Singapore family row not off limits

Discretion seems to have prevailed — for now — but it was an agonising and messy public moment for Singapore. The conduct of Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister and son of founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, was questioned by his own siblings, who raised one of the most sensitive issues in Singaporean politics, where discipline and propriety reign.

Lee’s brother and sister stated in a social media post that his refusal to demolish their father’s former residence, in accordance with the patriarch’s wishes, reflected “a desire for power and personal popularity” and that Lee “harbours political ambitions” for his own son. The suggestion that a family dynasty is taking shape in meritocratic Singapore was all the more explosive, and hard to brush off, coming from within the Lee family. It raised questions that — in normal times — would be expected to draw an instant lawsuit, as Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged in parliament.

He declined to sue, he said, because it would “further besmirch my parents’ names” and contended that the accusations were insufficiently substantial to merit an investigation by a court of inquiry or a parliamentary committee. The opposition Singapore Democratic Party responded that if such accusations would land a citizen in court, then a proper hearing was merited. Lee’s siblings then agreed to settle the dispute without “the involvement of lawyers or government agencies”, so long as they “are not attacked or misrepresented”.

Singapore may have more important things to think about than a bungalow. But the quiet resolution of the dispute is, in a sense, an opportunity missed. Political dynasties, real or imagined, are part of many thriving democracies. Think of the US, with its Roosevelts, Kennedys, Clintons and Bushes. Some detest the role of family in the country’s politics. Others embrace it. The debate, while sometimes heated, is a normal and healthy part of political life. London, July 7.