11/04/2016

Family feud over how to mark LKY's death spills out online

Update 14 Jun 2017: What has happened to Lee Kuan Yew's values?
In the statement, Lee Hsien Yang said he felt “compelled to leave” Singapore “for the foreseeable future”.

The siblings of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have issued a statement of “no confidence” against their brother, saying that they felt threatened by his pursuit of a personal agenda in matters relating to their father’s home on 38 Oxley Road.

Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling, the second son and daughter, respectively, of Singapore’s first prime minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew, made the open statement through their Facebook accounts in the early hours of Wednesday (14 June).

“This is the country that my father, Lee Kuan Yew, loved and built. It has been home for my entire life. Singapore is and remains my country. I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure,” the statement quoted Lee Hsien Yang.

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Family feud over how to mark LKY's death spills out online
Dr Lee, in an earlier FaceBook post, said this picture of an art installation of 4,877 erasers in the likeness of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's image, which was featured on the front page of ST on Mar 21, had made her wince.ST FOTO: MARK CHEONG

Over the past fortnight, Dr Lee Wei Ling had written on her personal FaceBook page about her disagreement with the way the 1st death anniversary of her father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, was marked across the country last month.

Yesterday, she made public a series of e-mails on the matter, only to take them down from her Facebook page several hours later.

In the e-mails between her and Straits Times associate editor Ivan Fernandez, who was editing her columns, Dr Lee said she was "at odds" with her brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

related: PM Lee 'deeply saddened' by Dr Lee Wei Ling's allegations

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How the saga unfolded
Dr Lee Wei Ling (wearing black), the younger sister of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, walking alongside family members at Mr Lee Kuan Yew's funeral in March last year.PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
  • MAR 21 - Dr Lee Wei Ling submits her column to The Straits Times on what she considered "hero-worshipping" of her father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
  • MAR 23 - Straits Times associate editor Ivan Fernandez replies to Dr Lee with the edited version of her column. She replies via e-mail: "Reads well. But I want to wait until the day unfolds completely."
  • MAR 25 - Dr Lee submits another version of her column with substantial additions and insists on this version being run unedited. Mr Fernandez turns down the amended version, which has repeated references to China, and Dr Lee posts it on her Facebook page.
  • APR 1 - Dr Lee announces on Facebook that she will "no longer write for SPH as the editors there do not allow me freedom of speech". She says this was the reason she posted the article on her father online.
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Singapore PM parries sister’s claims of dynastic ambitions
Lee Hsien Loong takes a photo in front of a billboard put up to commemorate the first anniversary of his father's death. Photo: AFP

Just a year after founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s death, cracks are beginning to emerge in Singapore’s image as a society where dissent is buried by an authoritarian government and a subservient media.

In an ironic twist, the latest developments center on Lee’s elder son, Lee Hsien Loong, who now heads that government as prime minister, and the media, in the form of the dominant, pro-government Singapore Press Holdings, which publishes the flagship Straits Times.

The late patriarch’s daughter, prominent neurologist Lee Wei Ling, accused her brother in a Facebook post Sunday of having “no qualms abusing his power to [have] a commemoration just one year after Lee Kuan Yew died ([lest] we forget).

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Late Singapore PM Lee Kuan Yew’s children squabble over his memory on Facebook
The offending art installation made up of 4877 erasers forming an image of Lee Kuan Yew

He was the political father of Singapore, an authoritarian figure intolerant of dissent and squabbling among his people — but a year after his death, Lee Kuan Yew’s children are involved in an embarrassing public row about how to remember him.

His son and successor as prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, is fighting off an attack from Lee Wei Ling, his sister, a newspaper columnist and respected neurosurgeon. She has accused him of dishonourable behaviour and of planning to establish a dynasty in the island republic.

She claims, too, that Mr Lee would have cringed at the elaborate, and not always tasteful, ways that Singaporeans are expressing their love for the late statesman. After his death in March last year, aged 91, Singapore was plunged into national mourning for the man who dominated its history, leading it from a small and insignificant British colony to a wealthy and dynamic centre of trade and banking.

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Singapore Family Feud

Singapore’s self-image as a meritocracy has come under attack on social media from an unexpected source: former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter. Posting on Facebook, neurosurgeon Lee Wei Ling accused her brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of having “no qualms abusing his power to [have] a commemoration just one year after LKY died.” She continued, “If the power that be wants to establish a dynasty, LKY’s daughter will not allow LKY’s name to be sullied by a dishonorable son.”

