ESM Goh Publishes Volume 1 of Authorised Biography

From left: Mr Max Phua (Managing Director, WSPC), Professor K K Phua (Chairman, WSPC), Mr Peh Shing Huei (Author), PM Lee Hsien Loong, ESM Goh Chok Tong, Professor Tan Eng Chye (President, NUS), Professor Danny Quah (Dean, LKYSPP)

Published by homegrown international publisher World Scientific, a new book documenting the story of Goh Chok Tong's life and career was launched on Thursday, 8 November 2018 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The book, titled "Tall Order: The Goh Chok Tong Story", is written by Singapore Literature Prize-winning author Peh Shing Huei.

The event was attended by current and former members of the Singapore cabinet, including Deputy Prime Ministers Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Former President of the Republic of Singapore, Dr Tony Tan also graced the occasion. More than 120 guests were in attendance.

Speaking at the launch, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared that he had known ESM Goh for more than 40 years, but worked more closely after he was posted to the General Staff in 1981. He acknowledged ESM as his mentor and comrade, and expressed his hope for the changing of guards to be "just as smooth and sure-footed".

Even though Lee Kuan Yew had encouraged him to write, ESM Goh decided even before he became Prime Minister that he would not write any memoirs. However, he changed his mind after long-time grassroots leaders and personal friends suggested an authorised biography. Despite not being a "born politician", he credits his mentors Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee, S Rajaratnam, Hon Sui Sen and Lim Kim San for giving him the training and experience needed to run a country. He hopes his story will encourage the present and future generations of "technocrats" to serve their country.

Thanking author Peh Shing Huei, ESM Goh praised his "easy-to-read, unpretentious, questions-and-answers" style.

Royalties from the sale of the book will be donated to two charities: EduGrow for Brighter Tomorrows and Mediacorp Enable Fund. There will also be a separate book launch for charity on 21 November.

About the author

Peh Shing Huei is a Singapore Literature Prize-winning author of several books, including the No. 1 bestseller Neither Civil Nor Servant: The Philip Yeo Story. He is a founding partner of content agency The Nutgraf, and former news editor and China bureau chief at The Straits Times.

Other books written and co-written by the author: Dream Island: The Mad, Mad World of Philip Yeo; Project 0812: The Inside Story of Singapore's Journey to Olympic Glory; Rings of Stars and Crescent: 70 Years of the Olympic Movement in Singapore; When the Party Ends: China's Leaps and Stumbles after the Beijing Olympics; Struck by Lightning: Singaporean Voices Post-1965.

As the largest privately-held Singapore publisher and a leading independent publisher of books and journals for the scholarly, research and professional communities, World Scientific collaborates with prestigious organisations like the Nobel Foundation and US National Academies Press to bring high quality academic and professional content to researchers and academics worldwide. The company publishes about 600 books annually and 135 journals in various fields. To find out more about World Scientific, please visit www.worldscientific.com.