He became one of the founding members of the Democratic Action Party after the separation where the PAP was deregistered, and was the DAP logo designer.

The party won 13 parliamentary seats including his own win in Bangsar that incumbent DAP MP Nair had given up to him to return to Singapore.

Goh, who was also chairman and founder of Akitek Jururancang (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, was responsible for building the iconic revolving restaurant at the Federal Hotel, which he designed to celebrate the country's independence in 1957.

His other designs include Mid Valley Megamall and Sunway Pyramid, and he did the town planning for major projects such as Subang Jaya, Putrajaya and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Goh reportedly had the ear of former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and was once courted to join Barisan Nasional, as they both believed in a multi-racial approach to politics.