S’pore PM’s brother not contesting in polls
SINGAPORE: Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, will not contest in the July 10 general elections, deflating the hype built up after he joined the opposition as the nine-day campaigning period kicked off yesterday.
“I have chosen not to stand for political office because I believe Singapore does not need another Lee,” he said after the nomination deadline passed. “I do not seek power, prestige or financial rewards of political office. I hope to be a catalyst for change.”
The younger Lee’s entry into the opposition Progress Singapore Party, announced last week, fuelled speculation he could stand as a candidate against the incumbent People’s Action Party (PAP), led by his elder brother, which had won every contest since independence in 1965.
While Singapore doesn’t allow opinion polls, most analysts expect PAP to easily win again.
Still, any narrowing of its victory margin could reflect an erosion of confidence in its new generation of leaders, particularly regarding how they were handling the pandemic.
Despite declining to run himself, Lee, 62, will campaign against the ruling party co-founded by his father Lee Kuan Yew, the nation’s founding prime minister, which his older brother now leads.
The siblings had been sparring over the estate of their father since his death in 2015, and the rivalry has spilled over into other conflicts.