He was the first president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and was known as the founder of Batu Pahat, Johor.
Goh was born in 1854 to Goh Siew Swee, who owned the firm chop Ban Ann, which engaged in the sawmill and tin mining industry, and imported and exported local products between Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and the Malay Peninsula.
[1] Following his father's death in 1892, Goh overtook the business, renaming it as chop Ann Ho, and traded largely with Java.
[2] In 1898, Goh was appointed as a committee member of the Singapore Po Leung Kuk.
[4] He once dispatched headmaster Ma Zhengxiang to lead a group of students in Nanjing Jinan School in China.