Son of Singapore's founder granted political asylum in the U.K., citing persecution at Home
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Lynn (NP News) - Oct 27
Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, announced on Tuesday (October 22) that the UK government has granted him asylum, citing "persecution" in his home country.
The Lee brothers are the sons of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singapore. Lee Hsien Yang and his late sister, Lee Wei Ling, who passed away on October 9, have long been estranged from their influential elder brother, Lee Hsien Loong, who served as prime minister for two decades until May of this year. The family divide primarily stems from disagreements over the fate of their father’s home after his death in 2015.
The strained relationship has been publicly evident, with the younger Lee, 67, aligning himself with an opposition party during the 2020 election and expressing interest in running for the largely ceremonial Singapore presidency last year.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Lee Hsien Yang revealed that he sought asylum in 2022 "as a last resort," which the UK granted him in August. He stated, “The Singapore government’s attacks against me are in the public record. They prosecuted my son, brought disciplinary proceedings against my wife, and launched a bogus police investigation that has dragged on for years,” he wrote, adding that he had been unable to return home for his sister’s funeral as a result.
Lee Hsien Yang and his sister, Lee Wei Ling, have accused their elder brother, Lee Hsien Loong, of abusing his power to prevent them from demolishing the family home in accordance with their father's wishes. Their father, who passed away in 2015, had led Singapore for over three decades.
Lee Hsien Loong thought it should be up to the government to decide what to do with it, including potentially retaining it as a heritage landmark.
The elder Lee continues to serve in the cabinet as a senior minister, a position previously held by their father, who oversaw Singapore's transformation from a British colonial outpost into a global trade and financial hub from 1959 to 1990.