Prime Minister Lee answered on Facebook hours later that, “The accusations are completely untrue.” Meanwhile, the state-controlled media have published accusations against Ms. Lee.

The family feud started when Ms. Lee submitted to the Straits Times newspaper an opinion article that objected to “hero worship” of her father on the first anniversary of his death. Editors there made cuts that Ms. Lee found objectionable, and she withdrew the piece.


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Singapore’s Prime Minster Lee Hsien Loong embroiled in Facebook spat with sister

A public feud has erupted over Facebook among Singapore’s first family, after the Prime Minister’s sister accused him of “abusing” his political power and planning to establish a “dynasty” in the island republic.

Writing on Facebook on Sunday, Dr Lee Wei Ling, a respected neurosurgeon and newspaper columnist, accused her brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of using the commemorations for the death of their late-father, the city state’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, to “hero-worship” him.

Dr Lee said she and her brother “are at odds on a matter of principle” regarding the commemorations, and her brother has “no qualms [about] abusing his power to [have] a commemoration just one year after Lee Kuan Yew died.”

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Lee family spat fuels Singapore debate on founder's legacy
Some lit candles and offered prayers for Lee at death anniversary memorials

A rare spat among Singapore's first family has left citizens agog and fuelled debate on how the city-state's founding father Lee Kuan Yew should be remembered.

Lee, who died last year, is revered by Singaporeans, while his children are respected members of the establishment. His son, Lee Hsien Loong, is prime minister.

The family had presented a united front, but that cracked in recent days when Lee Wei Ling, a prominent doctor and newspaper columnist, publicly objected to what she saw as excess in the one-year commemorations.

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Sister of Singapore Prime Minister Lee accuses him of dynasty politics

A public rift between members of Singapore's "first family" has ruptured the Southeast Asian city-state's reputation for orderly and stable politics.

The younger sister of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Wei Ling, has hit the headlines after a series of controversial Facebook posts.

The latest one, published early Sunday, was an e-mail exchange between Lee and the editor of local newspaper The Straits Times regarding the one-year anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), Singapore's first prime minister and father to current Prime Minister Lee and his sister. The former leader passed away last March at the age of 91 after suffering from pneumonia.

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Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong at war with sister over Lee Kuan Yew commemorations

The feud is a political bombshell in Singapore where the People's Action Party founded by the elder Mr Lee has remained solidly united since taking power in 1959.

Prime Minister Lee has in the past sued critics for suggesting nepotism in his government.

The feud is being reported openly in Singapore's state-controlled media.

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Singapore’s first family plays out public feud on Facebook

A public feud has erupted in Singapore’s first family, with the prime minister forced to issue a rebuttal after his sister accused him of abusing his political power over anniversary commemorations for their late father Lee Kuan Yew, the city state’s founding father.
  
The spat, which has played out on Facebook, follows a weekend post in which Lee Wei Ling accused Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of being a “dishonourable son” and of seeking to establish a political dynasty.
  
“HL has no qualms about abusing his power to hv a commemoration just one year after LKY died”, said Dr Lee, a neurosurgeon, in comments that have since been taken down. “If the power that be wants to establish a dynasty, LKY’s daughter will not allow LKY’s name to be sullied by a dishonourable son.”
  

Open spat erupts in Singapore between premier and his sister

A spat between Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his younger sister has blown into the open, one year after the death of their iron-handed father Lee Kuan Yew, who brooked no discord within the city-state's political world.

Lee's sister accused the prime minister in a Facebook post of abusing his power and forming a political dynasty, a highly unusual public comment in Singapore. It has sparked an online debate in a country where the Lee family is mostly held in high regard and where several of its critics have been sued for defamation.

"I am deeply saddened by my sister Dr. Lee Wei Ling's claim that I have abused my power to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's passing in order to establish a dynasty. The accusations are completely untrue," the prime minister said in a Facebook page on Sunday evening.

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Family feud over 'hero worship' erupts in Singapore
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong walks past an old photograph of his father, the late Lee Kuan Yew during a remembrance ceremony on March 23, in Singapore. © AP

Lee Wei Ling, the daughter of Singapore's late founding father Lee Kuan Yew, has accused her brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of being a "dishonorable son" and trying to "establish a dynasty" through the nationwide commemoration last month of the first anniversary of their father's death.

