Ex-ST editor urges PM Lee to step down, as family feud has “affected his authority”

SINGAPORE: Former Straits Times heavyweight Bertha Henson has suggested that it may be time for Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to step down from his post, opining that the bitter dispute with his estranged brother has “affected” his authority as head of government.

Mr Lee, 71, had earlier expressed a desire to retire as PM before the age of 70. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that he will stay on at his post until the health crisis comes under control.

Singapore has since exited the acute phase of the pandemic and transitioned to living with endemic COVID while adjusting its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level back to Green, last month.

Despite this, there has been no word as to when the PM plans to hand over the reins of the Government to PM-designate Lawrence Wong – even as political pundits predict that the next election may take place as soon as next June.

Asserting that the feud with his brother is taking the spotlight away from where it should be, Ms Henson wrote on Facebook this morning (23 Mar): “I am taking a lot of risks here but it might well be a good time for LHL to step down. He is past 70 and the worst of Covid is over.

“His family affairs are becoming a public spectacle when much of our time should be focused on the greater needs of the country.”

She added: “As a private citizen, there will also be less of a perception that State power is being used for essentially a family squabble – although the State will deny this strenuously.

“This squabble, in my view, has affected his authority. People will remember a fractured family as his key legacy, not quite what LKY would have intended. He can choose to sue whoever he wants who repeats his siblings’ words (and he has) but making a point in court is not going to banish images from people’s minds.”

Referring to the heated debate in Parliament this week over how the PM’s brother’s departure from Singapore should be characterised, the veteran journalist said: “We are getting distracted by the nitty gritty of drawing up wills, the definition of fugitive and abscond, prosecution versus persecution and whether names should have been released etc – as if we didn’t have enough to think about when the issue of the house came up during the family squabble.”

Ms Henson ended her post by echoing the public sentiment that the Lee family feud should remain a family matter. She said, “Let the PM handle his own affairs, and let the G concentrate on the work ahead. With that, I wish the Lee family all the best. Patch up or be estranged. Don’t need to let the rest of us in on it.”