Lee Hsien Yang signals continued support for Singapore opposition

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s youngest son, Lee Hsien Yang, has signalled his continued support for the opposition in Singapore, days after he was ordered to pay damages to two Ministers for alleged defamation.

Mr Lee has aligned himself with the opposition, in the years after a feud with his elder brother, former Singapore premier Lee Hsien Loong, became public. He is a member of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) and campaigned for the party ahead of the 2020 general election, although he did not contest the polls himself.

He also indicated interest in contesting the presidential election last year but ultimately did not throw his hat into the ring.

On Saturday (1 June), Mr Lee shared an op-ed by Harpreet Singh Nehal SC on his personal Facebook page. The Senior Counsel, who is expected to be one of the Workers’ Party’s (WP) star candidates at the next election, asserted in his op-ed that Singaporeans should vote for a stronger opposition.

Calling the article “well worth reading,” Mr Lee also urged his followers to subscribe to Jom – the publication that carried the opinion piece – to support independent journalism.

Mr Lee and his wife are presently living overseas amid the latest inquiry into them by the Singapore authorities.

He has expressed deep distress over not being able to be with his sister, who has been diagnosed with a rare brain disorder with no cure and is extremely unwell.

Mr Lee, his wife and their children are Dr Lee Wei Ling’s closest relatives after the passing of their parents and since the rift developed between her and elder brother Lee Hsien Loong. She never married and chose to stay single.