Update 12 Jul 2017: Singapore’s ambassador to the United States says no “national crisis” in response to article by New York Times
Mr Ashok Kumar Mipuri, Singapore’s ambassador to the United States has issued a rebuttal to an article that was published by the New York Times about the Lee family saga on 4 July 2017, stating that "there is no national crisis in Singapore."
The NYT article entitled, "Dispute Over Singapore Founder’s House Becomes a National Crisis" covered the allegations that Dr Lee Weiling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang had made against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in June and commented that the dispute over the fate of 38 Oxley Road has "shattered Singapore’s image as an orderly authoritarian ideal and hinted at deeper divisions about its political future."
Mr Mipuri's letter criticized the article for promoting the absurd notion that Singaporeans link the legitimacy of their government with the fate of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s house. The NYT time had written that "just as it was difficult to separate Mr. Lee from the country he built, it is impossible to erase the politics from the house. Preserving it would provide a physical reminder not only of Mr. Lee, analysts said, but also of the current prime minister’s connection to him." and quoted Li Shengwu, Lee Hsien Yang’s son saying that the People's Action Party viewed the house as a symbol of their legacy and a symbol uniquely associated with them which gives the party legitimacy.
No 'national crisis' over 38 Oxley Road dispute: Ambassador to US rebuts NYT story
Your article “Family Dispute Over House of Singapore’s Founder Erupts as National Crisis” (news article, July 5) promotes the absurd notion that Singaporeans link the legitimacy of their government to the fate of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s house.
In response to accusations by his siblings of abuse of power over the house, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made a full statement in Parliament. He explained how he had recused himself from all government decisions concerning the house, and also sold the house to his brother, so that he no longer has any interest or influence over the house.
No member of Parliament made any allegations of impropriety or wrongdoing against the prime minister during the debate, nor has anyone else produced specific evidence to back the siblings’ vague allegations. There is no national crisis in Singapore.
Dispute Over Singapore Founder’s House Becomes a National Crisis
And in a place where criticizing the government can land a blogger in jail, the public airing of these grievances from within the ranks of the revered founding family is nothing short of extraordinary.
“These are allegations of abuse of power, subversion of due process, cronyism and nepotism,” Kirsten Han, an activist and journalist, wrote in a popular blog. “If true, they upend Singapore’s carefully cultivated, squeaky-clean, corruption-free image.
“And, more important for the people of Singapore,” she continued, “they reveal that the ‘A Team,’ who have for decades presented themselves as the best option for the country, are actually using the power the electorate has bestowed upon them for their own personal goals.”
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FamiLEE saga: It’s gone international
WORKERS’ Party chief Mr Low Thia Khiang said in Parliament on Monday (Jul 3): “Singapore’s international reputation has taken a beating, some countries which have had a high regard for us are laughing at us, and the international media has amplified and maximised the bad publicity on Singapore.”
Here is a summary of key international headlines as the two-day parliamentary debate concluded yesterday (Jul 4).
Reuters went with “Lee family war rumbles on…” in their headline as The New York Times characterised the “dispute over Singapore founder’s house” as “a national crisis”. In Bloomberg’s report, the Prime Minister (PM) acknowledged that the “Lee family feud has damaged Singapore’s reputation”.
The Wall Street Journal talked about how the Prime Minister (PM) rejected his siblings’ allegations, while the BBC and CNBC led with the PM saying that he “prefers not to sue [his] siblings” and “wants to put an end to the bad blood” respectively.
The Malaysian Insight quoted the PM as saying that the “entirely baseless” allegations “can affect Singaporeans’ confidence” in the G. And Australian news.com.au reported him saying that Singaporeans “wish it would end”.
Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, which has covered the saga extensively, ran a commentary by Chirag Agarwal explaining “why Singapore will survive its latest political scandal“.
Several news outlets around the world, including the New Indian Express, ran an AFP story titled “Singapore PM accused of lying in parliament by brother”. Shanghai Daily ran the same article albeit under a different title: “Singapore’s Lee dynasty spat gets ugly“.
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FamiLEE saga: Headlines around the world
THE public denunciation yesterday (June 14) of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong by his siblings Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang shocked Singapore, the ripples of which reached far beyond its shores.
The story was picked up by international news wire agencies, Reuters, AP, and AFP, with three different angles. Reuters angled on fear with the headline: Singapore prime minister’s siblings say they feel threatened, have lost confidence in him. AP went with family feud: Siblings accuse Singapore PM of using his power against them. And AFP focused on the accusations of power abuse: Siblings accuse Singapore PM of abusing power in family row. The articles were a straight retelling of what transpired, with the added context that in Singapore, such public criticism of the Prime Minister is “rare”.
By and large these three angles were repeated the world over.
How international media are covering the Lee household saga
While the Singapore media were second to publish the breaking news story about the Lee household saga, the international media has gone into overdrive dissecting and making sense of it all for a global audience.
Characterising the curiously public spat as an “open feud”, “rare feud”, “family rift” and “lengthy tussle”, the Lee household has been labelled the “First Family of Singapore” in some publications, while others are trying to explain who Lee Hsien Yang is and the significance of the remarks his son made.
For Singaporeans, it is yet another way to put ourselves in the shoes of others, as we read international publications to see how outsiders see us.
Here are how six international publications that have reported on the ongoing Lee household saga:
- Financial Times
- Washington Post
- CNBC
- South China Morning Post
- Bloomberg
- Quartz
International news gets real on the Lee family saga
International news gets real on the Lee family saga
The Lee saga might seem like a 500-episode long Taiwanese soap drama entirely on the conflict over the family inheritance, but it is more than just a family feud.
There are some similarities between the two: plans that only manifest at the opportune time of 2 in the morning, something about a respectable father and his last will, and the focus on intense eye stares, but international news have tried to divert the focus to something bigger than that.
Here’s a look at how international coverage has differed from local coverage.
related:
LHY Alleges There’s A Difference In PM’s Actions In Public & In Private
LHY Suggests Bad Things Have Happened To His Friends, Sheds Statement
PM Lee’s Son Li Hongyi Announces He Has No Interest In Politics
read more
Reporting on the Lee Family Feud: The Difference between State Media and Global Press
But, from the US to Europe, to Asia, to Oceanis (Auz and NZ) every other news outlet seemed to caught the essential news point – which is this family feud extends to more than just an old house in the heart of Singapore.
In other words, they were focusing on something totally different from what state media would have you believe is the gist of the Lee siblings’ outburst.
If you looked beyond our shores (and our state media), this is what you would know
related:
LWL: “If PM can Misuse Power to Abuse Siblings, What Else can he do?”
Lee Family Feud: LHL Denies Allegations, Says Siblings have Hurt LKY’s Legacy
Lee Family Feud: Siblings Accuse Hsien Loong of Abuse of Power and Nepotism
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S’pore mainstream media grappling with reporting Lee household saga
All of Singapore woke up to a Singaporean-psyche shattering saga that exploded onto the internet just after 2am on June 14, 2017.
This meant people abroad in other time zones (particularly Europe and the US) were discussing it for hours before Singaporeans here even realised Lee Hsien Yang had created a Facebook page to post a six-page statement co-signed with his sister.
The mainstream media in Singapore, which has prided itself with breaking news, was surely stunned like the rest of us — from the looks of how they were not covering the issue for hours after it happened.
related:
The 2 Lee siblings' anger over the Ministerial Committee on LKY's house
LHY’s son Li Shengwu backs up dad’s & aunt’s statement on PM Lee & Ho Ching
Lee Hsien Yang's latest FB post: 'We have no confidence in Lee Hsien Loong'
Lee Wei Ling's new post: Secret committees have no place in family matters
Lee Hsien Loong's son has just responded to this whole Lee family saga
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Singapore PM's Family Feud Reveals Rise of the 'First Lady'
On April 15, 2010, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was interviewed by Charlie Rose on American national television and declared without reservation that if anyone suggested that Singapore has a dynastic government – if there was any hint of nepotism – then he would sue them.
That was then. Seven years and two months later, on June 14, 2017, his own brother and sister (Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling) accused him of exactly that. He has not sued them, but his brother has said he will flee the country in fear of unspecified repercussions from his conflict with his brother. They accuse him not only of having dynastic ambitions for his son, Li Hongyi, but also of abusing his power as prime minister in his effort to "advance his personal agenda" and of cowering the local press into timid silence.
