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I refer to the report “State funeral for
former DPM Goh Keng Swee” (Channel News Asia, May
14).
When former President Wee Kim Wee
passed away in May 2005, I penned a letter (published in the Today
newspaper on 10th May 2005), to ask why former
President Ong Teng Cheong was not given a state funeral – a honour
accorded to President Wee and all previous Presidents.
I wrote:
I refer to media reports that the honour of state funerals was
accorded in the past to former presidents Yusof Ishak and Benjamin
Sheares.
I would like to ask whether a state funeral was accorded to the
late former President Ong Teng Cheong when he died in 2002.
If not, why is it that he is the only president who was not
given a state funeral?
As Singapore’s first elected president, I think many Singaporeans
may feel that he deserved a state funeral.
The late President Ong Teng Cheong dedicated 27 years of his
working life to public service, as President for six years, Deputy
Prime Minister for three years, Second Deputy Prime Minister for
five years, Secretary-General of NTUC for 11 years, chairman of the
People’s Action Party for 12 years, Minister for Communications,
and Member of Parliament for 21 years.
Who decides whether a former president is to be given a state
funeral? Is there some criteria for deciding on a state
funeral?
I suggest that a state funeral be accorded to all former
presidents who die in the future.
Letter from Leong Sze Hian
The Prime Minister’s press
secretary replied on 13th May:
Honour rites still evolving; No formula for state
funeral entitlement
Mr Leong Sze Hian (Today, May 10) and Mr Goh Choon Kang (Lianhe
Zaobao, May 12) have asked why the funeral arrangements for Mr Ong
Teng Cheong and Dr Wee Kim Wee, both former presidents, were not
the same.
Mr Ong Teng Cheong received a state-assisted funeral, while Dr
Wee Kim Wee received a state funeral. Mr Goh Choon Kang suggested
that we should have definite rules on who is entitled to a state
funeral.
When Singaporeans who have made major contributions to the
country pass away, it is right and fitting that they be honoured
and mourned by the nation. They may or may not be former
Presidents. The appropriate way to do so will vary with each
individual.
It is not feasible to have a set formula as to who should
receive a state funeral, based simply on the person’s rank or the
appointment that he or she had held. It depends on the person’s
services to the nation, as well as other special
circumstances.
Persons who have made truly exceptional contributions will receive
a state funeral. The decision to hold one is made by the Prime
Minister and the Cabinet.
If they decide to offer a state funeral, they will of course
consult the family members and take into account their wishes.
Singapore is still a young country. Our practices and customs
for public ceremonies and observances are still evolving.
As the years pass, we will gradually establish norms and
traditions that will reflect the Singapore way of honouring our
best sons and daughters who have passed away, that is dignified,
restrained and expresses the gratitude and sense of loss of the
nation.
Chen Hwai Liang
Press Secretary to Prime Minister
_______________________
When the late President Ong
Teng Cheong asked how much assets the Government had, he never got
an answer because he was told that it would take 56 man-years to
obtain the information for him.
We re-publish former
President Ong Teng Cheong’s interview with AsiaWeek
(10 March 2000) where he revealed the obstacles he faced when
he asked for the copies of the government’s accounts on the
reserves and investments.
President Ong Teng Cheong’s political career spanned 21 years. He
was Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister, before he resigned to become Elected President in 1993.
And it was as Communications Minister that Ong pushed for the
development of the MRT system, the largest construction project in
Singapore’s history. His next challenge came on the labour front,
when he became NTUC Secretary-General in 1983. Ong was diagnosed
with lymphoma-cancer of the lymphatic system in 1992. But this did
not dampen his desire to continue serving. He became Singapore’s
first Elected President a year later, and it was a presidency
marked by many charitable projects, which touched the lives of many
Singaporeans. Ong stepped down as President at the age of
63.
As chairman of the People’s Action
Party (PAP) and secretary-general of the
National Trades
Union Congress, Ong was considered a firm
Lee Kuan
Yew loyalist. In January 1986, he sanctioned a
strike in the shipping industry, the first
for about a decade in Singapore, without telling
the cabinet. He said that he did not inform the cabinet or the
government because they would probably stop him from going ahead
with the strike. There was a major corporate and Cabinet backlash
against his decision; however, the strike lasted only two days, and
a deal was struck. He was also a former Minister of National
Development.
Source:
Wikipedia
_______________________
By Leong Sze Hian
