In the unending effort to deify Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and hold him sacrosanct forevermore, the government will be enacting a law that will protect his name and image from commercial exploitation.
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong mentioned that the government is currently exploring ways on how to protect Lee’s name and image, which was sparked by concerns from the public about companies or individuals trying to make money off Lee, The Straits Times reports.
Following the late statesman’s widely publicised death on Mar 23, several companies and individuals had tried to benefit from the buzz by printing t-shirts and creating other Lee Kuan Yew-related merchandise to be sold off.
Minister Wong especially called out local bakery chain Breadtalk, which released a gula melaka-flavoured bun called the ‘Lee bu kai ni’ (‘will not leave you’) as tribute to the late politician. It stopped selling the item following mass complaints.
However, Wong stated that the government was not opposed to entities using Lee’s image for charity, such as the printed car decals that were given out for free, and the popular black and red ribbon of mourning. As long as the individual or company are not doing it for commercial gain, they’re fine with it.
It’s all good if the government wants to restrict such usage, as long as we don’t get to the point where we can be fined, imprisoned or sentenced to death for defacing Lee Kuan Yew’s portrait or anything.
Photo: Lee Kuan Yew Facebook page
