Presidential Hopeful George Goh’s Panel Includes His Malay Tutor
On Friday afternoon (4 Aug), Mr George Goh took questions from the press at Sheraton Towers, after an eventful morning at the Elections Department (ELD).
Joining him were 10 panellists, all “normal Singaporeans” who have rubbed shoulders with the presidential hopeful.
Mr Goh noted though, that the individuals on the panel are not his team of assentors.
Among those on the panel is Dr Bahri Rajib, who is Mr Goh’s Malay tutor.
As it turns out, Mr Goh is taking weekly Malay lessons — on top of all the preparations he’s had to make for the elections.
George Goh learns Malay on top of elections preparation
Dr Bahri Rajib is a retired Malay linguist with over 40 years of teaching experience with the Ministry of Education (MOE).
He has taught students of all ages, from primary school to junior college, and now, it seems, 53-year-old Mr Goh.
Speaking about Mr Goh’s attitude as a student of the language, Dr Bahri said that his efforts are “commendable” — especially since the former is a “traditionally non-Malay speaking” person.
Mr Goh’s tutor also praised his dedication to learning the Malay language, saying:
Every week during our lessons, I observe his improvemens and genuine love for the language.
Learning Malay is just one of many things on Mr Goh’s plate at the moment. Prior to this, the presidential hopeful also reportedly took English pronunciation lessons from former radio DJ Rose Tan, noted The Straits Times (ST).
Speaking to MS News about the work that went into preparing his eligibility papers, he said:
The three files is in total, 38 items. It’s a lot of documents to satisfy and [I] need to search the archives because my business has been going [on] for a long time, since 1982.
He also said that one of the companies he’s submitting to the ELD for consideration was from 1990.
Mr Goh isn’t the type to moan and groan about the hard work, though.
“I need to do my work to convince them,” he said resolutely.
In fact, part of the work he did was to prove the source of his funds — a process that he likened to tracing the “family tree”.
Luckily, Mr Goh also has supporters, whom he calls his “senior advisors”, who kindly offered to vet the papers.
George Goh assembles panel of ‘everyday heroes’ including Malay tutor
It’s no doubt that Mr Goh has made an impact on the people he has met over the years.
Panellists shared heartwarming anecdotes of their interactions with him, like hawker Hajjah Roziah Adon, who recalled the moment when the presidential hopeful attended her grandson’s birthday party.
She hadn’t expected Mr Goh to turn up to what she described as a party “at the HDB void deck”.
Meanwhile, Mr Jack Lai, a disabled athlete who has represented Singapore internationally, also vouched for Mr Goh’s down-to-earth character.
He pointed out Mr Goh’s ability to “rub shoulders with everybody” and “mix with people”.
Madam Roziah, Mr Lai and Dr Bahri were part of a panel that has been carefully picked to symbolise what the presidential hopeful feels is the “Heart of Singapore”.
An interesting pool of potential candidates
Mr Goh’s unconventional approach with his choice of panellists definitely draws attention.
That said, it’ll be interesting to see his actual team of assentors which will include his proposer and seconder.
Like Mr Goh, 75-year-old Mg Ng Kok Song has yet to reveal his team of assentors — though he has also submitted his eligibility papers. The same can be said for Dr Tan Kin Lian.
On the other hand, former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has not submitted his eligibility documents but has revealed his team of assentors.
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All images by MS News. Photography by Chankit Pongdhana.
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