Calls for Lee Hsien Yang to return to Singapore resound as election looms

SINGAPORE: Several Singaporeans are calling on founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s younger son Lee Hsien Yang to return to Singapore and fight for the nation, as the next general election looms.

Mr Lee has left Singapore and lives in an undisclosed location in Europe with his wife, senior lawyer Lee Suet Fern, while his longstanding feud with his estranged older brother – Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong – appears to rage on.

The brothers’ dispute first spilled into the public domain in 2017, two years after their famous father died. The rift within the family widened when the authorities took action against Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s wife and son, who were suspended from legal practice and found guilty of contempt of court, respectively.

In March, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean announced that the police are investigating Mr Lee and his wife for allegedly lying about Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s last will. Leaving for the UK, Mr Lee responded by expressing heartbreak at being “made a fugitive by my own country” just for standing up for his late father’s last wishes.

Asserting that he has lost much by trying to honour his father’s dying wish and speaking up for it, he has asserted in the past that his family had paid the price for his convictions.

While he has remained abroad, some Singaporeans have continued to urge Mr Lee to come back to his homeland.

Taking to the comments section of one of Mr Lee’s most recent Facebook posts, one netizen Sam wrote: “We look forward in seeing your wife and yourself returning back to Singapore. This is your home ground and it is also our Singaporeans home. Justice shall prevail for your family.”

Echoing this sentiment, another Facebook user, Peggy Lim, added: “You may have been forced by circumstances to be away from home, but friends n fellow Singaporeans have you n family in our thoughts n mind. Justice must prevail!”

One netizen, Dolores Undasan, said she is hoping the day will come soon when Mr Lee, his wife and their son Li Shengwu can come back to Singapore, while Facebook user Png Joyce pointed out: “Singapore is your country too. You have every right to be here.”

Singaporeans, in the past, have also urged Mr Li Shengwu to return and fight for Singapore. Mr Li, however, has openly declared that he will “never go into politics” in the past and asserted that he is “completely unsuitable” for politics.

He has said, “I believe I can become a top economist, my second love is mathematics, that’s where my interests are. As a politician, you will inevitably have to lie, I am not willing to lie about my beliefs, I am not up to it.”

TISG/