Bleak House: #Singapore ‘s First Family Tensions Highlight National Worries #LKY

“I’ve seen other houses, Nehru’s, Shakespeare’s. They become a shambles after a while. People trudge through. Because of my house the neighbouring houses cannot build high. Now demolish my house and change the planning rules, go up, the land value will go up,” he said. (link)

“Bitter Squabble Surfaces Among Singapore’s Lee Family,” Asia Sentinel, 14 June How Lee Hsien Loong deals with this crisis will determine public confidence in his leadership (link)

“Is the First Family Finally Waking from Singapore’s Orwellian Nightmare?” The News Lens, 15 June Restiveness over creeping press controls had never been an issue for family, until now (link)

“Open official inquiry to clear up all doubts on Lee family saga?” The Online Citizen, 15 June A public inquiry into the affair may serve multiple purposes, including reform of press controls (link)

It should be noted that this affair has actually been brewing for a while now (link to previous coverage). It is just one of a number of problems facing Singapore; some of those, such as the stagnant labor market and the increasing danger of being turfed out of their own markets by China, will still be there after this one is forgotten.

Originally published at indopacificmonitor.com on June 19, 2017.