400 attend protest on Oxley Road issue

Mr Ang Yong Guan, a former Singaporeans First candidate, speaking at the protest yesterday. He said the Parliament debate had failed to find closure on the Oxley Road issue.
Mr Ang Yong Guan, a former Singaporeans First candidate, speaking at the protest yesterday. He said the Parliament debate had failed to find closure on the Oxley Road issue. PHOTO: DIOS VINCOY JR FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES

About 400 people gathered at Hong Lim Park yesterday at a protest over allegations of abuse of power by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The three-hour event was organised by career counsellor Gilbert Goh, a Reform Party (RP) candidate in Ang Mo Kio GRC in the 2015 general election.

The allegations were made by PM Lee's younger siblings Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang last month on social media over their father's house at 38, Oxley Road.

PM Lee and several ministers rebutted the allegations, including at a debate in Parliament on the issue, where PM Lee said no evidence to back those claims had surfaced. The younger siblings and PM Lee have since agreed to try and iron out their differences in private.

Yesterday, Mr Goh and eight speakers used a stage with a backdrop reading "Singapore belongs to Singaporeans and not to the Fami- Lee". Psychiatrist Ang Yong Guan, a former Singaporeans First candidate, said the Parliament debate had failed to find closure on the issue. Private educator Sivakumaran Chellappa asked if conserving the house would result in "a highly political icon" which can be used when a mandate was needed from citizens.

Speakers included former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian, former National Solidarity Party secretary-general Lim Tean and former RP candidate Osman Sulaiman.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 16, 2017, with the headline 400 attend protest on Oxley Road issue. Subscribe