Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has issued a response to The Straits Times editor-at-large Han Fook Kwang.

This was after Han wrote an opinion piece in ST on June 21, outlining what he felt were the three key issues surrounding the ongoing Lee family tussle over 38 Oxley Road.

In his piece, Han questioned the rationale of a Ministerial Committee to deal with the 38 Oxley Road house, as well as the somewhat adversarial and legalistic approach of requiring statutory declarations to be made on the part of Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling about the circumstance surrounding Lee Kuan Yew's writing of his will.

Han also wrote that it is not too late to reverse the decision for a Ministerial Committee to prevent ministers on the committee from being further dragged into the tussle.

This is DPM Teo's response in full, published in the Prime Minister's Office website on the same day as Han's commentary:

Mr Han Fook Kwang in his article “Three key issues in the Lee vs Lee saga” asks about the need to set up a Ministerial Committee. Setting up a Ministerial Committee to study or work on issues is part of normal Cabinet working processes. Even boards of companies set up committees to look into specific issues. He also asked why the issue of what to do with 38 Oxley Road cannot simply be left in the hands of the Founders’ Memorial Committee. Ultimately, it is the Government of the day which has to be responsible for making a decision on the property as this is where the powers reside under the law, specifically the Preservation of Monuments Act and the Planning Act in this case. Mr Han himself acknowledges this. It is therefore incumbent on Cabinet to consider and decide on the issues, and I have decided to set up a committee to assist Cabinet to do so. Cabinet cannot outsource decision-making. But this does not preclude public consultations or the involvement of some memorial committee at an appropriate time. Indeed members of the public have already written in offering suggestions.

Prime Minister Lee has recused himself from government decisions on the property. No decision is required now as Dr Lee Wei Ling continues to live in the house.

Whoever makes a recommendation, the public or some memorial committee, and when Cabinet eventually makes a decision, founding Prime Minister Mr Lee’s thinking is an important factor which we would all want to take into account. The committee invited views from the siblings to understand Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s thinking on this matter. It is only proper that the committee seek their views. Indeed, the Committee had to, since the siblings themselves told us they had different views, and challenged each other's interpretations of Mr Lee's wishes. All views were given voluntarily, including those in the form of statutory declarations. Where there were different views, clarifications were sought including the offer for them to be made as statutory declarations. As I have said, the interest of the Committee in Mr Lee’s will is confined to helping us understand his thinking on the matter. This process was conducted through correspondence, and out of the public eye until it was brought out onto a public platform. We should be clear that the difference of views did not arise because there was a Ministerial committee. We still hope that differences of views on private matters can be resolved within the family. But ultimately, the Cabinet of the day and its ministers cannot avoid taking responsibility for making the required decisions on matters where the public interest is involved, and due process is required. Mr Lee Kuan Yew himself understood this and would have expected the government to do so.

The very special Han Fook Kwang

Han, whose 2016 book of essays was praised by both PAP and WP leaders, is one of the few Singaporeans who can get under the skin of the senior ministers.

Last year, Han's commentary on leadership renewal in August prompted a salty response from Khaw Boon Wan, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and the Minister for Transport.

In his role as the PAP chairman, Khaw said that Han "of all people, should know that the process by which we choose prime ministers is anything but ‘opaque’."

DPM Teo snubbed Lee Hsien Yang

Previously, on Tuesday, June 20, Lee Hsien Yang directly contradicted a point made by DPM Teo.

Lee Hsien Yang said on his Facebook page that neither him nor his sister Lee Wei Ling heard from DPM Teo in his capacity as chair of the Ministerial Committee previously about the different options for the property, as claimed by DPM Teo in a statement.

DPM Teo did not respond.

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