Chitchat A poignant tribute to ex-President Ong Teng Cheong

A poignant tribute to ex-President Ong Teng Cheong



Singapore Recalcitrant

24 August 2016



In the midst of all these flattering adulations on the ex-President SR Nathan following his demise on 22 August, perhaps it has not occurred to the mesmerised PM Lee Hsien Loong and his equally hypnotised Cabinet colleagues that there is still considerable anger among a significant section of Singaporeans on the disgraceful act of the PAP leaders in not according a State Funeral to ex-president Ong Teng Cheong upon his death. To add to the insult the PAP demagogues did not even have the decency to give a satisfactory explanation for the omission except from time to time they issued non-sensical statements that the Prime Minister and his spineless Cabinet colleagues have the final say on such matters. There is no quarrel about according a State Funeral to SR Nathan but that the wife of former PM Lee Kuan Yew (the mother of PM Lee Hsien Loong) was given a State Funeral upon her death is in the mind of discerning Singaporeans the extreme case of the abuse of political power. What locus standi could Mrs Lee Kuan Yew have to deserve such state honour? And how could she have been more qualified than ex-President Ong Teng Cheong for a State Funeral?

Ex-President Ong Teng Cheong was known as the People's President during his tenure, a title which our ex-President SR Nathan would have like to be bestowed with but which had eluded him. This was the measure of the popularity of ex-President Ong Teng Cheong, especially among the Chinese. He incurred the displeasure of the PAP demagogues, especially ex-PM Lee Kuan Yew, for being too honest and straightforward in wanting to know about Singapore Reserves to the discomfort of the PAP wallahs. How the PAP demagogues could have felt so panicky about disclosing Singapore Reserves to the President may be enigmatic to the public but that they could have turned inimical to the President over this could be a million-dollar question to know. To take it further, they even showed their vindictive strain by not giving ex-President Ong Teng Cheong a State Funeral which he greatly deserved, at least more than Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew, to the dismay of Singaporeans who watched the comic opera with abated breath.

Ex-President Ong Teng Cheong had brought immense progress to Singapore even before he became President as a PAP lawmaker and Minister. He was instrumental in making the mass rapid transit a reality in Singapore which has benefitted immensely the commuters. The question of the withholding of his State Funeral upon his death will not go away from the people's mind and will resurface from time to time to the discomfort of the PAP wallahs, especially PM Lee Hsien Loong.

It's quite in order to accord ex-President SR Nathan a fitting narrative to his memory but quite a lot of the adulations are repetitious and some of his so-called achievements may need a bit of cosmetic treatment. In any case, may the soul of eminent SR Nathan rest in peace.

no tribute to Devan Nair

virus said:

no tribute to Devan Nair

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Devan Nair and those before him got no 'executive powers'.
Basically just a figurehead ceremonial role.

OTC was hardly the people's president. That title belonged to Wee Kim Wee.....even the famous tea sessions were started by him.

OTC was initially pappy's man too but somehow mid term he had a change of heart.
Some said he finding trouble with pap was more a personal vendetta rather than for Sg's good.
He was snubbed by lky and didn't liked it as protocol ranked OTC higher.
OTC also never did much initially preferring to spend money renovating the istana only like some interior designer.
OTC's 2nd term bid was stopped by lky.....

Narong Wongwan said:

OTC was hardly the people's president. That title belonged to Wee Kim Wee.....even the famous tea sessions were started by him.

OTC was initially pappy's man too but somehow mid term he had a change of heart.
Some said he finding trouble with pap was more a personal vendetta rather than for Sg's good.
He was snubbed by lky and didn't liked it as protocol ranked OTC higher.
OTC also never did much initially preferring to spend money renovating the istana only like some interior designer.
OTC's 2nd term bid was stopped by lky.....

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Ah well, who knows what goes on inside. But Woody was PM when OTC was President , no ? And wasn't he PM when OTC died ? Nobody blames Woody.

Satyr said:

Ah well, who knows what goes on inside. But Woody was PM when OTC was President , no ? And wasn't he PM when OTC died ? Nobody blames Woody.

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What to blame woody?...he was acting on the 'boss' instructions all the time, don't forget 'boss' called him a " hokkien peng".

why Ong TC not given state burial but Nathan is accorded one? IMHO TC did a lot more for sgian
the only diff is he stood up against papigs while Nathan waged tail
oso I was told that these few days in Courts you need to observe 1 min silence before court hearing........... WTF why lidat??? what has he done for the legal side???? I mean why is this sort of things imposed on the laymen? Also why not done when Ong TC died???
this govt is laffing stock............ clown of the world

Narong Wongwan said:

Devan Nair and those before him got no 'executive powers'.
Basically just a figurehead ceremonial role.

