The family fued surrounding Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings over their family home 38 Oxley Road has made its way to the parliament.
The dispute, which led Lee apologising to the citizens for causing embarrassment to the nation, has garnered attention from international media for disturbing the peace of Southeast Asian island state.
Here are five prominent things surrounding the spat:
- In the name of family home
The entire fight revolves around the family house at 38 Oxley Road, which belonged to his late father Lee Kuan Yew.
His will included a wish for the property to be demolished. All three children have expressed their support towards their father's last wish but the two younger siblings accused Lee Hsien Loong of misusing his power as prime minister to undermine his father's instructions.
- Who's who in the saga?
Including the prime minister, there's Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother and then there's Dr. Lee Wei Ling, his 62-year-old sister. She currently lives in the house and Lee Kuan Yew's instruction in his will to demolish 38 Oxley Road only kicks in after she moves out.
- Out of the closet
The issue came to the limelight after younger Lee posted a letter on the Facebook on June 14 saying they had "lost confidence" in their brother and accused him of misusing his power to fulfil personal agenda.
His posting prompted prime minister to address the allegations of abuse of power in parliament in early July.
- PM Lee apologizes
Prime Minister Lee strongly denied the allegations and apologized to the country's citizens for the impact he says the dispute has had on Singapore's reputation.
In a bid to quell the national crisis over governance that has emerged from his family's feud, Lee said in parliament, "We must all get back to work. This is not a soap opera."
- What next?
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean set up the committee, which will look at options such as demolishing the house but keeping the basement dining room where important meetings took place and establishing a heritage center.
The prime minister said in 2015 he had recused himself from all government decisions regarding the house.
(With inputs from Bloomberg and Straits Times)
