PM ‘saddened’ by siblings’ allegations, says they have hurt Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s siblings have claimed yesterday that they felt “threatened” in trying to fulfil their late father’s wish to demolish their family home — to the extent that Mr Lee Hsien Yang feels he is forced to leave the country.

They also said they have “no confidence” in their brother and “worry for Singapore”.

PM Lee has denied the allegations, adding that his siblings’ statement has hurt their father’s legacy.

“I am very disappointed that my siblings have chosen to issue a statement publicising private family matters. I am deeply saddened by the unfortunate allegations that they have made. Ho Ching and I deny these allegations,” PM Lee said.

Posting on their Facebook accounts at about 2am yesterday, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang said in their six-page statement: “We feel big brother omnipresent. We fear the use of the organs of state against us and Hsien Yang’s wife, Suet Fern. The situation is such that Hsien Yang feels compelled to leave Singapore.”

Mr Lee Hsien Yang said in the statement that it was “with a very heavy heart” that he will leave Singapore “for the foreseeable future”.

Speaking to TODAY outside his Caldecott Close home last night, Mr Lee Hsien Yang reiterated that the matter was “not a family spat, it is not just about a house”.

“It is about the values of my father — of putting Singapore first, rather than power and popularity,” he said.

He added: “I have no desire to leave this country ... I have lived here my whole life, I love Singapore and it is my country. Why would I want to move if I did not feel persecuted?”

He declined to comment when asked if he has any firm plans, and said that he would be looking at specific countries to relocate to “in due course”.

News about the statement from the Lee siblings and the Prime Minister’s response, which came later, held the attention of much of Singapore yesterday. Posts about their exchange dominated Facebook readership in Singapore, according to social media tracker CrowdTangle.

The news also made headlines in papers around the world, including the Financial Times, The Guardian, and the South China Morning Post.

In their statement, the two younger siblings detailed their efforts to fulfil their father’s longstanding wish for the house at 38 Oxley Road to be demolished after his death and what PM Lee supposedly did to thwart that wish. There had been changes in Singapore since Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s death in March 2015 that “do not reflect what he stood for”, they said.

They noted that PM Lee had promised to recuse himself from all Government decisions involving the house in 2015. However, in July last year, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong wrote to them to say a ministerial committee had been set up to consider options with respect to the house and their implications.

This “directly contradicted Hsien Loong’s statement in Parliament in April 2015 that there was no need for the Government to take a decision in respect of 38 Oxley Road until Wei Ling no longer resided there, and that it would be up to the Government of the day to consider the matter”, the two younger siblings said. Mr Lee Hsien Loong also made “extensive representations to the committee”, they added.

In reply, the Prime Minister — who is currently on leave overseas — denied the claims. “I will do my utmost to continue to do right by my parents. At the same time, I will continue serving Singaporeans honestly and to the best of my ability. In particular that means upholding meritocracy, which is a fundamental value of our society,” wrote PM Lee, who also denied the allegation of having political ambitions for his son Hongyi.

Cabinet Secretary Tan Kee Yong said in a statement yesterday that the Prime Minister has not been involved in the Cabinet’s discussions concerning the ministerial committee.

The committee had sought the views of all three of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s children. “Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s views were sought in his personal capacity, given his position as Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s eldest son and his interest as a beneficiary of the estate,” Mr Tan said. The committee’s list of different options with regard to the Oxley Road house and implications will help future governments when a decision needs to be taken, added Mr Tan, who did not reveal who was on the committee.

Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang also touched on an exhibition featuring significant items from the home that they had donated to the National Heritage Board. The donation came with the stipulation that Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wish for the house to be demolished be prominently displayed at the exhibition, they said. But after the donation was accepted, they received “letters with spurious objections” from Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s then-personal lawyer Lucien Wong, they claimed.

“The exhibition only proceeded months later in a diminished format after considerable struggle on our part,” they said. The two younger siblings said they “feel hugely uncomfortable and closely monitored in our own country”.

Following Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s death, the public had various views on what should be done about the house that he had lived in since the 1940s. But in a survey by YouGov in December 2015, more than three-quarters of those polled supported its demolition.

The divide between PM Lee and his siblings emerged in the public eye last April through Dr Lee’s Facebook posts. Dr Lee, a neurologist, had first said last March that her late father would have cringed at the hero worship on display for his first death anniversary. The following month, she accused PM Lee of having “no qualms” about holding commemorative events to establish a dynasty — to which he responded were “completely untrue”.

