Singapore PM Goh bids farewell
Singapore PM Goh bids farewell
Jason Szep, Reuters, Singapore
Singapore's prime minister of 14 years, Goh Chok Tong, will bid farewell as leader on Sunday ahead of the island's second transition of power next week, paving the way for the return of a tougher leadership style.
After presiding over a period of relative liberalism in the rigid city-state, Goh gives a final address on Sunday -- one of the last steps in an elaborately scripted succession that aims to underline Singapore's reputation for stability and efficiency.
Goh officially hands power to Lee Hsien Loong -- son of modern Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew -- on Thursday.
For many Singaporeans, the exit of the affable Goh marks the end of a populist style of leadership that helped the wealthy island's 4 million people cushion economic downturns and became synonymous with a gradual opening up of Singapore society.
From broadcasts of racy U.S. television sitcom Sex and the City to bar-top dancing and a partial end to a ban on chewing gum, Singaporeans have witnessed a steady easing in the nation's famously strict social controls under Goh.
"He's very folksy," said 22-year student Lam Yishan. "He had humble beginnings and this helped him connect with people in a grassroots way."
In his staccato Hokkien-accented speech, the tall, lanky, 63- year-old Goh -- who entered politics after running a shipping company -- forged a consultative approach aimed at softening the long-ruling People's Action Party's authoritarian image.
Most Singaporeans expect no formal change in government policy but say the 53-year-old Lee will struggle to measure up in terms of popularity and many expect a sterner, no-nonsense style of governing in the mold of Lee's father.
Difference in style
"I would not expect a major change in terms of policy content during Lee's administration," said Dr Ho Khai Leong of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. "However, I think there will be some kind of changes in style. After all, Lee has a very different personality from Goh."
"So in that regard, people's expectations would be that Lee will have to adjust accordingly, from a more authoritarian, a stiffer, aloof public persona to a more accommodative, more friendly, and ready-to-smile personality like that of Goh."
Goh has tried to bring a more grassroots approach to politics, introducing a system where members of parliament affiliated with the PAP must first approve the prime minister before he takes office.
That marked a step towards democratization of the PAP, which holds all but two parliamentary seats.
Goh's popularity did not come easily. Initially dismissed as a "seat warmer" for the Lee family, he had to fight his way out of the shadow of Lee Yuan Yew, who is still one of Singapore's most powerful and respected politicians as Senior Minister.
Goh's election debut as leader in 1991 saw the ruling PAP -- which has monopolized power since independence in 1965 -- lose an unprecedented four seats in what was then an 81-seat parliament. Its share of the vote hit an all-time low of 61 percent.
Goh roared back in 1997 in an election he once described as his watershed by leading the PAP to 81 of 83 seats with 65 percent of the vote as the trained economist gained quiet respect from an increasingly affluent electorate.
The one-time shipping executive, married to a lawyer and father of two, was the senior Lee's second choice. "Chok Tong was not a natural politician," Lee wrote in his memoirs of the man he once dubbed as "wooden".
Lee had earmarked Tony Tan as his successor but the former government scholar chose the private sector instead. Tan rejoined the cabinet in 1995 and is now deputy prime minister and Coordinating Minister for Security and Defense.
But Goh has also shown a harder edge, following in Lee Kuan Yew's footsteps with legal action against those, including political opponents, he felt had made defamatory remarks. Costs and damages ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars.