Singapore rocked by open feud in ruling Lee family
TIGHTLY ruled Singapore was rocked by an unprecedented political drama yesterday when a feud between the children of the late founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew, over his legacy burst into the open.
The founder’s oldest child, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, came under attack online before dawn from his younger brother, Lee Hsien Yang, and younger sister, Lee Wei Ling.
They accused him of exploiting their father’s legacy for his own political agenda, a charge the premier quickly denied.
The pair also claimed that their brother had abused his powers to harass them – and Hsien Yang said he had decided to leave the country as a result.
The feud had simmered following the death in March 2015 of the elder Lee, who ruled Singapore with an iron hand but transformed the citystate from a relatively poor British colony into one of the world’s wealthiest, most stable societies.
But the quarrel intensified in the small hours of yesterday with the issuing of an extraordinary statement, which immediately went viral in a country where tough laws against protests and curbs on press freedom have stifled dissent.
“The timing is important as Singapore has been facing more uncertainty both in terms of the current and future leadership as well as the economy and regional situation,” Southeast Asia watcher Bridget Welsh, a visiting professor at John Cabot University in Rome, said.
“Some will see this as a family squabble but it is clearly more than this,” she said.
“It will cause introspection about whether Singapore can be separated in the future from the Lee family.”
The grievances of the siblings largely centre on the fate of the family’s home.
The pair said Lee had defied their father’s instructions to tear it down.
However, the cabinet said yesterday that PM Lee had recused himself from all government decisions about the fate of the former family home.
Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, Ho Ching, is chief executive of state investment firm Temasek Holdings, which had global assets worth S$242-billion (R2.2-trillion) in March last year.
“We have felt threatened by Hsien Loong’s misuse of his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda,” the siblings posted online.
“We have observed that Hsien Loong and Ho Ching want to milk Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy for their own political purposes.”
The prime minister, who is on holiday overseas, hit back saying: “My siblings’ statement has hurt our father’s legacy.”
His siblings also alleged they were being closely monitored, and said they had lost faith in their brother’s ability to lead. – AFP