The tipping point of the dispute is the last will and testament of the family patriarch, Lee Kuan Yew, who died on 23 March 2015. The specific point of dispute is disposal of the family home: Lee Kuan Yew wanted it bulldozed; Lee Hsien Loong wants it preserved and heritage listed. More to the point, he is accused of using the power of Cabinet and his Attorney-General (formerly his personal solicitor) to make it so. (Last week Cabinet Secretary Tan Kee Yong confirmed Cabinet had set up an internal ministerial committee to consider the options for the house but PM Lee had not been involved in the committee's discussions.) The PM's younger siblings have enlisted the power of Facebook and the foreign media (bypassing the Singapore press) to stop him.
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Perhaps the most startling and truly new development is the emergence of the importance of Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, Ho Ching
The second significant revelation is the first airing by anyone in the ruling elite of the political ambitions of Li Hongyi, Lee Hsien Loong’s and Ho Ching’s son. His ambition had been well known for many years, and it was fairly obvious to anyone who followed the Lee family closely that he had been busy building a CV that would provide him entry to politics, but barely a whisper of this had been translated into print. Certainly, no journalist had gone near the story and even foreign academics like myself have been circumspect. Li Hongyi has denied any such ambition (well he would, wouldn’t he?) but now the story is out, and it is out in a way that cannot do anything but hurt his ambitions.
The third major consequence is the continued degradation of the Lee Hsien Loong brand and, by consequence, the Lee family brand. Lee Hsien Loong has never been as revered as his father and the events of the last week are likely to have further damaged him. It would be different if his period as prime minister had been a litany of successes and achievements, but it has been far from a success. During the 13 years that Lee Hsien Loong has been prime minister, government in Singapore has been unambiguously ordinary. There have been large anti-government rallies, the worse election result for the government since independence, and a series of spectacular administrative failures. He famously saved the 2011 General Elections for the government by apologizing for all the things the government had done wrong. This is definitely not the way to enhance a brand nor the way to build a dynasty. It is not even a good way to run a country.
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Singaporeans weary of prime minister's family spat
The siblings have continued to trade blows via Facebook, with no sign of a truce coming anytime soon. Many Singaporeans, unaware of what caused such distrust among the family in the first place, have started showing signs of weariness with the ongoing drama.
"Parliament is not a forum for siblings' disputes," an internet user believed to be Singaporean said in a comment on a local news website. Concerns have grown that the saga will drag on despite more pressing issues, such as the economy and the growing threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia. Han Fook Kwang, editor-at-large of the influential newspaper The Straits Times, said, "The family feud among the Lees is extremely damaging to Singapore."
The row has invited criticism from overseas, too. "The dispute between [the prime minister] and his siblings might challenge the stability of the country and bring pressure for political reform," wrote the Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party's English-language newspaper.
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Lee family war rumbles on as Singapore's parliament debates
As Singapore's parliament began the second day of a debate on Tuesday over Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's dispute with his siblings over their late father's house, his estranged brother accused the prime minister of making false claims.
During the first day of the debate there were no revelations over the accusation that Prime Minister Lee had abused his power, or why his siblings should say that they feared the "organs of the state" could be used against them.
Lee Hsien Yang has said he and his wife, lawyer Lee Suet Fern, would be leaving Singapore because they felt closely monitored and hugely unwelcome. Some lawmakers urged the prime minister to sue his siblings, and settle a matter that was distracting the government and damaging Singapore's image. Lee had told parliament that he was loathe to do so, fearing it would drag out the affair and further damage his parents' name.
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Singapore, a Model of Orderly Rule, Is Jolted by a Bitter Family Feud
In mid-2016, the government established a ministerial committee to consider options for 38 Oxley Road, including turning it into a memorial park if the house is demolished. Prime Minister Lee later said he had no role in setting up the committee, doesn’t participate in its discussions, and gives no instructions to its members, since he has recused himself from government deliberations on the house.
The four-member panel queried Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling about preparations for Lee Kuan Yew’s last will, prompting them to accuse Prime Minister Lee of using the panel to question their father’s wishes. They allege that was an abuse of power because the committee comprises the prime minister’s subordinates and inquired about a family dispute the siblings believe should be heard in court. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who chairs the committee, later said it isn’t trying to investigate the will’s validity. He said its role is to come up with options for the Oxley Road house to facilitate a future government’s decision on its fate. The will was deemed valid by a Singapore court in October 2015. Prime Minister Lee didn’t raise objections during that process, but later told the committee he had “grave concerns” about the will’s preparation.
Frustrated by the committee’s work, Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang escalated matters, publishing a six-page statement on Facebook June 14. In it, they accused the prime minister of harboring “political ambitions” for one of his sons and said he was trying to “milk” their father’s legacy.
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Family feud sullies Singapore’s clean image
The two-day debate saw Lee Hsien Loong supported by his long ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), with senior members expressing their confidence in his leadership in no uncertain terms.
Lee also dismissed calls from both opposition MPs and some of his own backbenchers to convene a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the close-to-home allegations.
“What is the basis for this? There are no specifics to the headline charge of abuse of power,” Lee Hsien Loong said. “After two days of debate, nobody has stood behind these allegations or offered any evidence, not even opposition MPs.”
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Family Feud in Finance Paradise
The 1MDB scandal has roiled Singapore's financial center. Now, a public family feud threatens stability in the tightly-controlled city-state.
By Asian standards, it translates to breaking a stigma: Lee Hsien Yang wrote on Facebook that he is leaving Singapore «for the foreseeable future». The reason? He has lost faith in Singapore's government and its leader. «I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure», he wrote.
The passage is explosive because Lee Hsien Yang (pictured below), of course, isn't just another Singaporean disgruntled with the tightly-controlled city-state and the close-knit group of people who control almost all aspects of government, politics, domestic business, regulation and public life. He is one of the sons of Singapore's founder, Lee Kuan Yew, who died two years ago, and the brother of Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's current Prime Minister.
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Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong is on the back foot
Will MPs stand up for Singapore and ask their boss difficult and probing questions? Rigorous questioning of power is not in the Singaporean psyche in parliament or out. With a lopsided chamber packed with government lawmakers and just a tiny sprinkling of opposition members, who are often shouted down by their PAP colleagues, a decisive debate is unlikely.
What's the point when the chief accusers won't be taking part? Both Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling won't be in parliament to answer questions or respond to points being made. The siblings' strategy so far has been to post revelations and accusations on social media from overseas. It looks like they are still holding some cards close to their chest to be revealed later in order to keep the pot boiling.
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Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong denounced by siblings
Lee Wei Ling and her brother Lee Hsien Yang said in a public statement released in the early hours of Wednesday that they were “disturbed by the character, conduct, motives and leadership” of the premier and his wife.
Their criticism appeared to focus on a dispute over the fate of the family home, the influence of the first lady on government, and allegations that the prime minister had unannounced political ambitions for his son.
“We feel extremely sad that we are pushed to this position,” they wrote. “We have seen a completely different face to our brother, one that deeply troubles us.”
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Lee family in dispute
Lee Hsien Loong’s wife Ho Ching is the chief executive of state investment firm Temasek Holdings, which had global assets worth SGD242 billion (USD180 billion) as of March 2016. “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,” read the statement posted online by his siblings.
“We have observed that Hsien Loong and Ho Ching want to milk Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy for their own political purposes,” the statement said, adding that they harbour political ambitions for one of their sons.
Michael Barr, associate professor of international relations at Flinders University in Adelaide, said “normal people who try to do something similar would’ve been dealt with by the courts by now”, referring to the strong criticism of Lee. “Ultimately, how much damage to the Lee brand is done is another question,” he added.
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Singapore Lee Family Feud Goes Public on Facebook: QuickTake Q&A
The house at 38 Oxley Road, the residence of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew.Photographer:Wallace Woon/EPA
Singapore is a small but wealthy Southeast Asian island state with a reputation for order and control. So imagine the dismay when its most famous family gets involved in a very public feud -- on Facebook. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his two younger siblings are embroiled in a spat that centers on the fate of the house that belonged to their late father, the country’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew. It marks a rare public display of acrimony from a family that’s been at the forefront of Singapore’s establishment since its independence in 1965 -- a family that largely kept private any discord before the elder Lee’s death in 2015:
- What’s the spat about?
- Who are the protagonists?
