Mrs. Goh Chok Tong and Mrs. LKY

* Chart and verification below. If readers know of any inaccuracies, please contact me to verify the data. Thank you :)

Short Version: Mrs. Goh Chok Tong and Mrs. LKY were in the same law firm.

Longer Version:

1) Mrs. Goh Chok Tong (nee Tan Choo Leng) is well-known for commenting that the annual salary of S$600,000 drawn by National Kidney Foundation’s CEO was considered “peanuts.”

This is Tan Choo Leng’s profile page as a Senior Consultant in WongPartnership. Note the line:

“During her practice as a senior partner with another top law firm in Singapore. . .”

Tan Choo Leng, Senior Consultant | WongPartnership

Mysteriously, the above bio leaves out the fact that Lee & Lee law firm is the other “top law firm in Singapore” where Mrs. Goh Chok Tong was a senior partner.

Source: Business Times / NLB

2) In 1985, Goh Chok Tong commented that he was not worried of being viewed as a “seat-warmer” for the next Prime Minister.

Source: SG Monitor (8 May 1985)

3) Lee Hsien Loong was sworn in as Singapore’s third Prime Minister on 12 August 2004.

4) Ho Ching became the CEO of Singapore Technologies Engineering in 1997.

5) Winston Tan Tien Hin was a non-executive director of ST Engineering from 1997 – 2011.

6) Former Old Guard Chua Sian Chin’s wife was Alice Tan Kim Lian. He became a partner in Lee & Lee law firm in 1965. Mr. Chua had helmed the Health, Home Affairs and Education ministries.

7) These screenshots show that Winston Tan is the brother-in-law of Chua Sian Chin.

Chua Sian Chin is listed here as the son-in-law (who is married to Alice). Winston Tan Tien Hin and Alice Tan Kim Lian are siblings.

Source: ST.

Winston Tan from “Singapore Technologies Engineering”; same mother’s name as above image. Source: ST.

Wife = Alice Tan Kim Lian.

+ + +

SIDE NOTE:

A reader pointed out that “Tan Choo Leng was advising landlords as a senior partner (is that somehow related to why rental is so high in Singapore?).”

One wonders how much money a senior partner in Lee & Lee law firm makes, so much so that $600,000 is equivalent to peanuts.