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PM Lee rebuts accusations by his sister

This article is more than 12 months old

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has stated in a Facebook post that he is "deeply saddened" by his sister's claims about him on her Facebook page.

The statement comes after Dr Lee Wei Ling posted on Sunday a lengthy exchange of e-mails between herself and an editor at The Straits Times over a column she had written for the paper.

In the exchange, she accused her brother, Mr Lee, of "abusing his power to have a commemoration just one year after LKY died".

The quarrel has certainly got the attention of netizens. The original essay by Dr Lee has garnered over 7,000 shares, and subsequent posts - whether by Dr Lee or The Straits Times - have also been shared thousands of times.

But on Sunday afternoon, Mr Lee rebutted to say that the accusations were "completely untrue".

 

 

I am deeply saddened by my sister Dr Lee Wei Ling’s claim that I have abused my power to commemorate the one-year...

Posted by Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday, 10 April 2016

 

He wrote: "The Cabinet had discussed how we should mark the occasion. My advice was that we should leave it to ground-up efforts. Groups should keep their observances in proportion, and focussed on the future."

Of Dr Lee's accusation that he wants to "establish a dynasty", Mr Lee said "the idea ... makes even less sense".

"Meritocracy is a fundamental value of our society, and neither I, the PAP, nor the Singapore public would tolerate any such attempt," he added.

Dr Lee's post with the e-mail exchange is no longer on her Facebook page.

On the same day, Mr Lee's wife, Temasek Holdings CEO Ho Ching, posted on Facebook a picture of a monkey showing a rude gesture. The post is no longer on her Facebook page.

It is not clear why or at what time the picture was posted.

Mr Lee's rebuttal is the latest episode in a week-long saga, sparked by a Facebook post by Dr Lee on April 1.

In that post, she said she would no longer write for Singapore Press Holdings, as "the editors there do not allow me the freedom of speech".

Earlier, on March 25, she had posted an essay on how her father would have "cringed at the hero worship" surrounding the first year anniversary of his death.

In subsequent posts, she claimed she was censored by her editors at The Straits Times, leading to her decision to run the essay on her Facebook page.

The Straits Times has since rebutted Dr Lee's claims. Associate editor Ivan Fernandez, who had been editing Dr Lee's columns, said her essay could not be run as it contained "plagiarised" paragraphs.

Lee Hsien LoongSingaporeLee Kuan YewLee Wei LingHO CHINGUncategorised