Singapore rocked by unprecedented open feud in Lee family
SINGAPORE: Tightly-ruled Singapore was rocked by an unprecedented political drama on Wednesday 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 city-state from a relatively poor British colony into one of the world’s wealthiest and most stable societies.
But the quarrel intensified in the small hours of Wednesday with the issuance of the extraordinary statement, which immediately went viral in a country where tough laws against protests and curbs on press freedom have stifled political 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,” said Southeast Asia watcher Bridget Welsh, a visiting professor at John Cabot University in Rome. “An attack from trusted family members is impactful and legitimate- ly raises questions. Some will see this as a family squabble but it is clearly more than this,” she said.
“The effects are to raise questions about how Lee Hsien Loong is using his father’s legacy... also attention will be brought to (Lee’s) wife and her power and legacy... It will cause introspection about whether Singapore can be separated in the future from the Lee family.” The siblings’ grievances largely centre on the fate of the family’s home after their father’s death. — AFP