SINGAPORE: Lee Hsien Yang has once again expressed his lack of faith in his estranged elder brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, citing a series o
SINGAPORE: Lee Hsien Yang has once again expressed his lack of faith in his estranged elder brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, citing a series of recent scandals that have eroded public trust in the government.
In a Facebook post on July 23, Mr. Lee Hsien Yang stated that confidence in his brother and the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has “been shattered.” He referred to Prime Minister Lee’s claims that the PAP enjoys public trust due to its high standards of propriety and commitment to integrity, countering that “trust has to be earned. It cannot simply be inherited.”
Mr. Lee Hsien Yang highlighted several controversies, including the Ridout Road rental issues, corruption cases involving two Temasek companies, inflated circulation figures scandal at Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), the arrest of Transport Minister S Iswaran amid an ongoing corruption probe, and the recent resignations of two PAP MPs due to an extramarital affair that the Prime Minister was aware of for two years.
He stated, “Wei Ling and I stated in June 2017 that ‘We do not trust Lee Hsien Loong as a brother or as a leader.’ These latest facts speak volumes. Hsien Loong’s regime does not deserve Singaporeans’ trust.”
The family feud between the Lee siblings has captivated Singapore since it became public in 2017, following the death of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang accused their elder brother of abusing his power to advance his political interests and undermining their father’s legacy by trying to retain the family home against their father’s wishes.
While PM Lee has denied these allegations, the dispute was settled privately in 2019, with him agreeing to honor their father’s wishes regarding the house’s demolition.
In response to his brother’s comments about the unresolved nature of the feud, Mr. Lee Hsien Yang remarked, “Our brother says he is unsure that the feud is solved. Notwithstanding his public statements, Hsien Loong has made no attempt to reach out to us to resolve matters in private.”
Additionally, Mr. Lee’s son, Li Shengwu, was found guilty of contempt of court and fined for a private Facebook post regarding the family feud, while Mr. Lee Hsien Yang’s wife, Lee Suet Fern, faced a suspension from legal practice for misconduct related to Lee Kuan Yew’s will.
In March, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean revealed that Mr. Lee Hsien Yang and his wife are under police investigation for potentially lying in judicial proceedings concerning Lee Kuan Yew’s will. They described this ongoing scrutiny as “continued persecution” and have since relocated to an undisclosed location in Europe.
COMMENTS