Parliament finds no evidence of abuse of power in family spat: PM

SINGAPORE — During a parliamentary debate that spanned almost 11 hours across two days, not one Member of Parliament (MP) — of the 29 who spoke —substantiated any allegations of abuse of power hurled against Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong by his siblings. In contrast, the Government has been shown to have “acted properly and with due process”, as PM Lee put it.

Wrapping up the debate that he had called for to address grave allegations levelled against him by Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling, PM Lee said that facts and explanations have been put on the record, and Singaporeans have been given “a full account of how the Government works, and what the Government has done, in the case of 38 Oxley Road”.

He added: “The allegations have been aired, have been answered and rebutted. And people can see that there has been no abuse of power, by me or the Government. I hope that this two-day debate has cleared the air and will calm things down.”

He acknowledged that it would be “unrealistic to hope that the matter is now completely put to rest”.

“I do not know what further statements or allegations my siblings may make,” he said. But with the benefit of Ministerial Statements delivered by him and Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean, PM Lee said Singaporeans are now in a better position to “judge the facts and see this issue in perspective”.

During the two-day debate, a total of 18 People’s Action Party (PAP) MPs, five WP MPs and six Nominated MPs rose to speak.

The eight MPs who weighed in on the closely watched debate yesterday reiterated concerns on issues such as the circumstances behind the drafting of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Last Will, the role of the Ministerial Committee set up to look into the options for 38 Oxley Road and the panel’s next steps.

Some of the MPs again raised the suggestion of convening a Committee of Inquiry (COI) or Parliamentary Select Committee to probe further into the dispute.

But PM Lee told the House that there was no basis to set up a COI or Select Committee, given that none of the allegations were substantiated. “What specifically did I do that was wrong? And what was wrong with that, whatever that may be? Who was involved? When did it happen?” PM Lee said.

Nevertheless, such an option was still on the cards if his siblings make further accusations and there is “serious evidence of alleged wrongdoing”, PM Lee said.

Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong also gave PM Lee his full backing, as he lashed out at PM Lee’s siblings as well as Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern. “If the Lee siblings choose to squander the good name and legacy of Lee Kuan Yew, and tear their relationship apart, it is tragic but a private family affair,” said Mr Goh, who was the Republic’s second Prime Minister before handing over the baton to PM Lee in 2004.

“But if in the process of their self-destruction, they destroy Singapore too, that is a public affair.”

He added that based on what Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife were “freely telling many people”, their goal was to “bring Lee Hsien Loong down as PM, regardless of the huge collateral damage suffered by the Government and Singaporeans”.

Apart from Mr Goh, other political office-holders who spoke yesterday include DPM Teo Chee Hean and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, who was Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s principal private secretary for about three years.

Both Mr Goh and Mr Teo alluded to a deeper rift among the Lee family, with Mr Goh calling the dispute “only a fig leaf for … cracks which perhaps started decades ago”.

Mr Teo, who chairs the Ministerial Committee looking at the options for 38 Oxley Road, also called for allegations against the panel to be put to rest, since they did not have any basis.

Towards the end of his 40-minute closing address, PM Lee teared up while recounting how, when he was 13 years old, his father told him to take care of his mother and his younger siblings should anything happen to him. “We were in a fierce fight with the Central Government and the communalists. My father did not tell me, but he knew his life was in danger,” he recalled. “Fortunately, nothing happened to my father then. He brought up the family, and I thought we had a happy family ... Little did I expect that after my parents died, these tensions would erupt with such grievous consequences.”

PM Lee said he harboured hope of reconciliation with his siblings. “At the very least, I hope that my siblings will not visit their resentments and grievances with one generation onto the next … And further, that they do not transmit their enmities and feuds to our children,” he said.

Moving forward, PM Lee said he agreed with the MPs that the Government must get back to tackling national challenges, and not be “distracted by this controversy”. He reiterated that he brought the family spat before Parliament “not to pursue a family fight”, but to restore public confidence in the Republic’s system. “This is how the system is supposed to work. When there are questions and doubts about the Government, we bring them out, deal with them openly and clear the doubts. If anything is wrong, we must put it right. If nothing is wrong, we must say so,” he said.