An announcement was made by Opera singer, philanthropist and entrepreneur that he will be running for the presidency, putting several months of speculation to an end.
The second person to throw his hat into the ring for the upcoming presidential election is entrepreneur George Goh who made his intentions known in a press statement on Monday.
If found eligible, Mr. Goh will be squaring up at the polls against Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
The 63-year-old Mr. Goh is Group Executive Chairman of a Singapore Exchange-listed company named Ossia International, that deals in consumer products such as apparel and footwear is an Entrepreneur.
Ossia International has averaged about $50m from 2021 to 2023 in shareholder equity according to market data from the Wall Street Journal. His personal website shows that Mr. Goh has owned 7 listed companies across Singapore, Australia and Britain including the company running the sports retail store World of Sports.
Mr. Goh has owned more than 100 companies across the Asia Pacific, the United States and Europe, during his 40 years as an entrepreneur, stated the website.
Mr. Goh and his wife Lysa Sumali were the co-founders of Border Mission, in 2015. Border Mission is a charity that supports those in need in the Himalayan region, Singapore and developing countries.
According to the website the charity has worked with centres to assist people with disabilities to meet their specific living needs, reached out to elderly cardboard collectors to help advocate for better prices for their collected items, and to provide better trolleys.
Mr. Goh has also made several trips to the Himalayas to provide community care, educational and medical outreach in the region. Mr. Goh is an executive board member of the Presbyterian Preschool Services, a council member at the Red Cross and Society and Presbyterian Community Services. He is an adviser to a non-governmental organisation Puan Noor Aishah Intercultural Institute set up in 2020 to foster cultural fusion. He has also held the post of non-resident ambassador to Morocco since 2017 and was renewed for a second term in September 2020 as ambassador.
He said he had tendered his resignation on Monday to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so as to ensure his independence as a candidate.
Mr. Goh received a degree in music performance in 2022 from Trinity College London and showcased his opera singing chops in a recent video with Salt & Light, a local Christian publication.
Mr. Goh has stated that it had been twelve long years of juggling his career and studying, undergoing hard work and surgery prior to receiving his graduate diploma/honours degree in Music Performance. He had needed surgery in 2016 for polyps on his vocal chords which is a death blow for the majority of tenors. He was given the all-clear to resume singing two and a half months following surgery and in 2022 he graduated as the oldest member of his cohort.
Mr. Goh has stated on his website that he enjoys swimming, gardening, classical singing and jogging. Mr. Goh spoke about the importance of Christianity to him in the interview with Salt & Light. He says that no matter how hard he works, it could even be 16 or 18-hour days but he always finds the time to serve in the church because he said that a balance is needed between work and serving.
Mr. Goh added that he has been singing in the church choir for over 40 years, combining his love for both his faith and for singing.
Ms. Sumali is Mr. Goh’s second wife with whom he shares a daughter, Ingrid. His first wife passed away when he was 40. He has three children named Joanna, Jovina and Johnathan from his first marriage
Mr. Goh regularly posts his children’s achievements on his Facebook page. His website states that he grew up with 8 siblings in a small kampong and a brother who died at four weeks old while two of his sisters had to be given away since his parents could not afford them.
It was reported that Mr. Goh and his wife had purchased a black and white bungalow in 2009 for the family, at Holland Park.
Mr. Goh has been posting regular updates including meetings or meals with prominent personalities like actor filmmaker Jack Neo, national swimmers Theresa Goh, Joseph Schooling and Yip Pin Xiu.
