Lee Kuan Yew's younger children, government in court over interviews

Singapore

A COURT case is underway between the two younger children of Lee Kuan Yew and the Singapore government, relating to the custody and use of interviews the late founding Prime Minister gave in 1981 and 1982.

Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang on Sept 2 filed an application to the High Court over an interview agreement between the late Mr Lee and the Singapore government - to seek the court's guidance on the proper interpretation of the deal that was struck.

Mr Lee died on March 23 this year at the age of 91. Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang - the younger siblings of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - are the executors and trustees of their father's will.

In a statement to BT, the Lee siblings said that they have requested the government for copies of transcripts of the interviews in question. These interviews were given by the late Mr Lee to the Oral History Department.

"These transcripts were in fact in the possession of the Lee Kuan Yew estate. This request was made pursuant to an interview agreement entered into between the late Mr Lee and the government in early 1983. The government has disagreed that the Lee Kuan Yew estate is entitled to use and have copies of the transcripts and the executors and trustees have filed an application to the High Court for an interpretation of the agreement," said Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, in their capacity as executors of the estate.

Said the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) in a statement obtained by BT: "The government will establish the proper interpretation and status of the agreement before the court."

A pre-trial conference - the first hearing for the case - was held at 9am on Tuesday. The siblings are represented by law firm Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP; the defendant is listed as the Attorney-General.

Further details of the case are so far not in the public domain.

The developments come a day after the National Museum of Singapore launched a new exhibition, titled "We Built A Nation". Alongside various items from the founders of modern Singapore, the exhibition showcases around 50 artefacts from Mr Lee's estate.

In his speech at the exhibition's opening night, Mr Lee Hsien Yang had stressed that the late Mr Lee was never one to be attached to physical objects - whether a table, a chair, or a desk. As executors and trustees of Mr Lee's estate, therefore, the Lee siblings had signed a Deed of Gift with the National Heritage Board on June 8 - donating some of Mr Lee's furniture and personal effects as a gift to Singaporeans. The donation included key items from Mr Lee's home at 38 Oxley Road, including a nondescript formica-topped table from its basement dining room. That was where the founding members of the People's Action Party discussed setting up a new party, and where the nation's early leaders once gathered to discuss how to secure independence from the British.

In his last will and testament dated Dec 17, 2013, the late Mr Lee had made clear that he wanted the Oxley Road house to be demolished - either immediately after his death, or after Dr Lee moves out of it. There have been calls, however, for the preservation of a house so steeped in history for the benefit of all Singaporeans.