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‘Three Lees is too much’: Goh Chok Tong on leading Singapore after Lee Kuan Yew
- Singapore’s second prime minister was tasked with leading the Lion City between the reigns of Lee the father and Lee the son
- He had a vital, but underappreciated, mission: showing there was life after the death of a legend
Reading Time:13 minutes
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“You want to know the story of this?” Goh Chok Tong says as he plucks at the grey fabric on his chest.
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It is not often that a former prime minister volunteers to share his fashion choices, so you say yes, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. He had worn a similar top in black at a public event the previous evening, getting people talking.
So, yes, how did Goh, a Chinese Singaporean, end up wearing a Nehru (or is it a Modi) vest? The garment is a sleeveless jacket that keeps him warm against the air conditioning that envelops indoor Singapore. He had it made in India, he says; when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw him wearing it, four more vests arrived in the post.
The story harks back to 1994 when Goh spearheaded Singapore’s efforts to forge economic links with India, then in the throes of liberalisation. Goh was credited with starting an “India fever” in the Lion City.
“So now maybe I start an India fashion fever,” he says, beaming.
If clothes maketh a man, Goh’s sartorial choices speak of a willingness to be himself. More than most leaders, Goh had to work consciously on how to distinguish himself from his predecessor, because of who the previous premier was – the larger-than-life Lee Kuan Yew, who led Singapore for 31 years.
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