It’s Day 2 of the whole Lee family saga being played out in Parliament, which means it’s time for regular everyday folks like us to make fun of it!
Long story short: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s siblings have publicly accused him of abusing his power over the fate of their dad’s 38 Oxley Road house. The siblings insist on the house being demolished, as stipulated in Lee Kuan Yew’s will. PM Lee disagrees, questioning the circumstances of how the demolition clause was inserted. Lee also believes their dad would be just fine with 38 Oxley Road being preserved — as long as it’s for heritage reasons.
To calm down whatever worries Singaporeans might have about all this, PM Lee brought the issue to Parliament and invited everyone to grill him. They did.
Without further ado, here’s what you may have missed yesterday in the continuation of the parliamentary debate over the prime minister’s alleged abuse of power. Only the juicy stuff.
A whole lotta ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs) are starting to get pretty fatigued from all the drama.
PM Lee did not seem to like Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Kiang’s line of questioning:
“No MPs have produced or alleged any additional facts or charges, or substantiated any of the allegations. Mr Low Thia Khiang talks about ‘scattered evidence centered on family displeasure’. But he has not accused the government of anything. Nor has he given any concrete evidence, or cited any.”
PM Lee really doesn’t want to sue his siblings:
“As I said yesterday, I have been advised that I have a strong legal case. And in normal circumstances, I would surely sue, because the accusations of abuse of power are so grave, but suing my own brother and sister in court would further besmirch our parents’ names.
“It would drag out the process for years, cause further distress to Singaporeans, and distract us from the many urgent issues that we must deal with.”
PM Lee doesn’t think it’s necessary to settle the allegations outside Parliament:
“Should we set up Select Committees to investigate every unsubstantiated allegation, every wild rumor? It is as Mr Low Thia Khiang says, “vague allegations,…based on scattered evidence centered on family displeasure”, as a basis for ordering a Select Committee or COI? That’s not a basis. But if there is evidence of wrongdoing that emerges, or alleged evidence of wrongdoing which emerges, then I and the government will consider what further steps to take. We can have a Select Committee, we can have a Commission of Inquiry, I may decide to sue for defamation or take some other legal action, but until then, let’s get back to more important things that we should be working on.”
PM Lee tears up talking about his family duties:
“For me, the most difficult and emotional moment in that whole week came when I was reading the eulogy at the state funeral service, when I recounted how when I was about 13, my father had told me: ‘If anything happens to me, please take care of your mother, and your younger sister and brother’.
“Little did I expect that after my parents died, these tensions would erupt, with such grievous consequences and after so many years I would be unable to fulfill the role which my father had hoped I would. So I hope one day, these passions will subside, and we can begin to reconcile. At the very least, I hope that my siblings will not visit their resentments and grievances with one generation upon the next generation and further, that they do not transmit their enmities and feuds to our children.”
PAP MP Lim Biow Chuan is sad that some MPs insist on PM Lee suing his siblings:
“How many of us would want to sue our family members? Is not blood thicker than water?”
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong drops some shade on the Lee siblings:
“Are they whistleblowing in a noble effort to save Singapore, or waging a personal vendetta without any care for the damage done to Singapore?
“It is now no more a cynical parlor game. 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.
“But if in the process of their self-destruction, they destroy Singapore too, that is a public affair.”
ESM Goh thinks PM Lee has been a pretty good dude:
“I reaffirm my full confidence in the integrity of the prime minister. I have known and worked closely with him for more than 30 years. I brought him into politics in 1984, and I should add, it was not at Lee Kuan Yew’s behest.
He was my deputy prime minister for 14 years. He has been prime minister for some 13 years.”
This episode, in fact, reveals [the premier’s] political sensitivity and integrity. He gave the proceeds from the sale of 38 Oxley Road away so that no one could accuse him that he would benefit should the government acquire the land. He had put country before self and family interest.”
Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Kiang then drops some shade on ESM Goh:
“I wonder whether the prime minister is not worried that the PAP as the ruling party, would be seen as (practicing) double standards. Has he forgotten, the former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is now ESM, sued the Workers’ Party candidate Tang Liang Hong during the General Election 1997, for just making a police report.
“But now these are allegations that are much more serious than that. And more importantly, we are talking about upholding the legacy of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, that the nation, the laws above the family and individuals.
“By using family, does this not also show that blood is thicker than water? [Your] own siblings cannot sue. After all, we are all brothers and sisters. But political opponents and critics, sue until your pants drop. I cannot square this, madam speaker, with all these arguments. Sorry.”
ESM Goh curtly replied that Tang Liang Hong is not his brother.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean wishes the Lee siblings peace and happiness:
“(Lee) Hsien Yang too has contributed much. In the Singapore Armed Forces, and in the private and public sector. It is with deep sadness that the Hsien Yang I see now is not the Hsien Yang I knew. I see hurt and his strong emotions consuming him. I do not understand what underlying deep-rooted reasons there may be for this.
“For Hsien Yang, I hope that the pain and emotions that I see now in his heart will dampen over time, and that he will find peace and solace within himself.
“I have known Wei Ling for many years, too, though not as well. She must have been going through a difficult time over the past few years, living with her parents and looking after them while they were unwell. And losing both of them, while stoically facing her own health challenges.
“For Wei Ling, the government has said that we will not do anything to affect her right to continue living at 38 Oxley Rd. I wish her happiness, time to do the things which she enjoys with her friends, and above all, good health and a long life.”
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