Taking to social media, Lee Wei Ling expressed her disappointment that the government and media were promoting the "hero worship" of her father, something she felt her father would not wish to see. "Lee Kuan Yew would have cringed at the hero worship just one year after his death," she said on her Facebook page.

The city-state conducted around 100 events in remembrance of the late Lee, including an art installation of his silhouette.

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Singaporean PM in feud with sister over anniversary of father's death

A rare and unexpected family feud has been played out in public between Singapore’s prime minister and his sister over the anniversary of the death of their father, Lee Kuan Yew.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, neurosurgeon Dr Lee Wei Ling said the government was trying to use the first anniversary of the death of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding father, to “hero worship” him, according to Channel NewsAsia, a government-owned television news agency.

It said Lee Wei Ling had suggested that her brother, the Singaporean prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, was “abusing his power” by conducting elaborate anniversary events and trying to establish a political dynasty.

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Lee family spat: Social media a devil you must learn to dance with
A few years ago, a spat within a family – a member of whom is a national leader – would have been nipped in bud for the fear of losing reputation.

In a matter of few years, both the spat and the attempt to counter it are on social media, consciously posted by the parties involved. This is the transformation social media has brought about.

Recently, Lee Wei Ling accused brother and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of trying to “establish a dynasty” when they came to odds on how the late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s first year anniversary should be commemorated. This exchange came to light after a spat she had with The Straits Times over the draft of an opinion piece she had written objecting to the hero worship of the late Minister Mentor LKY.

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SELECTION OF COMMENTS FROM PM LEE'S AND DR LEE'S FACEBOOK PAGES
  • ROBSON LEE - I feel sad to read this. I hope this posting by PM will bring closure to this matter. The children of our first PM should not air any private disagreement in public... Both PM and Dr Lee are highly respected by many Singaporeans. Let us not further diminish this public respect many have for the children of LKY.
  • MIN YAH - I think Dr Lee is still grieving. Please give her some time to heal. Disagreements between siblings are also common, and people will say hurtful things they may not mean.
  • LIN WEI MIN - As the Chinese saying goes, "always remember the source of the water you drink from". It is necessary as a tribute for a great leader who has led Singapore to such heights. Not doing anything on the first anniversary would be a great disrespect.
  • MEI WONG - I have always quite enjoyed Ms Lee's writings but I'm very sorry to say that her conduct in this affair is rather unbecoming and inappropriate, especially when others were named and thus felt forced to publicly stand up for themselves in turn. Maybe, like some have said, she is still grieving for her loss or maybe even depressed... This should have happened behind closed doors and not in the public domain.
  • CAROL SIM - I really think the commemoration was not a big event at all. Ms Lee has failed to understand that LKY does not belong to her alone. He belongs to the people of Singapore. We respect your choice to remember your father in your own quiet way but you certainly CANNOT stop the people from wanting to do more. If your father was not a remarkable and outstanding man, you think the people will remember?
  • DONOVAN CHEAH - In principle I can agree with your opinions on not hero-worshipping, because the late LKY would indeed not have wanted that. By the same token, however, difference in opinion in the family should stay within the family...The irony of it all is that the late LKY would...definitely not have wanted us Singaporeans to come to conflict over his death.
  • WONG PECK LIN - This current issue will die down by itself. Please devote your energies to the welfare and well-being of our people, especially our children. Your energies would bear much greater fruit there.
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Lee Hsien Loong Facebook - 14 hrs
I am deeply saddened by my sister Dr Lee Wei Ling’s claim that I have abused my power to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s passing in order to establish a dynasty. The accusations are completely untrue.

The first anniversary of a person’s passing is a significant moment to remember him and reflect on what he meant to us. The more so with Mr Lee Kuan Yew. The Cabinet had discussed how we should mark the occasion. My advice was that we should leave it to... ground-up efforts. Groups should keep their observances in proportion, and focussed on the future.

The Cabinet recognised the strong desire of many Singaporeans to show their respect for Mr Lee, and honour what he did for us. We reviewed the events and observances that different groups had planned, and agreed that they were generally appropriate. They expressed the sincerely felt sentiments of Singaporeans, which my Cabinet colleagues and I deeply appreciate.