- What about keeping disputes in the family?
- What does PM Lee say?
- What’s the significance of the house?
- What do we know about the committee?
- Is anyone else involved?
- What impact has the spat had on Singapore politics?
- What about markets?
- Could the environment change?
- What about Singapore’s image?
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SONS, MOTHERS, MONEY AND MEMORY: THEORIES ABOUT THE LEE KUAN YEW FAMILY FEUD
In Singapore, the President’s Scholarship represents the pinnacle of educational achievement and the promise of a high-flying career in public service. Awarded to a select few top performers in each pre-university cohort, it reflects Singapore’s belief in harnessing elite talent, an obsession of its late founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee’s family is full of President’s Scholars. He and his wife, both Cambridge-educated lawyers, had three children. All three became President’s Scholars. As ordained, they dutifully rose to the top of their respective spheres. The scions of other Southeast Asian political families – the Marcoses of the Philippines, the Suhartos of Indonesia or the Razaks of Malaysia – included at least some individuals who let their hair down, to put it mildly. But the Lees of Singapore were the goody-two-shoes of the block, the epitome of self-discipline, diligence and responsibility.
Last Wednesday morning, however, Singapore was rocked by the revelation of an explosive feud within the Lee family. The spat had surfaced last year, then appeared to subside. But this time, out of the blue, it was clear that things had reached breaking point.
related: Family quarrels, cold wars: emails put Lee Kuan Yew’s private life on show
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Singapore's first family trading blows on Facebook
SINGAPORE -- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has exchanged pointed words with his brother and sister over the private legacy of their late father, Lee Kuan Yew, stating publicly on Thursday that he has "serious questions" and "grave concerns" about how his father's will was drawn up -- a disquieting development in a country that prides itself on the rule of law.
"[M]y siblings have continued to give interviews and make allegations against me," the prime minister said in a remarkably frank Facebook statement posted while vacationing abroad. "This makes it untenable for me not to respond publicly to the allegations and to explain why I have serious questions about how my father's Last Will was prepared."
Lee Kuan Yew's oldest son posted a 41-paragraph "statutory declaration" outlining his position. Nine questions were listed over the events surrounding the drafting of the will, including the role of his brother's wife, the well-known lawyer Lee Suet Fern, and possible conflicts of interest. Lee laid out a detailed timeline to demonstrate the will's hurried preparation and his sister-in-law's involvement. He called into question the inclusion of a clause that would lead to the demolition of the home of Singapore's founding father. "I believe it is necessary to go beyond the Last Will in order to establish what Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's thinking and wishes were in relation to the House," he concluded.
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Singapore frets over worsening Lee family feud
A feud within Singapore’s first family intensified on Thursday as the prime minister’s sister said the split pointed to the repressive nature of the city-state — and was more than just a quarrel between siblings.
Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, dismissed her brother’s attempt to characterise the struggle as “private family matters”.
Her intervention illustrates a fight for control of the narrative between rival wings of Singapore’s first family, analysts say. The row has dominated political discourse in the Asian financial centre this week.
related:
The premier’s family squabbles over the legacy of Lee Kuan Yew
Singapore’s family feud raises questions of dynastic ambition
Lee family feud in Singapore
Singapore’s first family feud over ‘big brother’
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Founding Father’s Legacy Exposes Rift in Singapore’s Most Powerful Family
BANGKOK – The last will of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singapore, has led to an intriguing case of sibling rivalry: his firstborn son, the current prime minister of the Asian city-state, stands accused of abuse of power by his relatives.
Kuan Yew, who became the head of newly-independent Singapore in 1965, had requested that upon his death the family house located in 38 Oxley Street be demolished and the money raised through the sale of the land be donated to charitable organizations.
Built 200 years ago by a Jewish merchant and acquired by the politician in 1945, the walls of the home witnessed several important moments in the history of the nation, such as the meeting of Kuan Yew and his acolytes during the struggle for independence from the British (1963) and the subsequent separation from Malaysia (1965).
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Singapore PM: Last will of Lee Kuan Yew 'troubling'
The last will of Singapore founder Lee Kuan Yew was made in "deeply troubling circumstances" with a family member helping to draft it, alleged his eldest son, the country's current prime minister.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said late Thursday that Lee Suet Fern, the wife of his brother Lee Hsien Yang, had "re-inserted a demolition clause" in the last will before the elder Lee died in 2015. The clause directed a family home to be demolished instead of being turned into a museum or heritage site.
Lee claimed that his brother and sister-in-law, who led a team of lawyers at Stamford Law Corporation, now Morgan Lewis Stamford, arranged for the will to be altered in December 2013.
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Lee Kuan Yew's Last Will Made Upon His 'Express Instruction', Says Younger Son
Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of Singapore's prime minister, said on Saturday his father had expressly instructed the drafting of a last will directing the demolition of the family's iconic home, the latest salvo in a public feud between the city-state's leader and his two younger siblings.
The comments by Lee Hsien Yang, made on his Facebook account, followed those made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday that there were "serious questions" and "deeply troubling circumstances" over how the final will of their father, Lee Kuan Yew, was drawn up. The prime minister's office was not immediately available for comment on Saturday.
The feud between the children of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, over the future of the family home erupted publicly this week in a flurry of accusations and denials through press releases and Facebook postings, which also touched on Lee Hsien Loong's leadership.
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Chinese state media, netizens seize on Lee family dispute to criticise Singapore
Chinese state media and netizens have seized on the feud between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings to criticise the Republic’s leadership, drawing a sharp contrast between their coverage and that of the media in countries around the world, which have mostly stuck to factual and balanced reporting.
On Thu (Jun 15), for example, the Global Times ran an opinion piece headlined “Is family feud indicating a broader dispute in Singapore?” In adopting a hectoring tone, the piece posited that the family dispute was a sign that socio-political tensions were brewing in Singapore.
“The attack launched on Lee Hsien Loong by his 2 siblings to some extent represents the dissatisfactions of the liberals and opposition parties against the ‘central interest group’ built up by Lee Hsien Loong, which may lead to the outburst of conflicts in Singapore,” the commentary said.
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LKY kids' feud rocks Singapore
SINGAPORE is often dubbed by foreign media as "squeaky clean", bolstered by its world ranking as a virtually corruption-free nation and one that rarely goes through controversies and scandals.
Over the past 52 years since its separation from Malaysia, and prior to that, there's always been a smooth transfer of power from one People's Action Party (PAP) leader to another with the most dominant of them all being its founding father Lee Kuan Yew – better known as LKY – who ruled for 31 years until 1990.
Even two years after his death his larger than life image still casts a shadow over Singaporeans, reinforced by the fact that the prime minister for the past 13 years is none other than his own son, Lee Hsien Loong, eldest of the three LKY siblings.
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Singapore PM, siblings at war over father’s will
A family feud being played out in public between Singapore’s prime minister and his siblings took an acrimonious turn on Friday, with accusations their late father’s will had been tampered with.
Tightly-ruled Singapore has been transfixed for days by the bitter row raging among the offspring of revered founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, a family that is the closest the city state has to royalty. Allegations of cheating, lying and dynasty-building have been hurled, with claims his will had been altered without his knowledge 15 months before he died.
“I continue to have grave concerns about the events surrounding the making of the Last Will,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote on his Facebook page.
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Singapore PM's Sister-In-Law Changes Job Role Amid Family Feud
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lee Suet Fern, managing partner of global law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP's combined practice in Singapore, has stepped down from the position to focus on her international role in the firm, sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.
The move comes amid an intensifying family feud over the will of the city-state's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, Lee Suet Fern's father-in-law, which has gripped the island this week.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said late on Thursday there were "deeply troubling circumstances" over how his father's will had been drawn up.
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Singapore's Squabbling Lees Back in the Limelight
Few leaders are as thin-skinned as those from the founding family of Singapore. The late Lee Kuan Yew loathed his critics and turned defamation charges into a weapon of state, used to bankrupt political opposition and silence ordinary citizens who dared to gripe about Big Brother.
Criticism is thus rare. But there are exceptions, most notably cases involving the Lee family itself. This week, it appeared that the gloves have again come off with respect to a lingering dispute over the Lee family home, a bungalow near Orchard Road.
At issue is whether the late Lee Kuan Yew really wanted the home demolished after his death to avoid the prospect of it being used as a centerpiece to promote him as a personality cult. Incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew’s son, has been accused by his siblings of ignoring their father’s wishes for it to be torn down and clinging to the bungalow to use it to strengthen his own political power.
