Mind The Gap | Twilight in the Lion City as social media rends Singapore’s dynastic rule asunder

Watching the Singapore prime minister’s family squabbles surface on social media, I’m reminded of the lonely figure of Henry Pu Yi in Reginald Johnston book Twilight in the Forbidden City, and portrayed in Bernardo Bertolucci’s movie The Last Emperor.

Like Pu Yi, the premier seems increasingly detached from geopolitical and technological challenges.

The family squabble captivating Singapore’s attention has the potential of morphing into a string of sensational revelations that erode Lee Hsien Loong’s credibility.

It wasn’t that long ago that any publication that dared to use any permutation of the word “dynasty” to describe the Lee family’s governance of Singapore would be slapped with expensive lawsuits.

But technology has rendered that strategy obsolete. Singapore’s most sensational controversy started with a Facebook posting by Lee Wei Ling, the daughter of the late Lee Kuan Yew. She claimed her brother, the incumber prime minister, had abused his power in commemorating the first anniversary of the elder statesman’s passing to establish a dynasty.

The prime minister responded on Facebook that he was deeply saddened by his sister’s claim.

“The idea that I should wish to establish a dynasty makes even less sense. Meritocracy is a fundamental value of our society…,” he said. But, he didn’t sue his sister.