The State Funeral arrangement to ex-Presidents offered by the Government are also subject to the acceptance by the respective families to the State Funeral proposed by the Government.
It was unfortunate that ex-President Ong Teng Cheong's passing had co-incided close to the Lunar New Year, and his funeral had to fall on that single most auspicious day in the Lunar Calendar.
Even with the most common of families, only the very closest of relatives will participate in such an event during the most auspicious date of the Lunar Calendar; while understanding will be given to those other relatives who do not turn up.
It will be too unseemingly for the Government not to offer a State Funeral to any ex-Presidents - who have serve with distinctions; with the exception of perhaps ex-President Devan Nair - who was forced out of office by "the Government" (actually only by the strong opinion and high standards demanded by LKY) due to his rumoured misconduct during a state visit to Sarawak, East Malaysia.
The fall out between ex-President Ong and the Government of PM GCT occurred when ex-President Ong decided to test the 2-Key System that was created and pushed through by then SM LKY.
What is the 2-key system ?
The 2-key system is supposed to prevent a "rouge" Government - (supposedly only formed by an Opposition Party, who happen to win an election by a stroke of luck) - from opening the State Treasury and go on a wild spending spree by spending freely the years of accumulated National Savings, so as to ensure the popularity of the Opposition Party with the electorate.
The First Key is supposedly held by the Singapore Parliament, where majority votes will have to be given before any programs can be funded from the National Savings or the National Reserves; which can happen when an Opposition Party gain majority seats in Parliament - (as feared by then SM LKY)
The Second Key is supposed to be held by the elected President, who will have to agree and approve Parliament's decision to use the National Savings; with the President's position confidently always in the trusted hand of someone who have been carefully vetted by a select committee (who itself is selected by the Cabinet of the Day).
Any candidate wishing to be elected as the President of Singapore will also have to subject himself to a list of criteria, one which is having held a position of high office either in Government, or Business Activities of several million dollar turnover.
The Elected President is supposed to act as a Guardian of the National Reserves (also called here as the National Savings).
Ex-President Ong decided to test the 2-Key system, as well as the authority of office of the Elected President, and he had exercised his position to control the Second Key by asking the Government of PM GCT for a full summary of the extent of the National Reserves that he is supposed to be a Guardian.
Unfortunately, that will mean the revelation of all the activities that the Governments of PM GCT and that of ex-PM LKY (who surprisingly continued as the Chairman of the Government Investment Corporation, even after stepping down as PM).
These activities and declaration of State Assets will cover a wide spectrum of assets held directly or "works in the process of governing" by the existing Government, as well as all Government Linked Companies - (that include Temasek, GIC, HDB, Singapore Technologies, Sembawang Corporations, Singapore Telecoms, Singapore Airlines, etc), Statutory Boards, Joint Ventures locally as well as overseas, overseas investments directly OR indirectly by the Government (in Australia, China, Europe, India, Korea, UK, USA, Latin America).
The surprising reaction from the Auditor General Office was that it will require more then 5 years of man hours to come up with a full report, and despite the generosity in time and patience offered by then ex-President Ong, the Government of PM GCT was taken by surprise by the insistence of ex-President Ong.
The then SM LKY also took the position of the Government in expressing his disappointment and incredulity that his concept of a 2-Key system could also work against the Government by an Elected President who "do not" and "will not" co-operate with the Government of the Day - especially one formed by the Ruling Party from whom the ex-President was also a Senior Cabinet member.
Eventually, after about three months of "a storm in a tea cup", the Government finally produced a "full" set of accounting (although not a wholly comprehensive one - as it seems that "someone" had decided that certain information remains "State Secret" that it seems even the Office of the President is not entitled to know).
The office of the Elected President was supposed to be created to thwart the attempts to open and freely spend from the National Reserve by any successfully elected Opposition Party that form the next Government.
This office can only result in a hang government that will paralyse Singapore, and although seemingly supposed to act in the interest of Singapore, the hang up is in the ability of the next succeeding Government to work, when its hands are tied by a budget that does not allow the succeeding Government to use any funds that have been accumulated by the previous Government.
Funds that allow the Government-of-the-Day to function will be provided to pay for all the salaries and ongoing projects that the previous Government has created and implemented.
However, any NEW Projects and Programs from the New Government will have to be funded by the revenue generated by its own revenue generating programs during its term of office.
This is tantamount to requiring the new succeeding Government to operate with an empty account at the beginning of its own term of office.
The irony of it is that any succeeding Government IS elected into office by a majority of Singaporeans; and at the same time, the National Reserves (or National Savings) are accumulated by any previously sitting Government is also from the sweat and toil of Singaporeans - who had previously elected it into Office.
Yet SM LKY had the audacity to think that Singaporeans will be immature and gullible to vote into office any Opposition Party, who will simply promise to open the National Savings to fund all "heavenly activities" to win an election.
By the way, since this incident occurred, modifications have been made to redefine the 2-Key system and the authority of the Elected President.
One can only wonder now, where did the present Government of PM LHL get the funds to perform all the "miracle publicity" to popularise this "new" Government.