A bit of a ho-hum update, but still relevant to the ongoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long VS his siblings hullaballoo, we suppose. Cabinet Secretary Tan Kee Yong has thrown in his own response to the bombshell statement by Dr Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang — in particular, the part about their allegations against an internal Ministerial Committee that was set up to consider the options for Lee Kuan Yew’s house at 38 Oxley Road.
A significant portion of the sibling’s statement made this morning was dedicated to asserting the fact that their brother is working to ensure the house does not get demolished, against their father’s explicit wishes. They weren’t too happy that a specialised Ministerial Committee was set up to look into the historical and heritage significance of the Oxley Road house.
Here’s what the siblings said about the Ministerial Committee:
- “…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.
- “Hsien Loong, despite his undertakings to recuse himself, proceeded to make extensive representations to the Committee.”
- “He also sits in a direct position of power over the Committee comprised of his subordinate ministers, thus wielding considerable influence for any outcome he desires.”
- “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.”
Here’s what the Cabinet Secretary clarified in a statement published by the Prime Minister’s Office:
- “The Prime Minister has not been involved in Cabinet’s discussions concerning this Committee.”
- “The Committee has made clear to Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang (in response to a query from them) that the Government has no intention of doing anything with the House as long as Dr Lee Wei Ling continues to reside there.”
- “In the course of its work, the Committee received representations from Mr Lee Hsien Loong on various facts and circumstances in relation to how Mr Lee’s Last Will was prepared. The Committee has asked Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang some further questions about how the Last Will was prepared, and the role that Mrs Lee Suet Fern and lawyers from her legal firm played in preparing the Last Will.”
- “The Committee has also invited Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang to put their response by way of Statutory Declaration, as Mr Lee Hsien Loong had done. Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang have not responded to-date, and have indicated that if they respond at all, they will only be able to reply at the earliest by the end of June.”
Seems like more things are afoot. No doubt, when PM Lee returns from his family holiday he’ll be refuting every single point of his siblings’ allegations.
