Singapore’s Prime Minister addressed his escalating family feud in a speech in Parliament on Monday, saying his siblings’ accusations that he had misused government power were “entirely baseless” but he would not sue them.
The family dispute has been a rare political dustup in the orderly Asian city-state led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father since its independence in 1965. Public accusations against Singaporean leaders are extremely rare, and both Lee and his father have won defamation lawsuits against their political opponents.
Singaporeans have latched onto the never-before-seen spectacle, standing in line to enter the Parliament’s public gallery on Monday.
Business executive Lee Hsien Yang and Dr. Lee Wei Ling, a well-known neurosurgeon, have accused their brother of using the “organs of the state” against them to preserve a house belonging to their father, Singapore founder Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee Kuan Yew died in 2015. His seventh and final will indicated a family bungalow should be demolished once his daughter moves out.
Dr. Lee and her brother have claimed that the Prime Minister secretly wanted the house preserved to “inherit the faith Singaporeans had in Lee Kuan Yew through the visible symbol of the house.”
They alleged that their brother lobbied a government committee and that his wife, Ho Ching, improperly obtained artifacts belonging to their late father. They also said that the Prime Minister and his wife wanted their son, Li Hongyi, to have a political career.
“Their allegations are entirely baseless, but they have already damaged Singapore’s reputation. Unrebutted, they can affect Singaporeans’ confidence in the government,” Lee Hsien Loong said.
“As your Prime Minister, I deeply regret that this has happened and apologize to Singaporeans for this. As a son, I am pained at the anguish this strife would have caused my parents if they were still alive,” he added.
Lee Hsien Loong is the Secretary-General of the People’s Action Party, which has led Singapore since independence in 1965. It holds 83 out of 89 seats in Parliament.
