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Goh Chok Tong

Singapore ― Since retiring from politics last year, Goh Chok Tong has shared snapshots of his life on social media, often doling out bits of advice or words of wisdom for people to follow.

As of late though, the former Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM)’s posts have gotten rather cryptic, even verging on morbid. In two separate Facebook posts on Saturday (Oct 16) and Sunday (Oct 17), Mr Goh talked about walking “the last mile” of life.

Mr Goh’s post on Saturday was more melancholy than anything, where he shared the first verse of a Nat King Cole song, ‘The Autumn Leaves’, along with a photo of himself and Mrs Goh.

The verse read:

“The falling leaves drift by my window,
The autumn leaves of red and gold.
I see your lips, the summer kisses

The sunburned hands I used to hold.”

Accompanying the song lyrics and the photo, Mr Goh wrote: “As we age, like leaves, our hair fall. But no time to lament, no time to die”.

“Let the fallen leaves be the carpet as you walk the last mile of your lives blissfully”, he added.

In another post on Sunday (Oct 17), Mr Goh continued the theme of death. He shared the following quote by Amit Ray: “In every change, in every falling leaf there is some pain, some beauty. And that’s the way new leaves grow.”

Mr Goh added: “That applies to people too. We eventually fall away. Most of us feel the pain but fail to see the beauty. The beauty is in our memories, the family we love, the friends we share laughter with, and in making way for new leaves”.

/TISG