SINGAPORE, 24 Jan 2019:
The brother of Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong today described the head of a new party planned to be set up ahead of a general election that could come as soon as this year as “the leader Singapore deserves”.
Lee Hsien Yang’s comments come amid a bitter family dispute over the house of their father Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore, and ahead of the vote – due by early 2021, but which the prime minister has suggested could be this year.
His ruling People’s Action Party, which has governed the city-state since independence more than half a century ago, with its share of the vote never having dropped below 60%, now holds all but six of the 89 elected seats in parliament.
Last week, in a move that could boost Singapore’s weak opposition, a former PAP member and presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock said he had applied to register a new party, called the Progress Singapore Party.
“Cheng Bock will groom future parliamentarians who will serve our country and people before party or self,” Lee Hsien Yang said in a posting on Facebook.
“This is good for the future of Singapore.” He added, “Cheng Bock is the leader Singapore deserves.”
– Reuters