Singapore’s Lee apologizes for bitter feud
Print Edition
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong apologized to Singaporeans yesterday for a bitter family feud over his late father’s legacy, saying it had damaged the country’s reputation.
Lee and two younger children of revered founding leader Lee Kuan Yew have been attacking each other on Facebook and in the international media for days as a dispute over the patriarch’s estate became public, a spectacle that has shocked Singaporeans.
“I deeply regret that this dispute has affected Singapore’s reputation and Singaporeans’ confidence in the government,” Lee said in a statement he read in a pre-taped video aired by national broadcaster Mediacorp.
“As your Prime Minister, I apologize to you for this.
“And as the eldest of the siblings, it grieves me to think of the anguish that this would have caused our parents if they were still alive.”
The Lees are the closest thing Singapore has to royalty, dominating the now wealthy island’s politics for nearly six decades.
The patriarch served as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, and the current leader has been in power since 2004.
The row burst into the open last week, when the prime minister’s sister, Wei Ling, and younger brother, Hsien Yang, accused him of misusing his power and trying to milk their father’s legacy for political gain.
The row largely centers around a clause in Lee’s will, which stated that the old family home — worth an estimated US$14.5 million — should be demolished after his death.
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