The son of the founder of modern Singapore, Lee Hsien Yang, has been granted asylum in the United Kingdom, citing persecution due to a prominent family conflict.
Yang has consistently maintained that he is subjected to oppression in Singapore, where his brother, Lee Hsien Loong, served as the government’s leader for two decades.
The Singaporean government denies these allegations, insisting he is free to return.
On Tuesday, the government issued a statement refuting claims that Lee Hsien Yang and his family are being subjected to persecution, asserting that such allegations are “without basis” and that they are under “no legal restraints.”
The statement further clarified, “They are and have always been free to return to Singapore.”
Both individuals are the sons of the distinguished leader Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away in 2015. Since that time, the brothers have been involved in an extended and hostile public dispute regarding their father’s residence.
Reports indicate that Yang has successfully obtained asylum in the UK. The government has granted him “refugee status” for five years, acknowledging that he possesses a “well-founded fear of persecution” that prevents him from returning to Singapore, as reported by the BBC.
Yang, regarded as part of Singapore’s “first family” and a former leader of the nation’s largest telecommunications firm, was deeply embedded in the country’s establishment until a rift with his brother. Following this fallout, he has aligned himself with an opposition political party and has emerged as a staunch critic of the Singaporean government, a position he plans to maintain while residing in the UK.
The prolonged legal dispute involving the Lee family over their ancestral home commenced following the passing of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister and widely regarded as the architect of modern Singapore.
At the centre of the controversy is 38 Oxley Road, a modest house located on a quiet street in downtown Singapore, with an estimated value of tens of millions of Singapore dollars.
Lee Kuan Yew, known for his aversion to a cult of personality surrounding him, expressed in his will a desire for the house to be demolished either after his death or upon his daughter’s departure from the residence.
At the time, Lee Hsien Loong, the sitting prime minister, indicated that the house would be preserved for the time being, while his siblings argued for its immediate demolition in line with their father’s wishes.
In the wake of his sister’s recent death from a brain disease, Lee Hsien Yang has now submitted a request for the house’s demolition, proposing to replace it with a “small private dwelling” intended for ownership by the Lee family.
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