Singapore, April 10 (CNA) Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday he was "deeply saddened" by his younger sister Dr. Lee Wei Ling's accusation that he was abusing his power to commemorate the first anniversary of their father's death to establish a dynasty, stressing that meritocracy has been well established in the city state.
The prime minister said on his Facebook page: "I am deeply saddened by my sister Dr. Lee Wei Ling's claim that I have abused my power to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's passing in order to establish a dynasty. The accusations are completely untrue."
Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding prime minister, died on March 23, 2015, at the age of 91.
In an e-mail she made public on Sunday, Dr. Lee, referring to Lee Hsien Loong by his initials, said: "HL has no qualms abusing his power to have a commemoration just one year after LKY died." "Let's be real, last year's event was so vivid no one will forget it in one year. But if the power that be wants to establish a dynasty, LKY's daughter will not allow LKY's name to be sullied by a dishonorable son."
The younger Lee also said she had been "at odds" with her brother "on a matter of principle."
PM Lee said: "The first anniversary of a person's passing is a significant moment to remember him and reflect on what he meant to us. The more so with Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. 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 focus on the future."
PM Lee also said: "The Cabinet recognized the strong desire of many Singaporeans to show their respect for Mr. Lee, and honor what he did for us. We reviewed the events and observances that different groups had planned, and agreed that they were generally appropriate. They expressed the sincerely felt sentiments of Singaporeans, which my Cabinet colleagues and I deeply appreciate."
"The idea that I should wish to establish a dynasty makes even less sense. Meritocracy is a fundamental value of our society, and neither I, the PAP (People's Action Party), nor the Singaporean public would tolerate any such attempt."
On March 25, Dr. Lee posted a commentary on her Facebook page, saying that her father would have "cringed" at the commemorative activities held to mark the first anniversary of his death.
In a commentary sent to the Strait Times for publication, Dr. Lee compared how British people commemorated Winston Churchill 50 years after his funeral and how China commemorated Mao Zedong on the first anniversary of his death. In her draft, Dr. Lee wrote: "If he was forced to choose one form of commemoration, Papa (Lee Kuan Yew) would have objected the least if the commemoration resembled that held for Winston Churchill," according to an article by the Strait Times Associate Editor Ivan Fernandez on April 9.
Fernandez said the paragraphs of Dr. Lee's commentary on the commemorations of Churchill and Mao were largely plagiarized from other websites.
(By Huang Tzu-chiang and Kuo Chung-han)
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