Dr Goh: A man of many talents, he was also a political scientist, academician and writer.
PETALING JAYA: Former Gerakan stalwart Datuk Dr Goh Cheng Teik was an advocate for moderation whose ideals of multiracialism are just as relevant in Malaysia today.
According to Dr Francis Loh Kok Wah, chairman of the Board of Governors and Managers of St Xavier’s Institution, Dr Goh was someone who "detested extremists and religious bigots but believed in working towards moderation from within the system".
"In a way, this was the original Gerakan goal, which was to fight for multiracialism from within Barisan Nasional – a noble goal but one fraught with frustrations, no doubt.
"Nonetheless, in the aftermath of May 13, Cheng Teik believed in working from within the BN. More than that, he also believed that he first learnt his moderation in school at St Xavier’s," said Dr Loh in a tribute to the late Dr Goh in an Aliran column on Friday (March 22).
Dr Loh added that Dr Goh's "most important" publication was The May 13 Incident and Democracy in Malaysia, a slim monograph published by Oxford University Press, where he analysed that tragic event and warned us of the dangers of extremism and advocated for consensus and moderation.
"Our present-day students have much to learn from Datuk Dr Goh Cheng Teik – an honest and hardworking politician, a thinker and scholar who believed in multiracialism and moderation," said Dr Loh.
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