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First family feud mesmerizes Singapore
The late Singapore premier Lee Kuan Yew might have been repulsed by the idea of his home being turned into a monument for strangers to traipse through. But perhaps even he could never have imagined the public spectacle that has had Singaporeans agog as a feud between his three children plays out on social media platform Facebook.
While the heart of the dispute appears to be over the handling of the deceased former premier’s estate at 38 Oxley Road, comments made by Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang about their elder brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong, have now gone way beyond a family’s squabbles over property management.
“If it were merely a family affair, we would not have taken it public,” Lee Wei Ling, the premier’s sister and senior advisor at the National Neuroscience Institute, wrote this week in a Facebook post.
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Singapore’s first family feud over ‘big brother’
One of the sons of Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew has announced that he was leaving the country “for the foreseeable future” after he and his sister said they had lost confidence in the leadership of their brother Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s prime minister.
In an extraordinary public statement, Lee Hsien Yang said that he, his wife, and his sister Lee Wei Ling feared “the use of the organs of state” against them following the death of their father in 2015. “We feel big brother omnipresent,” they said.
The two siblings accused their brother Lee Hsien Loong of nurturing political ambitions for his son, Li Hongyi, who works as a consultant for a Singapore government agency.
related:
A feud that threatens Singapore’s governing creed
Lee family feud in Singapore
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Singapore PM Questions How Lee Kuan Yew's Will Was Drawn up as Feud Intensifies
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said there are "deeply troubling circumstances" over how the will of his father and the founding leader of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, was drawn up, in the latest salvo in a family feud that has shaken the island state this week.
The prime minister's younger brother and sister, Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling, said on Wednesday (14/06) they had lost confidence in Lee Hsien Loong and feared that the state's organs would be used against them. Lee Hsien Yang said he and his wife, the lawyer Lee Suet Fern, would be leaving Singapore because they felt closely monitored and threatened.
A timeline issued by the prime minister's lawyers and published on Facebook late on Thursday shows that the three children of Lee Kuan Yew, who ruled the country for three decades, have been battling over the will for several years.
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Will a parliamentary hearing make Singapore PM's problems go away?
The parliamentary meeting on July 3 will be an opportunity for Lee to clear his name, but in doing so he will have no choice to throw light on a number of issues that have unsettled many Singaporeans, including:
- Was there a conspiracy to get Lee Kuan Yew to reinstate the clause to demolish the house?
- Why was a ministerial committee appointed to look into options for the property with Lee's siblings and the public being kept out of the loop?
- Was there any conflict of interest in the appointing of Lee's lawyer in the property, 63-year-old Lucien Wong, to replace 60-year-old V K Rajah as attorney general?
It remains to be seen whether MPs will ask the tough questions necessary to elicit hard truths from the prime minister, and what his siblings' next moves will be.
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Singapore leader hits back at siblings over father’s will
The last will of Singapore founder Lee Kuan Yew was made in “deeply troubling circumstances” with a family member helping to draft it, said his eldest son, the country’s current prime minister, as the tussle turned into a political drama rarely seen in the tightly-controlled city-state.
The feud is laced with accusations of extralegal bullying and nepotism against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, compelling the prominent family’s second son to say he was leaving Singapore “for the foreseeable future.”
The fight started over the status of the family home following Lee Kuan Yew’s death in 2015. Prime Minister Lee said late Thursday that the wife of his brother Lee Hsien Yang had “re-inserted a demolition clause” in Lee’s last will, preventing the home from being turned into a museum or heritage site.
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Singapore prime minister in row with siblings
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s younger brother and sister said on Wednesday that they have lost confidence in the nation’s leader and fear “the use of the organs of the state against us.”
“We are concerned that the system has few checks and balances to prevent the abuse of government. We feel big brother omnipresent,” Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang said in a joint news release and an accompanying longer statement issued at 2am Singapore time on Wednesday.
As a result, Lee Hsien Yang, and his wife Suet Fern, would be leaving Singapore. “I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure,” he said.
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Singapore Prime Minister Accused Of Abusing Power By Younger Siblings
The younger siblings of Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, have launched a scathing personal and political attack on him, saying they have lost confidence in him as a leader and accused him of abusing his power.
According to an article in the Financial Express, the siblings expressed fear that their older brother will use the state machinery against them. “We are concerned that the system has few checks and balances to prevent the abuse of government. We feel big brother omnipresent,” Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang said in a joint news release and an accompanying longer statement issued at 2 am Singapore time on Wednesday.
As a result, Lee Hsien Yang, the Prime Minister’s younger brother, and his wife Suet Fern, would be leaving Singapore. “I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure,” he said.
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‘First family’ squabble heats up in Singapore after new accusations
Tightly-ruled Singapore has been transfixed for days by the bitter row raging among the offspring of revered founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, a family that is the closest the city state has to royalty. The war of words has mostly unfolded on Facebook, with allegations of cheating, lying and dynasty-building that escalated with claims that Lee’s will had been altered without his knowledge 15 months before he died.
“I continue to have grave concerns about the events surrounding the making of the Last Will,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post on Thursday night. “I am not aware of any facts which suggest that (the elder Lee) was informed or advised... about all the changes that were made when he signed the Final Will.”
The premier’s sister, Lee Wei Ling, shot back, releasing a trove of private family e-mails early Friday disputing the claims. The row centres on a clause in the will that says Lee senior’s house should be “demolished immediately after my death”. According to the prime minister, the clause had been taken out of previous versions of his father’s will, but reappeared the final version.
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LEE KUAN YEW FAMILY FEUD DEEPENS: GRANDSONS WEIGH IN AS SINGAPORE PM’S BROTHER QUESTIONS HIS PLEDGE TO STAY OUT OF HOME DECISION
A little known government committee working behind the scenes to evaluate the future of the century-old, spartan bungalow where Singapore’s late founding leader Lee Kuan Yew lived for seven decades has been thrust into the spotlight amid a bitter public squabble among his three children that erupted this week.
Two of the political patriarch’s grandsons meanwhile used Facebook to weigh in on the saga a day after it broke into public view in dramatic fashion.
The 59-year-old Lee Hsien Yang, Lee Kuan Yew’s youngest child, on Wednesday shocked the country after revealing plans to go into self-exile, saying that he and his sister had faced harassment from their elder brother Lee Hsien Loong, the current prime minister, over the fate of the house.
related:
WHO’S WHO IN THE LEE KUAN YEW FAMILY FEUD
Siblings of Singapore PM fear for their safety, accusing him of harassment
What has happened to Lee Kuan Yew’s values? The Lee’s statement in full
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Siblings accuse Singapore PM of using his power against them
A tussle among the children of late Singapore founder Lee Kuan Yew escalated Wednesday when two of them accused their prime minister brother of using “the organs of state” against them and grooming his son to take up a political role in the tightly controlled city-state.
Business executive Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said the situation compelled him to leave Singapore “for the foreseeable future.” He and his sister, well-known neurosurgeon Dr. Lee Wei Ling, said in a statement that “we feel big brother omnipresent.”
The feud offers a rare glimpse into cracks in the prominent family after the death of Lee Kuan Yew, who led Singapore with an iron grip for more than three decades and is credited with transforming the resource poor island into a wealthy bustling financial hub with low crime and almost zero corruption.
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In rare feud, Singapore PM Lee under attack by his siblings
A rare feud between Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings has publicized the deep divisions weighing on the island-nation's first family.
In an explosive statement on Wednesday, Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang — the PM's younger sister and brother, respectively — accused their elder brother of abusing power and exploiting their father's legacy for political gain.
The city-state's first PM and father to all three siblings, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) passed away in March 2015.
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SIBLINGS OF SINGAPORE PM FEAR FOR THEIR SAFETY, ACCUSING HIM OF HARASSMENT AND TRASHING LEE KUAN YEW’S VALUES
An open feud among the family of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong deepened on Wednesday after the premier’s two younger siblings said they feared for their safety because they felt their elder brother was using state organs to harass them.
The premier immediately fired back, slamming his siblings for issuing a statement “publicising private family matters”. The Lees are the children of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s revered founding prime minister who died aged 91 in 2015 after a political career spanning over five decades.
