Ex-presidential candidate and former CEO of NTUC Income Tan Kin Lian took to his Facebook today (8 August) to mock Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong for not attending the Raffles Institution’s gathering.
In his post, Mr Tan posted a picture of a group of people and said that “this is a gathering of Old Rafflesians”.
He added that he saw Dr Tan Cheng Bock, Secretary General of Progress Singapore Party (PSP) at the gathering but could not spot ESM Goh. Sarcastically, he wrote that the former Prime Minister “must have lost his way”.
The phrase “lost his way” was recently said by ESM Goh towards Dr Tan in a Facebook post, indicating the latter’s political decision of leaving the People’s Action Party (PAP) to start up an opposition party (PSP).
ESM Goh said, “Tan Cheng Bock was my classmate in Raffles Institution. I have known him close for over 60 years. It saddens me to see how he has lost his way”.
He added, “He is like Don Quixote tilting at windmills”, which means attacking imaginary enemies, based on an expression in the Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes.
Upon reading Mr Tan’s post, many applauded his sense of humour as he inserted the right phrase at the right time. Many also agreed with Mr Tan and said that ESM Goh has indeed “lost his way”. Some even said he has actually “lost his mind” due to old age.
Others said that ESM Goh will never be seen in such an event because it is not up to his standards. They explained that he will only mingle with people from an ivory tower, and not attend events that will have these “mediocre peasants”.
