PM ‘deeply saddened’ by sister’s charge of abuse of power

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has refuted online allegations by his sister that he had abused his power to hold events marking the one-year death anniversary of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in order to establish a “dynasty”, adding that he was “deeply saddened” by her remarks, in which she referred to him as a “dishonourable son”.   

His comments came after tensions within the Lee family over how to commemorate the death of the founding Prime Minister were revealed in a series of email exchanges between his daughter Dr Lee Wei Ling and The Straits Times. Dr Lee, who has been embroiled in an ongoing spat with The Straits Times, had published the full exchange on her Facebook page on Sunday (April 10). 

In one of the emails dated March 26, Dr Lee, who sparked controversy last month when she wrote on Facebook that her father would have cringed at the hero worship of her father, said that she was at odds with Mr Lee on a “matter of principle”. 

Accusing Mr Lee of having “no qualms” about holding commemorative events to establish a dynasty, Dr Lee said: “Let’s be real, last year’s event (surrounding the death of the late Mr Lee) was so vivid, no one will forget it in one year.” 

She added: “But if the power (sic) that be wants to establish a dynasty, LKY’s daughter will not allow LKY’s name to be sullied by a dishonorable son.”

The post was published around 1pm on Sunday, but was subsequently edited to remove the email exchanges. 

In a response posted on his Facebook page later in the afternoon, Mr Lee wrote that Dr Lee’s accusations were  “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,” he said. 

He added: “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.”

More than 100 events, from tree-planting activities to multiple remembrance sites and family carnivals, were organised by individuals and community groups to mark the late Mr Lee’s first death anniversary on March 23. 

Mr Lee said the Cabinet had discussed how to 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,” he said. 

Recognising the “strong desire” of many Singaporeans to show their respect for Mr Lee, the Cabinet had 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,” said Mr Lee. 

Dr Lee’s disagreement with The Straits Times became public early this month when she wrote on Facebook that the newspaper had decided not to publish her commentary expressing disapproval over the commemorative events for her father’s death, and had denied her freedom of speech. This was followed by posts in which Dr Lee, a long-time contributor to The Straits Times, claimed the paper’s editors edited out “sensitive issues” in her pieces.

In response, the newspaper published an editor’s note last Tuesday (April 5), calling her accusations unfounded. This was followed by an opinion piece by the newspaper’s Associate Editor Ivan Fernandez on Saturday (April 9), stating that the paper could not publish the final draft of her column unedited because some portions were allegedly plagiarised. 

On the same day, Dr Lee rebutted this, noting in the emails sent to her by Mr Fernandez, none mentioned plagiarism as an issue, and questioned whether “the powers that be” has instructed him to criticise her. 

The next day, Dr Lee published their email exchanges in full.