The two younger siblings Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling in their online statement early Wednesday had said the harassment they were facing was so grave that “Hsien Yang feels compelled to leave Singapore”.
related: What has happened to LKY’s values? The Lee’s statement in full
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Singapore Premier Lee's Brother to Leave City Amid Family Feud
Lee Hsien Yang. Photographer: Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images
A family feud involving the children of late Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew burst back into public view on Wednesday as one of his sons said he now felt “compelled” to leave the country.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s two younger siblings posted a joint six-page statement on Facebook saying they had “lost confidence” in him and no longer trusted him.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I will leave Singapore for the foreseeable future,” Lee Hsien Yang wrote in the statement issued with his sister Lee Wei Ling. “I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure.”
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The brother of Singapore’s prime minister may enter self-exile, all because of a house
A patriarch dies, the family mourns, and then promptly fights over the house. That’s what’s happening in Singapore, only the patriarch was the architect of the nation.
This morning residents of the little red dot woke up to shocking news—Lee Hsien Yang, brother of Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, issued a statement (.pdf) suggesting he will enter self-exile. In a six-page letter co-written with his sister, Lee Wei Ling, he said he would leave the state for the “foreseeable future,” citing his brother Loong as the “only reason for [his] departure.”
“We feel big brother omnipresent,” they write.
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In family dispute, siblings accuse Singapore’s PM of abusing power
A feud between the children of Singapore’s late founding leader intensified on Wednesday after two siblings publicly accused their brother Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of disobeying their father›s last wishes and abusing his powers.
Singapore’s founder Lee Kuan Yew is largely credited with transforming the city-state from a relatively poor British colony into one of the world’s wealthiest and most stable societies.
His eldest son Hsien Loong became Singapore’s third prime minister in 2004, taking over the People’s Action Party (PAP) which has governed Singapore since it gained self-rule in 1959.
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Singapore rocked by open feud in Lee family
Tightly-ruled Singapore was rocked by an unprecedented political drama 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.
related:
In family row, siblings accuse Singapore PM of abusing power
Siblings accuse Singapore PM of eroding father's wishes
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In Singapore, Prime Minister’s Siblings Are Taking Private Feud Public
In an unusually public escalation of a feud within Singapore’s first family, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s siblings have accused him of misusing his position to advance his personal agenda and of betraying the legacy of their father, Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
“We feel big brother omnipresent,” the prime minister’s sister, Lee Wei Ling, and brother, Lee Hsien Yang, wrote in a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday. Lee Hsien Yang added that he planned to leave Singapore “for the foreseeable future” because of his brother.
The prime minister, who is on an overseas trip with his family, issued his own statement, rejecting the allegations.
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Singapore leader's siblings say they feel threatened, have lost confidence in him
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's younger brother and sister said on Wednesday they have lost confidence in the nation's leader and fear "the use of the organs of the state against us."
"We are concerned that the system has few checks and balances to prevent the abuse of government. We feel big brother omnipresent," Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang said in a joint news release and an accompanying six-page statement issued at 2 am Singapore time.
As a result, Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Lee Suet Fern, would be leaving Singapore. "I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure," he said.
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Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong family feud erupts again
A long-running feud among the family of Singapore's prime minister over the legacy of their father, the country's first leader, has resurfaced.
In Facebook posts, two of PM Lee Hsien Loong's siblings accused him of going against their late father Lee Kuan Yew's wishes and abusing his power. The family dispute centres on a legal tussle over a house which belonged to their father.
The prime minister, a popular leader, strongly denied all the allegations.
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Singapore Leader’s Younger Siblings Say They Are Concerned About ‘Big Brother’
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's younger brother and sister said on Wednesday that they have lost confidence in the nation's leader and fear "the use of the organs of the state against us."
"We are concerned that the system has few checks and balances to prevent the abuse of government. We feel big brother omnipresent," Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang said in a joint news release and an accompanying longer statement issued at 2 a.m. Singapore time on Wednesday.
As a result, Lee Hsien Yang, and his wife Suet Fern, would be leaving Singapore. "I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure," he said.
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Singapore prime minister in open feud with siblings
A bitter -- and highly public -- feud is raging between the children of Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, with the late leader's two youngest children accusing their older brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of abusing his position, among other claims.
Fueling the rift is a disagreement over the fate of their father's home.
Lee, who had lived in the prime Oxley Road location since the 1940s, had on many occasions expressed his wish to have the house torn down after his death. When he passed away in 2015, his daughter Lee Wei Ling and son Lee Hsien Yang became executors and trustees of his will. They said their father had given them clear instructions in his last will and testament, written in 2013, to demolish the house immediately after his death or after his daughter who is living in the house, moves out.
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Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong criticised by siblings in strongly-worded statement
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has been criticised for attempting to misuse the legacy of his long-serving late father – Lee Kuan Yew – in a strongly-worded statement penned by two of his younger siblings.
Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling wrote on Facebook in the early hours of Wednesday that they feared the apparatus of government may be used against them, to the extent that Wei Ling said she would leave the Southeast Asian city-state for the foreseeable future.
The Prime Minister denied the allegations on Wednesday morning, saying he was saddened, and that the statement had hurt Kuan Yew’s legacy.
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Singapore leader’s siblings say they feel threatened, have lost confidence in him
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's younger brother and sister said on Wednesday that they have lost confidence in the nation's leader and fear "the use of the organs of the state against us."
"We are concerned that the system has few checks and balances to prevent the abuse of government. We feel big brother omnipresent," Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang said in a joint news release and an accompanying six-page statement issued at 2 am Singapore time on Wednesday.
As a result, Lee Hsien Yang, and his wife Suet Fern, would be leaving Singapore. "I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure," he said.
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Singapore leader Lee Hsien Loong acts like Big Brother, say siblings
Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, is behaving like “Big Brother”, and abusing his power to win a family dispute, according to a bitter online attack by his own brother and sister.
The extraordinary public squabble stems from the death in 2015 of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding leader, and the father of the current prime minister. Lee Sr was a stern and authoritarian figure who was intolerant of dissent – ironically, his own children are now bitterly divided by a dispute about the future of the family home.
“Since the passing of Lee Kuan Yew … 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,” reads a statement.
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Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong publicly denounced by siblings
Singaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong's siblings have launched a stunning public broadside against their elder brother, accusing him of misusing his power and influence over government to drive a personal agenda.
At the heart of Lee's brother and sister's extraordinary public statement, released Wednesday, is the issue of the disposal of their late father Lee Kuan Yew's home in central Singapore.
In the statement, Lee's sister, Lee Wei Ling, and his brother, Lee Hsien Yang, claim the prime minister "deliberately misrepresented" his father's wishes for his home to be demolished in order to gain political mileage. They claim the prime minister and his wife oppose the demolition because preserving the home would enhance his political capital.
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Siblings accuse Singapore PM of using his power against them
A tussle among the children of late Singapore founder Lee Kuan Yew escalated Wednesday when two of them accused their prime minister brother of using "the organs of state" against them and grooming his son to take up a political role in the tightly controlled city-state.
Business executive Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said the situation compelled him to leave Singapore "for the foreseeable future." He and his sister, well-known neurosurgeon Dr. Lee Wei Ling, said in a statement that "we feel big brother omnipresent."
The feud offers a rare glimpse into cracks in the prominent family after the death of Lee Kuan Yew, who led Singapore with an iron grip for more than three decades and is credited with transforming the resource poor island into a wealthy bustling financial hub with low crime and almost zero corruption.
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Singapore's Lee family spat is ugly, but unlikely to impact PM's grip on power
The peace and quiet of an oasis called Singapore was shattered early on Wednesday morning as an ugly fight among members of the country's most prominent family spilled into the open, with accusations being made about the character and leadership of the prime minister and his wife.
In a statement headlined "What Has Happened To Lee Kuan Yew's Values," the island nation's founding father's younger son and daughter made chilling accusations against the elder son and current prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
"We are disturbed by the character, conduct, motives and leadership of Lee Hsien Loong and the role of his wife, Ho Ching. We have seen a completely different face to our brother, one that deeply troubles us," they charged.
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Singapore First Family feud escalates as PM Lee accused of misuse of power
Lee Kuan Yew would turn in his grave if he knew about the feud that has broken out publicly in his family, two years after his death.
