Dr Goh, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, had been gravely ill with pneumonia since November. The infection turned critical over Christmas. -- PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN
AN ENTREPRENEUR, medical doctor and the author of the iconic Singaporean novel in English, Dr Goh Poh Seng, died of pneumonia in St Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, on Sunday. He was 73.
He is survived by his wife Margaret, who is in frail health, and four sons.
A memorial service for Dr Goh is being planned in Vancouver for the end of this month, according to eldest son Kasan, 46, an architect, who spoke to The Straits Times on the phone from Britain, where he is based.
Dr Goh, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, had been gravely ill with pneumonia since November. The infection turned critical over Christmas.
The Kuala Lumpur-born doctor was educated in Dublin and moved to Singapore in 1961. Apart from running his medical practice, he expressed his thoughts in poetry, prose and plays. He cultivated contemporaries such as literary pioneer Edwin Thumboo, 76, and nurtured writers such as Robert Yeo, 69, with his magazine Tumasek and a regular meeting of creative minds called Centre 65.
A prolific writer, his themes ranged from inter-racial marriage to the Japanese Occupation. His plays were the first to feature Singlish and his 1972 novel, If We Dream Too Long, won the inaugural National Book Development Council of Singapore Award for Fiction.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