The idea that I should wish to establish a dynasty makes even less sense. Meritocracy is a fundamental value of our society, and neither I, the PAP, nor the Singapore public would tolerate any such attempt. - LHL
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The World is Watching: Lee Wei Ling vs Lee Hsien Loong Family Feud Gains Global Attention

From Malaysia and China, to Australia, the UK and even Switzerland, it appears that the world is watching to see how this family feud between our Prime Minister and his younger sister will pan out.

Yesterday, Lee Wei Ling made public an email exchange between her and Straits Times editor Ivan Fernandez, in which she accused her brother of no qualms abusing his power” in order to stage a commemoration just a year after their father’s death.

This, she said, was was part of efforts by “the power that be” to “establish a dynasty”, and she vowed that she would not allow her father’s name to be “sullied” by a “dishonourable son”.


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Feud bursts into the open between Singapore PM, sister

A rare and unexpected family feud has burst into the open between Singapore's prime minister and his sister over the anniversary of the death of their father, the city state's founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Dr. Lee Wei Ling, a well-known neurosurgeon, said the government was trying to use the occasion of her father's one-year death anniversary to "hero-worship" him, according to Channel News Asia, a government-supported television station and news website. It said Dr. Lee suggested that her brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was "abusing his power" by conducting elaborate anniversary events, and trying to establish a political "dynasty."

Channel News Asia said the post was taken down from Facebook later Sunday. But then Lee fired back at his sister in his own Facebook post a few hours later, saying he is "deeply saddened" by her accusations, which he said "are completely untrue."

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Singapore PM feuds in public with sister

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday denied abusing his power and attempting to establish a dynasty as a family feud went public after the first anniversary of the death of his father Lee Kuan Yew.

Reacting to attacks from his younger sister Lee Wei Ling, the prime minister said in a Facebook post that he was "deeply saddened" by the claims and called them "completely untrue".

Singapore on March 23 marked the first anniversary of the death of Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s authoritarian first prime minister who ruled from 1959 to 1990.

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Singapore PM rejects sister's accusation of trying to build dynasty

Singapore, April 10 (CNA) Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday he was "deeply saddened" by his younger sister Dr. Lee Wei Ling's accusation that he was abusing his power to commemorate the first anniversary of their father's death to establish a dynasty, stressing that meritocracy has been well established in the city state.

The prime minister said on his Facebook page: "I am deeply saddened by my sister Dr. Lee Wei Ling's claim that I have abused my power to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's passing in order to establish a dynasty.

The accusations are completely untrue." Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding prime minister, died on March 23, 2015, at the age of 91

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Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong at war with sister over Lee Kuan Yew commemorations

An unprecedented family feud between Singapore's prime minister and his sister over the death of their father Lee Kuan Yew has burst into the open in the strictly-controlled city-state.

Lee Hsien Loong said that he is "deeply saddened" that his sister Lee Wei Ling had accused him of abusing his power to commemorate the first anniversary of their father's death in order to establish a dynasty.

"The accusations are untrue," the prime minister said of the comments by Dr Lee, a well known neurosurgeon, on her Facebook page.

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Singapore PM denies sister’s claim of abusing power

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has denied his sister’s claim of abusing power to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s passing in order to establish a dynasty.

In response to his sister Lee Wei Ling’s claim, Lee Hsien Loong said he was “deeply saddened” and the accusations were “completely untrue”, Xinhua reported.

March 23 is the one-year anniversary of the death of Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

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Facebook family feud bursts into open between Singapore PM, sister


A rare and unexpected family feud has burst into the open between Singapore’s prime minister and his sister over the anniversary of the death of their father, the city state’s founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Dr. Lee Wei Ling, a well-known neurosurgeon, said the government was trying to use the occasion of her father’s one-year death anniversary to “hero-worship” him, according to Channel News Asia, a government-supported television station and news website. It said Dr. Lee suggested that her brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was “abusing his power” by conducting elaborate anniversary events, and trying to establish a political “dynasty.”

“The idea that I should wish to establish a dynasty makes even less sense. Meritocracy is a fundamental value of our society, and neither I, the PAP, nor the Singapore public would tolerate any such attempt,” he wrote, referring to the ruling People’s Action Party.

