Lee Hsien Yang, brother to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is not contesting in GE2020.
Shortly after the various parties' candidates were confirmed at their respective Nomination Centres on June 30, with Lee Hsien Yang not included in any of the Progress Singapore Party candidate line-ups, the youngest child of the late Lee Kuan Yew put up a 606-word Facebook post that included his explanation about why he chose not to contest.
Why did Lee Hsien Yang not contest?
Lee Hsien Yang said that he chose not to stand for political office "because I believe Singapore does not need another Lee".
He explained that he had grown up in "a family at the centre of Singapore politics", and said that it would have been "natural" for him to enter the fray.
However, Lee Hsien Yang said, "Singapore needs to be much more than about one family or one man".
"When people enter politics on the back of the family name, they are often evaluated based on their parents and not their performance", adding that this creates an "unfair advantage" which "undermines meritocracy".
He questioned: "How can we expect politicians to hold each other to account, if they are blood relations?"
Lee Hsien Yang said that he does not seek the "power, prestige or financial rewards" which would come along with political office, and said that he chose to "forge [his] own path" in business instead, seeking to contribute to Singapore in other ways.
"Being involved in politics can take many different forms"
Lee Hsien Yang said that he would be involved in politics in other forms instead, such as "speaking up", supporting candidates and parties, and contributing his "time, ideas and resources to causes I support".
Previously, Lee Hsien Yang had said that it is "quite possible" that he would be contributing financially to the Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
He also said that Singaporeans should "take action now", to "speak up and be heard" and to seek transparency and accountability in government, as well as to "vote fearlessly".
PSP's Tanjong Pagar GRC team at a media doorstop on June 30.
At a media doorstop at the Bendemeer Primary School Nomination Centre, PSP candidate for Tanjong Pagar GRC, Michael Chua, commented on Lee's involvement in the party, saying that there was a need to "generate excitement without misleading".
He called attention to the fact that Lee Hsien Yang never said that he would be contesting.
Tan Cheng Bock on Lee Hsien Yang's role
PSP secretary-general Tan Cheng Bock commented on Lee Hsien Yang's role in the party as well.
Fielding queries from the media at a doorstop at the Nan Hua High School Nomination Centre, after his own West Coast GRC team was confirmed, Tan said that Lee Hsien Yang joined the party as he saw its value, such as the qualities of "accountability" and "transparency".
Tan Cheng Bock with his West Coast GRC team on June 30. Photo by Fasiha Nazren.
He rejected the conjecture that he joined the PSP for his own agenda against his older brother, PM Lee.
Tan said: "Have you ever heard him talking about his family affairs? No!"
"Because he separates it very clearly! Family is family."
He also said that the party does not want Singaporeans to have the idea that Lee Hsien Yang is using the party to champion his cause.
Lee Hsien Yang knew his stance from "the very beginning", Tan said.
"Party is party. Family is family," he said.
Here is Lee Hsien Yang's post in full:
Previous indications that he might run
Tan revealed that Lee Hsien Yang was a PSP member at a breakfast meeting on June 24.
While Lee Hsien Yang was not introduced as one of the PSP's 24 candidates, Tan added the caveat that "in politics, change can happen", saying at a press conference on June 26 that a switch of candidates was still possible.
Lee Hsien Yang had been seen accompanying PSP candidates at walkabouts in various estates, including one in Tanjong Pagar GRC on June 28, where he addressed criticism that he was in politics for personal reasons, saying that he had "no need to use the party to be my mouthpiece for anything".
Finally, in the morning of June 30, Lee Hsien Yang had been spotted having breakfast just across the road from the Nomination Centre at Bendemeer Primary School.
He was seated together with four members of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), Michael Chua, Harish Pillay, Terence Soon, and A'bas Bin Kasmani, who are contesting in Tanjong Pagar GRC.
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When asked whether if he is here as a candidate, Lee Hsien Yang said, "We will see".
Top image by Rexanne Yap