech, with no time to think of the answer.
Earlier today, Mr Goh wrote that he could not restrain his tears when the gun carriage with Mr Lee’s hearse stopped at the Ceremonial Plaza at Istana, and a lone bag-piper played Auld Lang Syne.
He said: “Images of Mr Lee in the Istana floated through my mind. I could not restrain my tears...The hearse turned the corner and became out of sight. Farewell, Mr Lee.”