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Singaporean PM in feud with sister over anniversary of father's death

In a Facebook post on Sunday, neurosurgeon Dr Lee Wei Ling said the government was trying to use the first anniversary of the death of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding father, to “hero worship” him, according to Channel NewsAsia, a government-owned television news agency.

It said Lee Wei Ling had suggested that her brother, the Singaporean prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, was “abusing his power” by conducting elaborate anniversary events and trying to establish a political dynasty.

Channel NewsAsia said the post had been taken down later on Sunday. However, a few hours later, Lee Hsien Loong wrote on Facebook that he was “deeply saddened” by the accusations, calling them “completely untrue”.

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Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Feuds In Public With Sister

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday denied abusing his power and attempting to establish a dynasty as a family feud went public after the first anniversary of the death of his father Lee Kuan Yew.

Reacting to attacks from his younger sister Lee Wei Ling, the prime minister said in a Facebook post that he was "deeply saddened" by the claims and called them "completely untrue".

Singapore on March 23 marked the first anniversary of the death of Lee Kuan Yew, the country's authoritarian first prime minister who ruled from 1959 to 1990.

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Feud between S'pore PM, sister goes public

A rare and unexpected family feud has burst into the open between Singapore's prime minister and his sister over the anniversary of the death of their father, the city state's founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Dr. Lee Wei Ling, a well-known neurosurgeon, said the government was trying to use the occasion of her father's one-year death anniversary to "hero-worship" him, according to Channel News Asia, a government-supported television station and news website. It said Dr. Lee suggested that her brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was "abusing his power" by conducting elaborate anniversary events, and trying to establish a political "dynasty."

Channel News Asia said the post was taken down from Facebook later Sunday. But then Lee fired back at his sister in his own Facebook post a few hours later, saying he is "deeply saddened" by her accusations, which he said "are completely untrue."

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Lee Wei Ling... a dissident in the making?
Former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (2nd L) and his family celebrate his 80th birthday in Singapore in this September 16, 2003 file photo. From left, Lee’s daughter Lee Wei Ling, wife Kwa Geok Choo, son Lee Hsien Loong and daughter-in-law Ho Ching. REUTERS/David Loh/Files
After a week of heady revelations and counter revelations, Dr Lee Wei Ling is now like a battered and bruised tigress, licking her wounds and waiting for an opportunity to strike back.
Her personality is that of a pit bull terrier with a tenacious instinct to not let go, said people who are familiar with her and her past actions.
When her father was alive, she had his wisdom to calm and even control her. Without the protective cover of a man she deeply respects and listens to, expect her to come to back fighting.

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Remembering Mr Lee and his values

Individuals and community groups have planned about 100 events to mark the anniversary.

Said Mr Chan: "Mr Lee has touched the lives of many Singaporeans in many different ways and it's only right that Singaporeans from all walks of life remember him in their own special way."

At one remembrance event yesterday, organised by Muslim welfare organisation Jamiyah, several children referred to him as a "superhero" during a skit they performed. He is like Ironman, because he once said "whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him", said 6-yr-old Theodore Fun. And he had bionic eyes because he saw 51 yrs ago that Singapore would be a successful, multiracial society, said Choo Shaoning, 8.

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Singapore: Of hero-worship and freedom

“Hero-worship is strongest where there is least regard for human freedom.”

“Lee Kuan Yew would have cringed at the hero worship,” his physician daughter Dr Lee Wei Ling posted on Facebook last week, accusing her prime minister brother Lee Hsien Loong of abusing his authority by leading Singaporeans into hero-worshipping their late father just one year after his demise.

Her views got her into a tangle with the editors of the Straits Times, leading to her claim that the pro-government paper was restricting her freedom of speech by censoring her views on the subject. Once again, Spencer’s words struck a chord within me.

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Ho Ching 'embarrassed' by Twitter blunder, clears misunderstanding about her post

The saga began on Sunday when Dr Lee posted a message on Facebook calling her brother a "dishonorable son", and accused him of attempting to create a dynasty with his position as Prime Minister. PM Lee responded hours later with a statement, saying he was "deeply saddened" by his sister's accusations.

And while all this was happening, an image of a monkey with its middle finger pointing up appeared on Ho's FaceBook page.

