PUBLISHED ONJuly 08, 2020 2:26 AMByBryan LimGoh Meng Seng might have organised the rally to get his message out to the masses, but it seemed like his eloquent and intelligent daughter stole the spotlight instead.
The secretary-general of People's Power Party (PPP) took to Facebook Live with the 17-year-old on July 7. Right off the bat, someone asked what were Goh's goals for MacPherson SMC, which he is contesting — and he passed the question to his daughter in jest.
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"I think you should be the one answering that," Shirin quipped, but stated her observation that the constituency has a lot of people "at an older age" and there are those who "might not have the best economic ability to support themselves".
As for Goh, his answer focused on infrastructure, adding that MacPherson needs more community hospitals as there's a huge population of elderly folks. He took the opportunity to advocate for "proper covered walkways" while his daughter pointed out that mobility for the elderly, especially those in wheelchairs, are a problem as the roads are "designed quite weirdly".
When it came to his plans for the nation, Goh confessed: "I'm always very concerned about the HDB problem. The asset enhancement problem that caused the inadequate CPF for retirement. It happens that these two problems are very critical in MacPherson."
The e-rally turned out to be more of a Q&A session, and it proved to be a shrewd move on Goh's part to include his daughter on the livestream as she helped to add on to her father's answers and even fielded some questions herself.
When a netizen accused Goh of "poisoning" his daughter's young mind, she replied smoothly: "I will say that I can't agree because everyone is right to have an opinion as long as it's not harming other people. And I think it's good to have an open mind to everyone's opinion because that will make you have a more comprehensive view on anything that's happening around you."
Goh also clarified that both father and daughter have "a lot of disagreements" on their views on different topics.
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"I don't impose my views on my kids. She thinks for herself what is right and what is wrong, what is moral and what is immoral," he replied.
Shirin also took a question on environmental issues by referencing an incentive programme in Hong Kong — she lived there before moving to Singapore at the age of 14.
"I think incentive is one thing, but the other thing is also that in Singapore, you can't really find an easy way to recycle things except for putting them in recycling bins. But because everything doesn't seem that organised, people don't really know how they're actually helping the environment," she explained.
A heartfelt moment came when Goh was explaining his stance on the salary for Members of Parliament (MPs) and his daughter vouched for Goh's humble personality.
"In terms of salary and just money in general, he's never materialistic. Like he has really simple meals as long as they're yummy and he has shirts for like 10 years and they have holes in it. So, money is never really a big concern for him. So I definitely think he's going to use this salary, or allowance, to effectively help the community," she said.
It was also apparent that Shirin won the hearts of netizens on the livestream as some asked if she has a boyfriend (no, she doesn't) while others praised her for her smarts and potential.
And when asked if the father-daughter duo bond over politics, the younger Goh said: "Yeah, a little bit. We definitely disagree with each other sometimes, but that's because of our cultural background, that's because of our age. The way that we approach stuff is different."
"He always teaches me how to view things in a more comprehensive way and actually think from the opponent's point of view even though sometimes you can find it ridiculous. But still, it's important to consider their opinion so that confirm bias won't happen," she added.
bryanlim@asiaone.com