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And another expert who knew the personal thoughts and famiLee matters (bad puns cannot be resisted in this thread's context) - did not realise the apparatus of government and its institutions had stopped working since the 6 pager was made public -- using the spat as an excuse to not being able to focus on solving the problems of the country... ..:
Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达
45 mins ·
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. -- Hong Tat
Lee Kuan Yew would not wish for family dispute to hurt Singapore's standing: Chee Hong Tat
SINGAPORE: Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew would not wish for a family dispute to be turned into a public quarrel that hurt Singapore’s international standing, his former principal private secretary Chee Hong Tat said on Saturday (Jul 1).
Referring to the spat between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling, Mr Chee, who is now Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, said in a Facebook post that the "wild allegations have damaged Singapore’s reputation, something which (Mr Lee Kuan Yew) spent his entire life building up".
"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," he wrote.
Mr Chee was principal private secretary to Mr Lee Kuan Yew from 2008 to 2011.
"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."
PM Lee's siblings have alleged that he is privately opposed to the demolition of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's house even though his father had publicly stated his wish for it, and they accuse him of abusing his power in trying to preserve the house.
Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达
45 mins ·
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. -- Hong Tat
Lee Kuan Yew would not wish for family dispute to hurt Singapore's standing: Chee Hong Tat
SINGAPORE: Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew would not wish for a family dispute to be turned into a public quarrel that hurt Singapore’s international standing, his former principal private secretary Chee Hong Tat said on Saturday (Jul 1).
Referring to the spat between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling, Mr Chee, who is now Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, said in a Facebook post that the "wild allegations have damaged Singapore’s reputation, something which (Mr Lee Kuan Yew) spent his entire life building up".
"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," he wrote.
Mr Chee was principal private secretary to Mr Lee Kuan Yew from 2008 to 2011.
"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."
PM Lee's siblings have alleged that he is privately opposed to the demolition of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's house even though his father had publicly stated his wish for it, and they accuse him of abusing his power in trying to preserve the house.
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