It could have simply been a case of coincidence, but given the ongoing public feud, the Internet soon went wild with Ho's post.

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Accidental posting is 'technically possible'
PM Lee Hsien Loong and wife Ho Ching

The Facebook posts by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, have made headlines internationally

Britain's The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) in Australia and Hong Kong's South China Morning Post have all published articles about the incident.

The online article on SMH, which carried the headline "Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong at war with sister over Lee Kuan Yew commemorations", was even listed as its 3rd most popular story yesterday evening.

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Singapore PM’s wife apologizes over ‘middle finger’ Twitter posting
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=497579923763180&id=100005335308340

SINGAPOREAN Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife issued an apology on Monday over a faux pas on social media involving the image of a small primate holding up its middle finger.

Ho Ching had made the apology, claiming to have accidentally posted the image of the rude-gesturing monkey on Twitter. She also claimed the gaffe was made because she was new to the microblogging site despite having over 1,400 prior posts on Twitter.

“Peace, folks, and embarrassed apologies from this Twitter newbie,” she Tweeted.

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Ho Ching apologises for posting photo that could have been 'misunderstood'

Madam Ho Ching, Temasek Holdings' chief executive officer and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's wife, has apologised for sharing on social media a photo that got many netizens talking on Sunday (April 10), saying that she had reposted it without realising that it would not contain a caption, and thus could be misunderstood.

The photo, which depicts a monkey showing a rude gesture to a photographer in Japan, was widely shared on Twitter and Facebook over the weekend. One of the many media outlets which posted the photo on Twitter was China's People's Daily, which tweeted the photo on Saturday morning with the text: "Back off man! Angry monkey flashed middle finger to photographer when interrupted during his morning bath in #Japan."

Madam Ho shared the photo on her Facebook page on Sunday, but deleted it hours later.

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Singapore PM parries sister’s claims of dynastic ambitions
Detail of a photo of a monkey posted on Facebook by Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, Ho Ching. Photo: internet

Meanwhile, Ho Ching, the prime minister’s wife and chief executive of Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, posted on Facebook a photo of a monkey extending its middle finger, further fueling speculation of a family feud.

Hsien Loong and his father were never hesitant to take to court anyone, in Singapore or abroad, who they perceived made false and damaging statements about them.

Perhaps the prime minister has finally found a critic he cannot sue.

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MONKEY'S 'MIDDLE FINGER' WASN'T MEANT FOR SIS-IN-LAW - HSIEN LOONG'S WIFE OFFERS 'EMBARRASSED APOLOGIES'

The post was a photo of a monkey showing a rude hand gesture. It came amid public criticisms by Lee's sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, about how their father Lee Kuan Yew's first year death anniversary had been commemorated.

Describing herself as a "Twitter newbie" on Monday, Ho Ching said she had been playing around with Twitter "trying out different buttons, seeing what can or cannot be done".

She said: "Discovered Twitter reposts pictures without captions, and unfortunately one of the pictures could be misunderstood on its own. Took down as soon as a friend alerted me."

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Full Coverage:
LWL was right. Take a look at this
PM's wife apologises for monkey post
Accidental posting is 'technically possible'
Ho Ching apologises for posting photo that could've been 'misunderstood'
PM Lee's wife Ho Ching apologises for Facebook post of monkey
PM Lee's wife explains why she posted monkey photo on Facebook
Ho Ching apologises on Facebook for her “monkey post”

Singapore PM's wife apologizes over 'middle finger' Twitter posting
Singapore PM's wife apologises for 'rude' Facebook post
Singapore's 'first family' in shock Facebook spat
Open spat erupts in Singapore between premier and his sister
Lee Wei Ling reveals emails indicating possible family feud
Spore PM Lee Hsien Loong at war with sister over LKY commemorations
Singapore's first family plays out public feud on Facebook
Lee Wei Ling reveals emails indicating possible family feud
Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong at war with sister over Lee Kuan
Singapore's first family plays out public feud on Facebook
Lee family spat: Social media a devil you must learn to dance with
Singapore's 'first family' in shock Facebook spat
Cookies on the BBC website
Shocking accusation by Singapore PM's younger sister
Singapore Family Feud
Dispute with PM a ‘Singaporean matter’: Lee Wei Ling
Late S'pore PM LKY's children squabble over his memory on Facebook
Ho Ching apologises for Facebook post that 'could be misunderstood'
PM Lee rebuts accusations by his sister
PM Lee 'deeply saddened' by Dr Lee Wei Ling's allegations
Dispute with PM a 'Singaporean matter': Lee Wei Ling
Singapore's 'first family' in shock Facebook spat
Singapore's Lee Family Feuds Over Allegations of Dynastic Politics

