..................But nearly a decade-and-a-half later, it's hard to point to any achievement of import under Mr Lee's reign.
Rather, what has stood out are blights on the political landscape that will define his dispiriting legacy. The PM's tenure, dogged by debacle after outrageous debacle most of which were of his own contrivance, has been mired in controversy, rancour and distrust. Its end cannot come sooner.
The most significant scandal, by far, is the family meltdown he had with his brother and sister who, among other things, had accused him of abusing his official powers to thwart the deceased Lee's final wishes of demolishing the family house at Oxley Road. Both Hsien Yang and Wei Ling went so far as to declare that they had “no confidence” in their elder brother's leadership.
............. So what was Mr Lee's response to the allegations of abuse of power? He summoned all the courage of a rabbit by convening Parliament of which his party more than dominates. He cried and invoked his late dad in an unseemly display of self-pity, and he predictably declared the allegations as “baseless” when the tears dried. The lawsuit-happy Mr Lee in this instance refused to take his siblings to court or to convene an independent hearing to let his accusers have a fair say.
A few months later, the PM bested himself in an act that would leave an appalling stain on his record. He ruled that the post of president be reserved for a Malay person and proceeded to amend the constitution to effectively allow one, and only one, person to run for the office – his party mate, Ms Halimah Yacob.
Compared to his two predecessors, Mr Lee's term has been particularly rife with messes and muddles.
Happening in the background to all this is an economy that is as pumped up as a sloth on Benadryl. GDP growth has been limping along for several years with no meaningful pick-up in sight and, worse, the government has given little indication on how to move the economy forward.
He could not see that circumstances, both within the country and around the world, have altered and altered radically and irrevocably. Carrying on with his father's approach and policies was to hope for the impossible and indulge in the unfeasible.
It has been a wasted prime ministership.
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Chee Soon Juan on LHL's reign: A wasted prime ministership
Rather, what has stood out are blights on the political landscape that will define his dispiriting legacy. The PM's tenure, dogged by debacle after outrageous debacle most of which were of his own contrivance, has been mired in controversy, rancour and distrust. Its end cannot come sooner.
The most significant scandal, by far, is the family meltdown he had with his brother and sister who, among other things, had accused him of abusing his official powers to thwart the deceased Lee's final wishes of demolishing the family house at Oxley Road. Both Hsien Yang and Wei Ling went so far as to declare that they had “no confidence” in their elder brother's leadership.
............. So what was Mr Lee's response to the allegations of abuse of power? He summoned all the courage of a rabbit by convening Parliament of which his party more than dominates. He cried and invoked his late dad in an unseemly display of self-pity, and he predictably declared the allegations as “baseless” when the tears dried. The lawsuit-happy Mr Lee in this instance refused to take his siblings to court or to convene an independent hearing to let his accusers have a fair say.
A few months later, the PM bested himself in an act that would leave an appalling stain on his record. He ruled that the post of president be reserved for a Malay person and proceeded to amend the constitution to effectively allow one, and only one, person to run for the office – his party mate, Ms Halimah Yacob.
Compared to his two predecessors, Mr Lee's term has been particularly rife with messes and muddles.
Happening in the background to all this is an economy that is as pumped up as a sloth on Benadryl. GDP growth has been limping along for several years with no meaningful pick-up in sight and, worse, the government has given little indication on how to move the economy forward.
He could not see that circumstances, both within the country and around the world, have altered and altered radically and irrevocably. Carrying on with his father's approach and policies was to hope for the impossible and indulge in the unfeasible.
It has been a wasted prime ministership.
More at
Chee Soon Juan on LHL's reign: A wasted prime ministership