Over decades the Cambridge-educated lawyer ruthlessly crushed critics who dared suggest any misuse of official power on the island at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. The former prime minister turned it into a glittering regional financial powerhouse with a $US300 billion ($396 billion) economy.
But misuse of power is what his daughter Lee Wei Ling, a well-known neurosurgeon, accused her elder brother and current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of doing in an explosive escalation of a feud that has shocked many people in strictly-controlled Singapore, where criticism of leaders is rare.
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Singapore’s Lee family feud rages online
Some emotionally charged Facebook posts that came out in the wee hours Wednesday morning have laid bare a new episode in the feud among the children of the late Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew.
It’s clear that Lee’s eldest son, the city state’s incumbent prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, has some extra damage control to do after the posts gave fresh evidence of the long-running travails between him and his two younger siblings.
In a seemingly orchestrated move, a six-page open letter, headlined “What has happened to Lee Kuan Yew’s values”, by Lee’s brother Hsien Yang and sister Wei Ling, was posted on their respective Facebook pages early Wednesday morning.
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Singapore rocked by open feud in Lee family
Tightly-ruled Singapore was rocked by an unprecedented political drama 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.
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Singapore Prime Minister's siblings take a private feud public
An open feud among the family of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has deepened after the Premier's two younger siblings said they feared for their safety because they felt their elder brother was using state organs to harass them.
The PM immediately fired back, slamming his siblings for issuing a statement "publicising private family matters". The Lees are the children of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's revered founding Prime Minister who died aged 91 in 2015 after a political career spanning over five decades.
The two younger siblings, Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling, in their online statement had said the harassment they were facing was so grave that "Hsien Yang feels compelled to leave Singapore".
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SINGAPORE PM’S SIBLINGS TO FLEE COUNTRY AS FAMILY FEUD DEEPENS
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s younger brother Lee Hsien Yang said on Wednesday he feels “compelled” to leave the city state amid a family dispute since their father’s death two years ago.
Two siblings of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong are at it again, spilling the beans of their discontent over his rule and saying they are “disturbed by the character, conduct, motives and leadership of their brother”. Hsien Loong said the statement released by both Wei Ling and Hsien Yang has hurt their father’s legacy.
The two siblings allege, among others, that since their father Lee Kuan Yew’s death on March 23, 2015, there have been changes in Singapore that do not reflect what the late Mr Lee stood for. He was authentic and spoke his mind. “We feel big brother omnipresent”, Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang. We believe, unfortunately, that Hsien Loong is driven by a desire for power and personal popularity.
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Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong's family reignite bitter feud
The family dispute started with the house of their father, Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singapore who led the country with an iron grip for more than three decades.
Hsien Loong's siblings accuse him of wanting to "milk (their father) Lee Kuan Yew's legacy for their own political purposes" and claimed that the preservation of their father's home against his dying wishes would enhance their brother's political capital. They also said that they believed the prime minister and his wife, Ho Ching, "harbor political ambitions for their son, Li Hongyi."
Singapore's "founding father" Lee Kuan Yew is largely credited with transforming the city-state from a relatively poor British colony into one of the world's wealthiest and most stable societies. His eldest son Hsien Loong became Singapore's third prime minister in 2004, taking over the People's Action Party (PAP) which has governed Singapore since it gained self-rule in 1959.
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SINGAPORE PM CALLED “BIG BROTHER OMNIPRESENT" BY SIBLINGS WORRIED ABOUT SURVEILLANCE STATE
Lee Hsien Loon, the prime minister of Singapore, has been criticized by his younger brother and sister for running an “omnipresent” country.
The four-page statement written by the siblings states they are “disturbed by the character, conduct, motives and leadership” of the premier and his wife.
The three siblings are children of the late Lee Kuan Yew, who was widely respected by Singapore’s citizens and credited with making the city-state successful and one of the wealthiest nations in Asia. He died in 2014 and was succeeded by Lee Hsien Loon.
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Siblings of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong say they fear for their safety
An explosive feud has broken out publicly in the family of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as his two younger siblings declare they have lost confidence in the nation's leader and fear "the use of organs of state against us."
Lee Hsien Yang, a prominent businessman and former CEO of Singtel, and his sister Lee Wei Ling, a well known neurosurgeon, said in a joint statement they feel "threatened" by their brother's "misuse of his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda."
"We are concerned that the system has few checks and balances to prevent the abuse of government," they said. "We feel big brother omnipresent."
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PM Lee's new stance over Oxley Road house led to my statement with Wei Ling: Hsien Yang
Hsien Yang recounted that in December 2015, the siblings reached an agreement on the status of the house. They would honour the wishes of their late father for the residence to be demolished, and PM Lee would recuse himself from government discussions on the house. Hsien Yang noted that the late Lee’s will, which stated that the house was to be torn down when Wei Ling passed on or relocated, had been taken to probate. This means that the will had been officially certified in court.
“If Hsien Loong had any doubts (about the will), that was the time to come out and say, ‘Hey, there are some questions here, please, let’s address them in court’. He never raised them. In fact, he encouraged us to get probate,” said Hsien Yang.
Hsien Yang and Wei Ling said they were then notified in July 2016 that a Ministerial Committee had been set up to consider options for 38 Oxley Road. In a statement on Wednesday, Cabinet Secretary Tan Kee Yong clarified that the committee had “received representations from Mr Lee Hsien Loong (in his personal capacity) on various facts and circumstances in relation to how Mr Lee’s Last Will was prepared”
related:
The siblings reached an agreement on the status of the house
Ministerial Committee set up to consider options for 38 Oxley Road
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Dispute with PM Lee would not have been publicised if it were merely a "family affair": Lee Wei Ling
Dr Lee Wei Ling on Thursday (Jun 15) said she & Mr Lee Hsien Yang would not have issued a public statement if the dispute with their brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, over their late father's house "were merely a family affair".
In a FaceBook post, Dr Lee said the main message of their 6-page statement released on Wednesday was not that the siblings feared what PM Lee would do to them.
Rather, she alleged that PM Lee's "misuse (of) his official power" against his siblings in relation to the house at 38, Oxley Road suggests he could do the same to ordinary citizens. She added that their lawyer edited this message out of the statement.
related:
No political ambitions for my son, says PM Lee
PM Lee saddened by siblings' allegations
Lee Suet Fern says she & husband LHY are 'preparing to leave S'pore'
Home of former PM Lee Kuan Yew at 38 Oxley Road at centre of dispute
Ministerial committee studying options for Mr LKY's Oxley Road house
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STATEMENT BY CABINET SECRETARY MR TAN KEE YONG ON THE STATEMENT
BY MR LEE HSIEN YANG AND DR LEE WEI LING
I refer to the statement issued by Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang earlier today, and specifically the references to an internal Ministerial Committee that was set up by Cabinet.
2. The Committee was set up to consider the options for 38 Oxley Road (the “House”), and the implications of those options. These included looking into various aspects, including the historical and heritage significance of the House, as well as to consider Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s thinking and wishes in relation to the House.
3. The Prime Minister has not been involved in Cabinet’s discussions concerning this Committee. As he had previously stated, he has recused himself from all Government decisions concerning the House.
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PM Lee not involved in ministerial committee discussions on Lee Kuan Yew’s Oxley Road house
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has not been involved in discussions by an internal ministerial committee set up by the Cabinet concerning the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s home at 38 Oxley Road, Cabinet Secretary Tan Kee Yong said on Wed (Jun 14).
The committee was set up to consider the options for the house & the implications of those options, he said in a statement. These included looking into various aspects including the historical and heritage significance of the house as well as to consider Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s thinking & wishes in relation to the house.
Mr Tan said as part of the committee’s work, it sought the views of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s children, Prime Minister Lee, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang to ask if they wished to say anything about the late Mr Lee’s thinking in respect of the Oxley Road home, beyond what has already been stated in public.
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Ministerial committee studying options for Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Oxley house
The future of the house at the centre of a dispute between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong & his siblings is being studied by a ministerial committee.
The existence of the committee was disclosed yesterday by Mr Lee Hsien Yang & Dr Lee Wei Ling, the PM's younger siblings.
In a Facebook statement, both said they were told by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong last July that "a ministerial committee had been set up to consider options with respect to 38, Oxley Road & their implications".
