Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health, has waddled late into the Lee family saga with a Facebook post that is filled with motherhood statements but does not bring any light to the situation.

Setting a backdrop of him being the principal private secretary for late Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Chee wrote that it saddens him greatly to see what has been happening over the past two weeks, especially when he think of the pain it would bring to Mr and Mrs Lee. He noted that in his learning from LKY, is to always put the country’s interests above personal interests as LKY would make this point repeatedly in his discussions with Ministers and civil servants and that LKY also believed in the rule of law and that no one, including himself, was above the law. “These values formed the foundation of our nation building and differentiate Singapore from other countries in the region.” wrote Mr Chee.

The Senior Minister of State suggests that LKY would be the first to insist that the law must apply equally to his will and the house at 38 Oxley Road just as it does to all other Singaporeans which is in accordance with the systems which he created.

“I have no doubt Mr Lee would want his successors in the Government to continue to uphold these systems and values. He would not have wanted his family to be given special treatment – in fact this would make him most unhappy as it goes against his values and what he believed in.” wrote Mr Chee.  He further states that Singapore was LKY’s lifelong passion and it is his legacy and LKY would not wish for a family dispute to be turned into a public quarrel that hurt Singapore’s international standing.

Mr Chee in his post, also states that he does not believe that Dr Lee Weiling, daughter of LKY, would intentionally cause harm to her country and questions if she had been misled or misunderstood what had happened.

While Mr Chee notes that LKY would not “wish for baseless allegations to be made against Government leaders and institutions, undermining confidence in the systems he created.” but Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Weiling are in the belief that their allegations are supported by documentational evidence which they have released in dribs and drabs.

Mr Chee’s post is highly emotional that attempts to pull the heartstrings of LKY supporters not to destroy LKY’s legacy, which is problematic as the  Senior Minister of State does not seem to find the allegations troubling enough to warrant any form of investigation and inclined to just pass it over as a simple family dispute.

PM Lee will be addressing the Parliament about the allegations made against him tomorrow (3 July). One might consider Mr Chee’s post and the posts made by other Ministers, a clear indication that it is pointless for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to make his Parliamentary statement to refute the allegations as the Ministers in PM Lee’s cabinet are already pretty much convinced that he is innocent. The only way for the allegations to be addressed and to have the public to be convinced of the verdict is to have a committee of inquiry to look into the matter, given the grave impact it has on the integrity of Singapore’s public institution.

LHY has remarked that PM Lee’s address on Monday is an attempt to cover-up and whitewash himself in Parliament, “We have begun to show evidence of his misuse of his position and influence to drive his personal agenda. This is yet another example.”

Below is Mr Chee’s post in full

I served as Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Principal Private Secretary from 2008 to 2011. It was the best posting I ever had, as I had the opportunity to learn directly from Mr Lee and observe how he dealt with different types of people and handled difficult issues. During those 3 years, I also got to know Wei Ling and we became friends. Wei Ling is someone I admire and respect. She has strong views and can be very blunt at times, but she has a good heart and genuinely cares for the people around her.

It saddens me greatly to see what has been happening over the past 2 weeks, especially when I think of the pain it would bring to Mr and Mrs Lee. The wild allegations have damaged Singapore’s reputation, something which Mr Lee spent his entire life building up. I do not believe Wei Ling will intentionally cause harm to her country. So I have asked myself over and over again, why is she doing this? Has she been misled and misunderstood what happened?

One thing I learnt from Mr Lee is to always put the country’s interests above personal interests. Mr Lee would make this point repeatedly in his discussions with Ministers and civil servants, and he demonstrated it through his actions. He drummed this into all of us. He also believed in the rule of law and that no one, including himself, was above the law. These values formed the foundation of our nation building and differentiate Singapore from other countries in the region.

Knowing Mr Lee, he would be the first to insist that the law must apply equally to his will and the house at 38 Oxley Road just as it does to all other Singaporeans. These are in accordance with the systems which he created. I have no doubt Mr Lee would want his successors in the Government to continue to uphold these systems and values. He would not have wanted his family to be given special treatment – in fact this would make him most unhappy as it goes against his values and what he believed in.

Hsien Yang said he is “a man working to honour his father’s wishes”. Singapore was Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s lifelong passion and it is his legacy. Mr Lee would not wish for a family dispute to be turned into a public quarrel that hurt Singapore’s international standing. Neither would he wish for baseless allegations to be made against Government leaders and institutions, undermining confidence in the systems he created. Mr Lee would put Singapore’s interests above personal interests.

Beyond the dispute and allegations, we have many tough challenges we need to tackle to secure Singapore’s future – how to grow our economy and create good jobs for Singaporeans, how to keep Singapore safe and remain united as one people in the face of rising threats. If my former Boss were still around, I think he would want everyone to put Singapore as the priority and stop all the quarrelling and finger-pointing, so that we can get back to running the country, solving the practical problems we are facing and improving the lives of our people.

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