Lee Hsien Yang: Singapore state media continue carry misinformation on Oxley Road Saga

SINGAPORE: Mr Lee Hsien Yang (LHY), the brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and son of the late Lee Kuan Yew, has criticized the Singaporean state-controlled media for continuing to attack him and rehashing allegations made by his brother regarding the Oxley Road saga.

With PM Lee set to step down this Wednesday (15th May), mainstream media outlets have published exclusive interviews and reports reflecting on his two decades of leadership in Singapore.

In extensive interviews conducted in both English and Chinese, mainstream media outlets have praised PM Lee for steering the country through pivotal moments that have shaped Singapore’s social, political, and economic landscape.

Notably, Channel NewsAsia and the Straits Times interviewed Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, who commented on PM Lee’s handling of the dispute over his family home.

SM Teo, who chaired a ministerial committee on 38 Oxley Road in 2017, commended PM Lee for his principled approach and emphasized his ability to separate personal matters from national interests.

“PM was very clear. He’s not going to be involved in the decision; he recused himself. So he was very able to separate the personal from what is in the interest of the country and the responsibilities. So we dealt with it as objectively as possible.”

SM Teo then told ST he was “quite saddened” by the change in LHY, noting they both worked in the armed forces in the joint staff. He said he once encouraged LHY to stay and contribute to Singapore.

“He’s a very able man. But what I can say is… I was quite saddened to see the change in Hsien Yang,” he added, without further elaboration.

The family dispute became public in June 2017 when PM Lee’s siblings accused him of misusing power concerning their late father’s house. PM Lee denied the allegations and addressed the matter in Parliament.

Additionally, ST reported that PM Lee had also raised concerns about the preparation of his father’s last will, which had involved Mr LHY’s wife, lawyer Lee Suet Fern.

The will later became the subject of a disciplinary tribunal in 2019. In November 2020, the High Court ordered the suspension of Mrs Lee from legal practice for 15 months over alleged professional misconduct.

SM Teo again reiterated he was “saddened”  upon uncovering new facts, expressing, “because I didn’t know at the time, some of these facts.  I was quite saddened to see the findings of the court and their subsequent conclusions and judgments.”

Notably, the ST report did not include a byline, which typically highlights the name of the writer or journalist responsible for the article’s content.

LHY criticises Singapore’s MSMs over misinformation against him and his wife

In response to recent media reports, LHY took to Facebook on Sunday (12 May) to openly criticize the dissemination of misinformation and attacks against him and his wife.

“I have recently been attacked in the Singapore state-controlled propaganda machinery relying on findings that have been overturned in Court. It is disgraceful that they should do so.”

LHY further noted that this ongoing effort to revive allegations by PM Lee, even seven years after the saga unfolded, reflects a concerning trend of historical revisionism.

LHY then highlighted the pivotal decisions of the Court of Three Judges (COTJ) in November 2020, which overturned significant portions of the Disciplinary Tribunal Report.

He again reiterated that based on the COTJ’s finding, his wife was not Lee Kuan Yew’s lawyer and that there was no dishonesty in his wife’s dealings with his father.

Secondly, Lee Kuan Yew was of sound mind.

Finally, and most importantly, Lee Kuan Yew was content with his will.

“He lived for more than a year after executing it and did not revisit it, apart from providing for the bequest of two carpets to Mr LHY in the Codicil,” said the COTJ in the 20 November 2020 judgement.

Furthermore, the COTJ found Madam Kwa Kim Li was Lee Kuan Yew’s regular solicitor”; that LKY “regarded Miss Kwa as his solicitor [for his last will]”.

LHY also pointed out that Kwa Kim Li had repeatedly denied drafting the will, and any involvement in events leading up to the last will.

“This was the flawed basis of the prosecution and conviction of my wife.”

Kwa Kim Li found guilty of misleading executors of LKY’s will and failing to safeguard his confidentiality

In May 2023, Madam Kwa, who is the niece of LKY’s wife, was found guilty of misconduct in handling the LKY wills by a Disciplinary Tribunal (DT).

The DT determined that Mdm Kwa had misled the executors of LKY’s estate, Dr Lee Wei Ling and LHY, by omitting crucial information in response to their inquiries and by making false and misleading representations.

The DT also found that Mdm Kwa’s statement that LKY had never instructed her to change his will was false.

Mdm Kwa has been ordered to pay penalties amounting to S$13,000 and bear the costs of the Law Society of Singapore.

After presenting the facts, LHY reiterated his criticism of mainstream media for perpetuating false and misleading stories of Mdm Kwa’s denials of involvement in KLY’s last will.

Separately, Mr Li Shengwu, a 39-year-old Singaporean economist and the eldest son of LHY, also expressed disappointment over Singapore state media’s treatment of his parents, suggesting it reflects his “uncle’s” anxieties or issues.

He shared an article discussing perceived vindictiveness and political manoeuvring within the Lee family, also highlighting omissions in mainstream media regarding the 2020 COTJ’ decision in Mrs Lee Suet Fern’s case.

Singapore state media is busy attacking my parents again. 🇸🇬 Really a sign of the uncle’s neuroses. https://t.co/ykZ5rYJN8P

— Shengwu Li (@ShengwuLi) May 10, 2024

Teo Chee Hean in 2017 refuted LHY’s accusation of “secrecy” surrounding 38 Oxley Road committee

During the 2017 saga, Mr Lee Hsien Yang accused PM Lee of establishing a secret committee despite his earlier commitment to recusing himself from government decisions regarding 38 Oxley Road after their father’s passing.

LHY said that the committee is entirely uninterested in exploring options for the house, instead focusing solely on challenging the validity of the demolition clause in LKY’s will.

“Why does it take a committee of the highest paid ministers in the world to challenge a clause reiterating this well-known and publicly stated wish of our father? Is this not a matter for the family courts?” wrote LHY.

In response, in June 2017, Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister at the time issued a statement on the 38 Oxley Road Ministerial Committee, defending that there is nothing “secret” about the committee formed, which consists of cabinet members.

Mr Teo said he set up the Ministerial Committee to consider the options for 38 Oxley Road and the implications of these options.

“There is nothing “secret” about this committee. It is a committee like numerous other committees that Cabinet may set up from time to time to consider specific issues.”

He highlighted the government’s responsibility to consider the public interest in properties of heritage significance like 38 Oxley Road, and emphasized the committee’s focus on respecting Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes while exploring options for the property’s future.

LHY also wrote to Channel NewsAsia that paragraph 7 of the last will was drafted at his father’s direction and “put into language” by his wife LSF. When the elder Mr Lee was satisfied, he asked Mdm Kwa to insert it into his will.

This contradicted LHL’s statement in his statutory declaration to the ministerial committee, in which he said LSF, mentioned at the reading of the last will on 12 April 2015, that LKY had asked her to prepare the will.

When queried by CNA about LHY’s assertions, Mdm Kwa said,” “No, I did not prepare the last will”.

The seventh will or the last will of LKY has been the subject of many contentions between his three children. On top of issuing public statements by LHY and LWL in 2017, a parliamentary session was called by LHL in 2017, LHY’s son, Li Shengwu, was charged for contempt of court, Terry Xu was sued for defamation, and LSF was suspended from legal practice over the alleged involvement in the preparation and execution of LKY’s final will.