PM Lee saddened by siblings' allegations
Lee Hsien Yang says he feels compelled to leave Singapore
No political ambitions for my son, says PM Lee
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FamiLEE saga: Singaporeans react with confusion, humour and CSI skills
FEELING Hsien over the Lee siblings’ public spat? But some can’t stop Wei Ling over it. The news cycle has hit the accelerator pedal, as Singapore reacts to the deepening dispute between the Prime Minister and his disgruntled siblings over the fate of 38 Oxley Road. With the saga unfolding over social media in real time, reactions have run the gamut from disbelief to dismissing the issue as a “private matter”.
The top comment on Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s public statement post, “What has happened to Lee Kuan Yew’s values”, thought of an efficient way for Singaporeans to decide if the Lee’s residence on Oxley Road should be demolished
Some painted Dr Lee as a filial daughter, fighting a noble, arduous battle to safeguard her father’s dying wishes. There was also speculation that there’s more than meets the eye.
related:
FamiLEE saga: Headlines around the world
FamiLEE saga: Now about that mysterious ministerial committee
Not just a famiLEE affair
Third generation Lee weighs in
“We do not trust LHL as a brother or as leader.We have lost confidence in him”
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Lee Hsien Yang: “We have no confidence in Lee Hsien Loong or his secret committee”
"The will is final and binding. We have no confidence in Lee Hsien Loong or his secret committee." writes Lee Hsien Yang on his Facebook page in a recent post.
The post came with an image which shows different stances taken by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in public domain and allegedly in private quarters on the property at 38 Oxley Road, formerly owned by late founding minister, Lee Kuan Yew and father of the two Lees.
"When was he lying?" is captioned in the photo, implying that PM Lee was not consistent on his stance on the matters of the 38 Oxley Road.
related:
Lee Weiling out of S'pore, calls PM unsuitable with his misuse of official power
Lee Hsien Yang and family making preparations to leave Singapore out of fear
Lim Tean: Duty of every Singaporean to stand up and speak up for Singapore
Prime Minister Lee disappointed at statement issued by his sibilings
PM’s siblings denounce him in statement, state misuse of his position
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Lee siblings: Lee Kuan Yew's home should be demolished
The children of the late Lee Kuan Yew have reiterated that their father's desire for his former home to be demolished should be honoured.
In a joint statement posted on Facebook, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang noted that it was the late Lee's wish that the house at 38 Oxley Road be demolished once Dr Lee ceases to live in it.
Separately, both PM Lee and his brother have each agreed to donate half the value of the pre-war Oxley Road house to the charities named in the late Lee's obituary notice.
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PM Lee not involved in talks on Ministerial Committee’s deliberations on LKY house: PMO
While Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s views have been sought in his personal capacity, he has not been involved in the Cabinet’s discussions on the internal Ministerial Committee that is deliberating the fate of the house at 38 Oxley Road, said the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday (14 June).
“As (PM Lee) had previously stated, he has recused himself from all Government decisions concerning the House,” said Cabinet Secretary Tan Kee Yong , who noted that PM Lee is the late Lee Kuan Yew’s eldest son and a beneficiary of the estate. Tan also clarified that the committee was set up to consider the options for the house which once served as the late Lee’s residence.
“These included looking into various aspects, including the historical and heritage significance of the House, as well as to consider Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s thinking and wishes in relation to the House.”
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House at Heart of Singapore's Lee Family Feud Has No Foundations, Cracks in Walls
Lee Kuan Yew died in 2015, but a bitter row over his will, specifically what to do with the old family home, broke into full public view this week, prompting the eldest son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to issue a statement saying he was "disappointed" and "deeply saddened".
Lee Kuan Yew moved into the five-bedroom house, formerly owned by a Jewish merchant, in 1945, as the Japanese Occupation ended and the island returned to British colonial rule. Over the next decade 38 Oxley Road became a hub of political activity, and it was in the basement that the People's Action Party, which has led Singapore since independence, was conceived.
Four years before he died, LKY, as he was popularly known, said the bungalow should be demolished once he'd gone. He said it lacked foundations, suffered from damp, had cracks in the walls and was costly to maintain. "But fortunately the pillars are sound," he joked to the Singapore Straits Times.
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Full Coverage:
Siblings accuse Singapore PM of abusing power in family row
Spore PM's Siblings Say They Feel Threatened, Lost Confidence in Him
Spore leader’s siblings say they feel threatened, have lost confidence in him
Singapore PM's siblings publicly denounce him
'We fear the use of the organs of state against us'
Spore PM's siblings say they feel threatened, have lost confidence in him
In rare feud, Singapore PM Lee under attack by his siblings
Feud heats up between Singapore premier, siblings
Siblings accuse Singapore PM of abusing power in family row
Feud heats up between Singapore PM, siblings
Lee Suet Fern says she & husband Hsien Yang are 'preparing to leave S'pore'
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong publicly denounced by siblings
Spore Leader’s Younger Siblings Say They Are Concerned About ‘Big Brother’
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong family feud erupts again
Singapore PM publicly denounced by siblings
In family row, siblings accuse Singapore PM of abusing power
Spore leader's siblings say they feel threatened, have lost confidence in him
Siblings accuse Singapore PM of eroding father's wishes
Siblings accuse Singapore PM of using his power against them
In Singapore, Prime Minister’s Siblings Are Taking Private Feud Public
Singapore rocked by open feud in Lee family
A feud that threatens Singapore’s governing creed
Dispute with PM Lee would not have been publicised if merely a "family affair"
In family dispute, siblings accuse Singapore’s PM of abusing power
FamiLEE saga: Now about that mysterious ministerial committee
Not just a famiLEE affair
Third generation Lee weighs in
“We do not trust Hsien Loong as a brother or as a leader
Mystery deepens over secret tapes of Lee Kuan Yew
Time for the famiLEE to end the public spectacle
Dr Lee Wei Ling gagged?
FamiLEE saga: 10 things from the academic paper “When I’m dead, demolish it”
IS 38 Oxley road just a private residence or something more? Many people, including the G, think there is more to the house than just the place where the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew lived.
But many of us, it seems, are late in realising the significance of the house. Last year a thesis paper written by a then-graduate student at Columbia University, Ms Cherie-Nicole Leo, looked into the importance of the house and what it means for Singapore. We found this thesis publicly available online and thought that it was worth summarising. Here are 10 things we learnt.
- The house isn’t just about Mr Lee Kuan Yew. It’s about colonial history and the foundation of his party.
- It’s also a key narrative in PM Lee’s upbringing and political career
- Mr Lee Kuan Yew has publicly expressed hopes for the demolition since 2011
- There are competing “values” in deciding whether to preserve the house
- Taken at face value, LKY’s Will may seem incongruous with the principles that he himself espoused
- But upon closer look, his Will – while personal in nature – might not have been self-serving, as it was aimed at serving the collective national interest
- There are indications he may have been open to a “surrogate” memorial
- The outcome of reconciling the competing values has been falsely framed as a demolish vs. preserve dichotomy
- A possible outcome – and the most effective in reconciling competing values – is the middle way of redevelopment with some form of preservation
- Such a compromise had been suggested before – reproduced here
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“When I’m Dead, Demolish It”: Contradictions and Compromises in Preserving Values at Lee Kuan Yew’s Oxley Road Home
Since the death of Singapore’s founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, on March 23, 2015, the fate of his house at 38 Oxley Road remains in question. In spite of its association to this seminal political leader and the fact that historic meetings that led to Singapore’s independence from British rule in 1959 were held in its basement dining room, heritage authorities and the Singaporean public are faced with a dilemma because Lee Kuan Yew had, on multiple occasions, expressed his wish to have the more-than-a-century-old colonial bungalow demolished after his passing and he had included this wish in his last will and testament.
This thesis uses the ongoing debate surrounding 38 Oxley Road as a case study. It aims to address how decision-makers in the heritage conservation field might more effectively negotiate the multiplicity of competing values ascribed to heritage sites in working toward a future common good. Through a discourse analysis, the thesis examines how a values-based approach to heritage conservation can serve as a basis for exploring more robust tools for decision-making through the adoption of a more future-looking, scenario-focused framework. In this way, heritage decision-makers are challenged to look beyond some of the field’s traditional paradigms, as reflective of the broad shift from more expert-driven materials-based approaches to more participatory and contextually aware values-based approaches. In line with a values-based approach that posits that the goal of heritage conservation is to preserve significance and not material for its own sake, this thesis shows how an assessment and prioritization of the broad range of values ascribed to a heritage site can expand the range of potential outcomes that may effectively transfer those values to future generations.