Feud bursts into the open between Singapore PM, sister
Open spat erupts in Singapore between premier and his sister
Family feud over how to mark Lee Kuan Yew's death spills out online
Singapore's first family plays out public feud on Facebook
Singapore PM parries sister's claims of dynastic ambitions
Feud bursts into the open between Singapore PM, sister
Open spat erupts in Singapore between premier and his sister
Singapore PM Rejects Sister's Accusation of Forming a 'Dynasty'
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong denies sister's abuse of power accusations
Lee denies sister's accusations of abusing power to build dynasty
Singapore PM feuds in public with sister
Singapore PM refutes sister's abuse of power claims
Family feud over how to mark LKY's death spills out online
Lee Kuan Yew daughter airs family’s dirty laundry
Singapore PM feuds in public with sister
Dealing with death can lead to conflict – as Singapore's first family shows
Open spat erupts in Singapore between premier and his sister
Singapore PM rejects sister's accusation of forming a 'dynasty'
Feud bursts into the open between Singapore PM, sister
Spore's PM at war with sister over commemorations for their father

Was the reception to Lee Kuan Yew's passing just a knee-jerk reaction?
When Lee Kuan Yew passed, he was apparently no longer just a great man; in the eyes of many, he had become a perfect man too

I have no doubt that Singaporeans and many people around the world felt genuine, emotional stirrings at the death of this giant, but that it was so short-lived makes one wonder. I suppose we can't expect people to be writing eulogies to him every day. We all know that life goes on. However, I believe that if you asked the people who had either strongly negative or neutral feelings, or those who could rationalise how they felt about his life and passing, the conviction of their sentiments would be the same now as they have been for years and will be for years to come.

So what of the seven-day mourners? Was it a knee-jerk reaction? Was it that people didn't expect to feel as much as they did when he left us? Or was it just that many had never thought about it before and never weighed the importance of this man in our history and future until he was gone? How much of it stemmed from pure ignorance?

One of the main things that struck me was the disgust with which people who had anything other than a kind word to say about him were treated. They were called ungrateful and disrespectful. They weren't allowed their own opinions — God forbid any judgements — or their own parting words to a man they had a different relationship with. When Lee Kuan Yew passed, he was apparently no longer just a great man; in the eyes of many, he had become a perfect man too.

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Social Media on the Late LKY’s children Online Squabble
“What social media has introduced for sure is an element of ‘live’ politics; you need to be able to react much faster – within hours – while bearing in the mind the consequences of what you are about to post,”
The use of social media as a communication tool for politicians has steadily rose over the years and leading by example are Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India), Shinzo Abe (Prime Minister of Japan) and PM Lee of Singapore.

“The fact that Lee Wei Ling has found Facebook to express her opinions after being shut out by the mainstream media shows the value of social media,” said PN Balji, editor of The Independent Singapore and senior media consultant at RHT ARC Comms & Relations.

One of the core principles in politics is to be able to engage with your citizens, communicate your position to build support for your case so naturally social media makes sense.

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Online squabble about "Hero-Worship" of the late Lee Kuan Yew
The saga, which has involved salvo after salvo being fired from both sides, shows no sign of respite.

Dr Lee Wei Ling took to Facebook again on Saturday afternoon to respond to a Straits Times article published the same day that claimed she had plagiarised her column.

The article was penned by the newspaper's associate editor Ivan Fernandez, who had edited Dr Lee's work since last November.
Remembering Lee Kuan Yew 2016

A series of activities were held today to commemorate the one-year death anniversary of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the world’s longest serving prime minister, who passed away at the age of 91.

Born in Singapore on Sept 16, 1923, Kuan Yew, helmed the government for over three decades.

Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong in his posting on Facebook wrote: “A year ago today, Mr Lee Kuan Yew left us. Tens of thousands queued for hours to pay their last respects at Parliament House, where his body lay in state. As he made his final journey past the Padang, a 21-gun salute was fired.”

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