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Nathan was not much diff ............... except he was paid a lot for doing so little

No one had an issue with the Office of President until they tampered with it. Yusuf Ishak, Sheares and Wee all had done things in their respective fields that people and the press can write about. OTC was from the party, Devan Nair was from the party and Nathan because of his time to mind the Press became an enforcer of sorts for the political elite.

You can see the Press and the people they interviewed are struggling and repeating (which Yoong points rightly) the same thing - kind, considerate, talked freely, plus the Laju. What he did in his career and or for Singapore is still a big mystery. Why did he accept the chairmanship of the Straits Times when the staff refused to accept him. I think it was in his DNA to follow orders and he was not shrewd or smart enough to understand how a free press is important to a nation. I am sure others were approached just like the Presidency but they turned it down because of the taint it will carry.

I think in their desperation to avid another OTC and ensure total compliance and loyalty they picked the right individual but did not realise that it will have consequence down the road. The Office has been damaged no doubt.

Narong Wongwan said:

OTC was hardly the people's president. That title belonged to Wee Kim Wee.....even the famous tea sessions were started by him.

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Thanks for setting the record straight. My friend who was a guard at the istana told me president wee even personally hosted i can't remember dinners or lunches for ordinary istana workers.

zeebjii said:

Thanks for setting the record straight. My friend who was a guard at the istana told me president wee even personally hosted i can't remember dinners or lunches for ordinary istana workers.

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the legend going around raffles institution when wee was prez was that he was brilliant and witty as he could say his name forward and backward instantaneously without pausing. :p

zeebjii said:

Thanks for setting the record straight. My friend who was a guard at the istana told me president wee even personally hosted i can't remember dinners or lunches for ordinary istana workers.

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Wee Kim Wee is the one and only down-to-earth people's president. RESPECT! Save for President Yusof Ishak who was installed President amidst the throes of new-found independence and as a result of the historical and racial insecurities brought upon by Separation and President Ong Teng Cheong who actually dared to challenge LKY and asked embarrassing questions; the rest are duds and obscenely paid to be Yes Men. People's president my foot! The current one I don't even want to mention in the same breath as these brave ones who have won their respect from the people in their own inimitable humble ways. No need for staged wayang and official media hype.

Narong Wongwan said:

OTC was hardly the people's president. That title belonged to Wee Kim Wee.....even the famous tea sessions were started by him.

OTC was initially pappy's man too but somehow mid term he had a change of heart.
Some said he finding trouble with pap was more a personal vendetta rather than for Sg's good.
He was snubbed by lky and didn't liked it as protocol ranked OTC higher.
OTC also never did much initially preferring to spend money renovating the istana only like some interior designer.
OTC's 2nd term bid was stopped by lky.....

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sounds about right...

but most choose to believe he was a good honest principled man from the time he joined pap.

retrenched said:

sounds about right...

but most choose to believe he was a good honest principled man from the time he joined pap.

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To be fair as with most of the old pappies.....he did some good and had his share of contributions. Not like the useless greedy jiakliaobees we have now.
He was very popular with his Kim keat / toa payoh constituents.......part of his electorate was hived off to Potong Pasir then in pap gerrymander efforts.
But he wasn't very popular as president as seen from his borderline winning vote margin against his reluctant opponent....GKS's man ex-accountant General Chua (who just passed away too).

retrenched said:

sounds about right...

but most choose to believe he was a good honest principled man from the time he joined pap.

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Principled man and PAP can go hand in hand meh ?

There are 2 very interesting, curious and at times humourous articles in today's Today that perhaps provide a fresh take on Nathan from all the standard repetition.

The first is titled "MFA 'owes its existence' to Nathan" with excerpts from Vivian's eulogy at MFA yesterday. According to Vivian, Nathan was given 2 years(when he became PS at MFA in 79') by Harry to make a difference, failing which Harry intended to disband MFA, and it would than become part of the PMO. Vivian claims that the fact the MFA is still in existence as a Ministry is "testament to Nathan's success". Gosh that is a doozy!

The second is titled "Rest easy, Boss, we will not let you down" which is Kausikan's eulogy also at MFA yesterday. I wonder what 'mischief' Kausikan was up to while "pretending to study in the University of Singapore" during the 70's which brought about his summons to meet the then SID chief Nathan?! Also interesting to note that Nathan had a soft spot for Benny Lim.

As an aside, i stand corrected, but must say am surprised not to see any comments on Nathan from another of Harry's biggest apologists, Kishore Mahbubani.

Ong Teng Cheong protested against US involvement in the Marxist affair--see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore–United_States_relations#Hendrickson_affair

The State Department's refusal to reprimand Hendrickson, along with their expulsion of the Singaporean diplomat, sparked a protest in Singapore by the National Trades Union Congress; they drove buses around the U.S. embassy, held a rally attended by four thousand workers, and issued a statement deriding the U.S. as "sneaky, arrogant, and untrustworthy".[12]

So please OTC is a PAP through and through.