Acknowledging and understanding this spectrum of possible outcomes and evaluating their trade-offs can help to enhance the field’s capacity to creatively work out contradictions and reach compromises in its decisions. In doing so, heritage decision-makers can more effectively engage in dialogue with related planning and policy fields as they work toward shaping the collective future.
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Lee Hsien Yang Yesterday at 14:51
DPM Teo Chee Hean tells us that there was "nothing secret" about this committee. We recommend that he look up the definition of "secret" in a dictionary.
#respectLKY
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The Lees of Singapore
It is no secret that a dynasty has emerged as the ruling force in Singapore. The Lee family (of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong) is referred to as ‘the first family’ as a matter of routine in private conversation, though not usually in public. Power has already passed from father to son and now there is a generation of high-flying grandsons in the wings.
This article traces the establishment and consolidation of the Lee dynasty from the point in the early 1980s when Lee Kuan Yew emerged as the centre of all the significant power networks in Singapore, through to the consolidation of power in the hands of his son, Lee Hsien Loong, in 2011. In the process of doing this, it argues that despite official rhetoric that says that the country runs on the talent of the best and most talented men and women in the country, and the closely related myth that professionalism provides the basis of governance, the reality is that of rule by a family-based clique of confidantes and relatives.
There is a strong element of reality to both myths, but both elements are ultimately subordinated to and in the service of the forces of consanguineous and personal networks.
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Financial Times most read letter: the Lee’s banana republic?
In a letter, the most read Friday 23rd in the Financial Times, one Frankie Leung from Los Angeles, CA, USA said the Lee family’s feud could not happen in Singapore as it sounded like a ‘banana republic’ saga.
“When the story broke that the prime minister’s younger brother and his wife had to flee the country to avoid political persecution, we thought it could only happen in a banana republic and not the Republic of Singapore,” the letter said.
He also wrote that When the Old Man (as Singapore’s late premier Lee Kuan Yew was fondly called) talked so eloquently about Asian values and propounded his interpretation of a brand of Confucianism, I had to bite my lip to stop laughing.
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Singapore, a Model of Orderly Rule, Is Jolted by a Bitter Family Feud
This affluent Asian city-state is known as one of the world’s most orderly places, dominated for decades by a well-educated and accomplished family.
Now the clan that made Singapore into a global model of efficiency and control has itself come undone—largely over a century-old bungalow that was the family home.
The house, near Singapore’s toniest shopping district, was owned for decades by the city-state’s founding premier, Lee Kuan Yew, who died in 2015.
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Censored in Singapore
LAST month, on the same day The New York Times praised Google for standing up to censorship in China, a sister newspaper, The International Herald Tribune, apologized to Singapore’s rulers and agreed to pay damages because it broke a 1994 legal agreement and referred to them in a way they did not like.
The rulers had sued for defamation 16 years ago, saying a Herald Tribune Op-Ed column had implied that they got their jobs through nepotism. The paper wound up paying $678,000 and promising not to do it again. But in February, it named Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister, and his son, Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister now, in an Op-Ed article about Asian political dynasties.
After the Lees objected, the paper said its language “may have been understood by readers to infer that the younger Mr. Lee did not achieve his position through merit. We wish to state clearly that this inference was not intended.” The Herald Tribune, wholly owned by The New York Times Company, apologized for “any distress or embarrassment” suffered by the Lees. The statement was published in the paper and on the Web site it shares with The Times.
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LKY poked his nose into the business of others
Some Singaporeans posted responses to the prime minister’s statement on Facebook, urging him to sue his siblings for libel. Lee Hsien Yang says he is ready to face a lawsuit. He says the purpose of his statement was to make it harder to thwart his father’s wishes. But Lee Hsien Loong says it is his siblings’ airing of the family dispute that “has hurt our father’s legacy”.
In my view, what the dispute really hurts is his father’s sanctimony. He does not look holier than other people now. LKY poked his nose into the business of others, and tried to tell them what to do. He made it official policy for Singapore to sue opposition politicians and journalists who criticized him and his government with expensive lawsuits in his homecourt, in order to drive them to bankruptcy or to submission.
If Lee Hsien Loong sues his siblings to accomplish the same objective, he will drive Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy to disrepute and ridicule.
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Lee Kuan Yew turning in his grave
A Filipino columnist for the Manila Times wrote that Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), the redoubtable Singaporean leader who had a penchant to hector other leaders and lecture the West about Asian values, must be turning in his grave.
He said while his – that is LKY – country is still up in the charts for sheer performance, the family he has left behind is being torn apart by a family feud. “His political dynasty may not be as cohesive or admirable as everyone supposed. “In my view, what the dispute really hurts is his father’s sanctimony. He does not look holier than other people now,” he wrote.
He said LKY poked his nose into the business of others, and tried to tell them what to do.
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related:
The famiLEE tree
The famiLEE feud: PM Lee "I'm not sure that it is solved"
The famiLEE feud: AGC to start legal action on Li Shengwu for contempt
The famiLEE feud: AGC looking into FB post by Lee Hsien Yang's son
The famiLEE feud: Protest at Hong Lim Park
The famiLEE feud: Demolish the house, end the saga, let's move on
The famiLEE feud: LWL, LHY to stop presenting online evidence
The famiLEE feud: Lee Hsien Yang responds to Parliament Hearing
The famiLEE feud: Parliamentary Hearing on Oxley's Dispute
The famiLEE feud: PM Lee Hsien Loong's Ministerial Statement
The famiLEE feud: Why LHY is speaking up
The famiLEE feud: July 3 Parliament session a cover-up & whitewash?
The famiLEE feud: Not another minister on the Will again!
The famiLEE feud: Lee Hsien Yang & his wife in Hong Kong
The famiLEE feud: Rise of the 'First Lady'
The famiLEE feud: Govt 'Poking Nose' into Oxley's fate
The famiLEE feud: Will House Debate clear the air?
The famiLEE feud: PM apologises for family feud
The famiLEE feud: Singaporeans sick and tired of endless Oxley Rd allegations
The famiLEE feud: "Past three days"
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Social Media on the Late LKY’s children Online Squabble
Online squabble about "Hero-Worship" of the late Lee Kuan Yew
Family feud over how to mark LKY's death spills out online
New Law to Protect Lee Kuan Yew's Name and Image
Govt rebuts Lawyer's comments on QFLP scheme
Li Hongyi & Li Shengwu: 2 latest Internet sensation from the Lee family
Remembering Lee Kuan Yew 2016
LKY Passing: Good Intentions Gone Wrong
PM broke down in Parliament talking about his Dad
A State Funeral Service held for Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Former PM Lee Kuan Yew in the limelight
Lee Kuan Yew passes away on 23 Mar 2015
Lee Kuan Yew – The Man and his Legacy
Lee Kuan Yew in ICU with severe pneumonia
The Battle For Merger
Happy 91st Birthday Lee Kuan Yew from Singapore!
Singapore's Founding Father Hospitalised
Lee Kuan Yew turns 90
Lee Kuan Yew hospitalised: Suspected Transient Ischaemic Attack
Lee & Lee - The job has changed
"One World's View Of The Man"
Lee Kuan Yew on death: I want mine quickly, painlessly
Online squabble about "Hero-Worship" of the late Lee Kuan Yew
Family feud over how to mark LKY's death spills out online
New Law to Protect Lee Kuan Yew's Name and Image
Govt rebuts Lawyer's comments on QFLP scheme
Li Hongyi & Li Shengwu: 2 latest Internet sensation from the Lee family
Remembering Lee Kuan Yew 2016
LKY Passing: Good Intentions Gone Wrong
PM broke down in Parliament talking about his Dad
A State Funeral Service held for Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Former PM Lee Kuan Yew in the limelight
Lee Kuan Yew passes away on 23 Mar 2015
Lee Kuan Yew – The Man and his Legacy
Lee Kuan Yew in ICU with severe pneumonia
The Battle For Merger
Happy 91st Birthday Lee Kuan Yew from Singapore!
Singapore's Founding Father Hospitalised
Lee Kuan Yew turns 90
Lee Kuan Yew hospitalised: Suspected Transient Ischaemic Attack
Lee & Lee - The job has changed
"One World's View Of The Man"
Lee Kuan Yew on death: I want mine quickly, painlessly
