Group helping elderly cardboard collectors back George Goh’s presidential bid

SINGAPORE: ‘Happy People Helping People’ (HPHP), a prominent community group dedicated to helping the elderly poor, has backed entrepreneur and philanthropist George Goh Ching Wah after he put himself forth as a prospective candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

For the past several years, HPHP has been working to help the elderly who cannot find proper jobs to make ends meet. Providing the elderly with basic necessities like daily meals, money to pay their bills and monthly outings, the non-profit community organisation also spreads awareness of how many elderly individuals struggling with poverty resort to working as cardboard or used can collectors to survive.

Revealing that Mr Goh has been supporting their group over the past few years, HPHP said on Wednesday (14 June) that the presidential hopeful has financially supported HPHP events, donated trolleys to elderly cardboard collectors and even invited HPHP volunteers to his home for a Chinese New Year dinner.

Welcoming Mr Goh’s plans to run for President if he is found eligible, HPHP vouched for him in a Facebook post and said, “We believe Mr George is the right person to run for President as we know he genuinely cares for Singaporeans.”

The group added, “We wish Mr George all the best! We are behind you, Mr George Goh! GO GEORGE GOH!”

Mr Goh, who is chairman of Ossia International – the company that brought Australian home appliance brand Harvey Norman to Singapore – has owned seven listed companies across Singapore, Britain and Australia.

Aside from his chairman post at Ossia International, a prominent local listed company, and his former diplomatic role as Singapore’s non-resident ambassador to Morocco – a role he resigned from to make his bid for the presidency – Mr Goh is known for his extensive contributions to philanthropy, corporate leadership, diplomacy, and education.

Notably, in 2015, the self-made entrepreneur and his wife Lysa Sumali established the charitable organization, Border Mission, which focuses on helping the underprivileged in local communities, the Himalayas, and developing countries.

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