Speaking to reporters about the dispute while at Khadijah Mosque to break fast with the Muslim community yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said he was “very sad about what has happened”, and gave PM Lee his utmost backing.

“I know Hsien Yang very well. PM must be going through a terrible time right now,” he said. “There are so many issues, problems and challenges that we are facing now as a country. We need to focus and work on them, and PM has my full support as he leads us to tackle these important problems that we have.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY WONG PEI TING AND KELLY NG

‘DIFFERENCES SHOULD STAY IN THE FAMILY’ - PM LEE’S STATEMENT

I am very disappointed that my siblings have chosen to issue a statement publicising private family matters.

I am deeply saddened by the unfortunate allegations that they have made.

Ho Ching and I deny these allegations, especially the absurd claim that I have political ambitions for my son.

While siblings may have differences, I believe that any such differences should stay in the family.

Since my father’s passing in March 2015, as the eldest son I have tried my best to resolve the issues among us within the family, out of respect for our parents.

My siblings’ statement has hurt our father’s legacy.

I will do my utmost to continue to do right by my parents. At the same time, I will continue serving Singaporeans honestly and to the best of my ability. In particular that means upholding meritocracy, which is a fundamental value of our society.

As my siblings know, I am presently overseas on leave with my family. I will consider this matter further after I return this weekend. - PM Lee Hsien Loong

EXCERPTS FROM THE SIBLINGS’ STATEMENT

We feel big brother omnipresent. We fear the use of the organs of state against us and Hsien Yang’s wife, Suet Fern. The situation is such that Hsien Yang feels compelled to leave Singapore ...

Throughout his entire life, Lee Kuan Yew’s sole focus was on Singapore and its future. He was a strong opponent of monuments, particularly of himself. On suggestions that monuments or ‘what-have-yous’ be made for him, he replied “Remember Ozymandias”. He was referring to Percy B Shelley’s sonnet about the Egyptian Pharaoh with a penchant for self-aggrandising monuments. The boast etched in a plaque below his statue commanded lesser mortals to “look on my works”. Only the vastness of desert sands remains: no empire, nor monuments, no great works.

Lee Kuan Yew wanted none of these honours as edifices. Much more important to him was that what he had done should last. It is for this reason that Lee Kuan Yew made clear throughout the years in public and private his wish that his home at 38 Oxley Road be demolished upon his passing.

In his last will and testament of 17 December 2013, he again reiterated his wish and directed his three children to ensure that it be fulfilled. Indeed, his opposition to monuments was so strong that he had made clear that even if the house were gazetted (against his wishes), it should only be open to his children and their descendants ...

Lee Kuan Yew specifically inserted into his will his wish for 38 Oxley Road to be demolished ... The wish, which was instructed to be made public as needed, was Lee Kuan Yew’s direct appeal to the people of Singapore. It was his only request of them on his passing.

Hsien Loong initiated a settlement with us in May 2015; the Estate of Lee Kuan Yew was contemplating a challenge of the disposition of the house to him...

Hsien Loong represented that this sale of the house would give us a free hand to demolish the house. Final agreement on the settlement was reached in late 2015.

Hsien Loong insisted that Hsien Yang should pay him full market value for the house (and donate an additional half the value of the house to charity). In exchange for this, we asked for and obtained a joint public statement issued by all 3 children of Lee Kuan Yew in December 2015 that we hoped that the Government would allow the demolition wish to be fulfilled and that all Singaporeans would support this cause. We also obtained an undertaking from Hsien Loong that he would recuse himself from all government decisions involving 38 Oxley Road and that, in his personal capacity, would like to see the wish honoured.

We had hoped that through this settlement, he would not hinder us from honouring our parents’ wishes.

However, we were disappointed that despite the settlement and Hsien Loong’s undertakings, in July 2016, Minister Lawrence Wong wrote to inform us that a Ministerial Committee had been set up to consider options with respect to 38 Oxley Road and their implications.

This also directly contradicted Hsien Loong’s statement in Parliament in April 2015 that there was no need for the Government to take a decision in respect of 38 Oxley Road until Wei Ling no longer resided there, and that it would be up to the Government of the day to consider the matter ...

In his representations to the Committee, Hsien Loong seeks to call into question the circumstances which led to the execution of Lee Kuan Yew’s last will and its inclusion of the demolition wish ...

We are very sad that we have been pushed to this. We feel hugely uncomfortable and closely monitored in our own country. We do not trust Hsien Loong as a brother or as a leader. We have lost confidence in him. - Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang