International news publications have been weighing in on the resurgence of the Lee family feud that burst into the public domain once again in the new year.
Yesterday evening, founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter revealed that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) have filed a 500-page long complaint against her younger brother Lee Hsien Yang’s wife, Lee Suet Fern, for her alleged role in preparing Lee Kuan Yew’s last will.
The AGC is taking issue with the possibility that Lee Suet Fern prepared the last will which names her husband as one of the beneficiaries.
A year and a half ago, Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang accused their elder brother – current PM Lee Hsien Loong – of abusing his power to preserve their family home against their father’s willed desire to demolish the house, and of using state organs against them.
PM Lee cleared himself of all charges in Parliament and his younger siblings offered a ceasefire while reinforcing their allegations, in favor of settling the matter in private, on the condition that they nor their father’s will be attacked or misrepresented.
Despite the truce, the AGC took legal action against Lee Hsien Yang’s eldest son Li Shengwu for a private Facebook post he made during the family feud. A year and a half later, the Government authority has registered a complaint against Lee Hsien Yang’s wife.
Covering the latest turn of events, the Nikkei Asian Review noted that “Lee Wei Ling let her emotions show in a post regarding the Attorney-General’s Chambers and its recent filing of over 500 pages to the Law Society.”
International news wire, Reuters, made note of the timing of the “public bickering” between the siblings since it comes “ahead of a general election expected as soon as this year.”
Bloomberg discussed the impact the spat has had on Singapore politics and noted that the feud seems to have “very little” impact on the surface. The US-based publication reported:
“PM Lee, 66, retains broad popular support. He has signaled he doesn’t want to stay in office beyond the age of 70 and has been grooming a group of younger ministers for succession. The PAP has a strong grip on power. Months after the elder Lee died, the PAP boosted its share of the popular vote by about 10 percentage points to nearly 70 percent — the highest since 2001 — and secured 83 of 89 seats up for grabs.”
https://theindependent.sg.sg/why-is-the-state-interfering-in-a-family-matter-netizens-respond-to-agcs-complaint-over-lkys-will/