Speaking to Bloomberg in an interview, Lee Hsien Yang, brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, outlined reasons for his journey into politics despite feeling that “Singapore doesn’t need another Lee”.
The youngest son of the late Lee Kuan Yew said that “The PAP of today is no longer the party of my father. It has lost its way”.
He added that when Mr Lee, his father, founded the party, it was “a champion of the underdog”. He explained that he hoped to bring back some of his father’s original views through his stint on the political sidelines.
“My father recognized that the day would come when the PAP would not retain power. His concerns for the future was not the perpetuation of the PAP. It was for the future of Singapore”, Mr Lee said in the interview.
He reiterated sentiments he first expressed in a Facebook post on June 30, where he said: “It would have been the most natural thing for me to have entered political office. But political leadership in Singapore needs to be much more than about one family or one man”.
“I am interested in politics. I am involved through speaking up, by supporting candidates and parties I believe in, by contributing my time, ideas and resources to causes I support, and by seeking an open and independent media. I do not seek power, prestige or financial rewards of political office. I hope to be a catalyst for change”, Mr Lee said in his Facebook post.
Tight-lipped about a future in politics with the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), Mr Lee responded that he was fighting for the people and not his personal agenda by saying: “My sister and I do not need a political platform to respond to attacks by our brother”.
Mr Lee’s sister Dr Lee Wei Ling has also been vocal on social media, often sharing posts or writing on her own on the politics in Singapore. In her last post on politics on June 14, Dr Lee wrote: “On 14 Jun 2017 Yang and I made public our concerns in a Facebook post entitled “What has happened to Lee Kuan Yew’s Values?” We stated that “We do not trust Hsien Loong as a brother or as a leader. We have lost confidence in him.”
Events since then have only served to reinforce our view”.
In his interview, Mr Lee called for Singapore to have “fairer elections”.
“This time, we have a Covid-19 election, with the odds even more heavily stacked against the opposition parties. Rules were only made known at the last minute. Rallies are not possible so engagement with communities are limited”, he added.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang announced his PSP membership the day after Parliament was dissolved, on June 24. /TISG
