Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh has paid tribute to Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong via a Facebook post on June 26, a day after the second prime minister of Singapore announced his retirement from electoral politics.

In his post, Pritam recounted how he was put at ease in the parliament chamber after encountering Goh, the tallest minister and MP in Singapore's history.

This was after Parliament reconvened in 2018 and Pritam, who took over as new secretary-general of the WP, occupied his predecessor Low Thia Khiang's seat in the the People's Action Party-dominated front bench.

In his jocular fashion and easy manner, Goh greeted Pritam: "Congratulations on your demotion! Previously you were sitting higher up, now you have come down!"

This brief ice-breaker was enough for Pritam, who recounted how that made him feel at that time: "I appreciated his good humour and it went some way that day to put things into perspective for me."

Pritam also said Goh would ask about Low's well-being following his bad fall at home and traumatic head injury,

The WP chief also praised Goh for his openness in being willing to deal with the opposition.

Pritam wrote: "In the Parliament member's lounge and on more than one occasion, ESM Goh has shared his thoughts with me on issues like the Government's position on the reserves, how race was employed cynically in past elections by some, amongst other matters."

"I have my own views about many of these matters shared by ESM Goh," Pritam continued, but said it "said something of the man" to engage WP MPs as a whole in such a manner.

You can read Pritam's post here:

https://www.facebook.com/pritam.eunos/posts/3239269532762004