Queries arise over role of Lee Suet Fern, drafting of Last Will
Mrs Lee Suet Fern. Photo: Screengrab from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP/YouTube
SINGAPORE — Questions about Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Last Will and the involvement of Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern, cropped up during the parliamentary debate yesterday.
Noting that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had earlier cited grave concerns about the events surrounding its making, Member of Parliament Sun Xueling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) asked why he did not challenge the Last Will after learning of its contents.
Ms Sun also noted that since June 14 — when Dr Lee and her brother, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, first issued their joint statement — there had been “no clarification” by the siblings on who drafted the Last Will, and the circumstances under which it was prepared.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong GRC) said it was “unsettling” that it was still not clear who drafted the Last Will, and whether the late Mr Lee had been independently advised.
Like some other MPs, she also raised questions about the Deed of Gift involving artefacts taken from the Oxley Road house. The deed was executed between Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang and the National Heritage Board.
Ms Rahayu pointed to the “strange conditions” in the deed, such as the right of the executors to buy back the items for S$1. Given these unusual conditions, Ms Rahayu asked why the NHB had decided to accept the terms and proceed with the exhibition displaying the artefacts from the house.
Earlier yesterday, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong revealed that Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern, was involved in the discussions on the deed, as a director on the NHB board.
Mrs Lee had supported the conditions, stipulated by Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, in donating the furniture and personal items from the house to the NHB. Her law firm, Morgan Lewis Stamford LLC, had also helped in the process of finalising the deed, Mr Wong said.
Noting the “potential conflict of interest in the matter”, MP Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang GRC) wondered why the NHB had agreed to sign on to take over the items. As to the omission of the part of the Last Will outlining what was to be done if the house could not be demolished and Mrs Lee Suet Fern’s involvement to get the NHB to accept the terms, Ms Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) said it was “bad for NHB” and could be seen as “misleading the public”.
“Is this acceptable conduct for Morgan Lewis, and for Mrs Lee Suet Fern as lawyer and NHB board member?” she asked.
