Jump shots, throwbacks and #jalanjalan: 20 most memorable social media posts from PM Lee’s tenure

SINGAPORE — Almost exactly 12 years ago on April 20, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong began his foray into the world of social media — starting his personal Facebook and Twitter (now known as X) accounts. 

Since then, Mr Lee has garnered over 1.7 million followers on Facebook, 890,000 on X and 729,000 on Instagram — numbers that make him Singapore’s most popular politician by way of online reach.

By comparison, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who will succeed Mr Lee as the country’s head of Government come May 15, has around 440,000 followers on all three platforms combined.

Media practitioners TODAY spoke to said that a large part of Mr Lee's success on social media can be attributed to the “authenticity” in his posts.

His habit of uploading photos he takes himself as opposed to professionally shot images curated for the public, for example, endears him to the masses, said Ms Charu Srivastava, the co-founder of strategic communications consultancy TriOn & Co.

The consistency in which he often signs off his posts — with an abbreviated "LHL" — also signals to his audience that it is him pushing the "send" button from his phone.

Ms Chloe Lim, an account director at integrated creative agency DSTNCT, said this is a deviation from the public’s expectation that political figures typically have a team posting on behalf of them, and that it creates an extra layer of connection.

As his 20-year tenure as prime minister comes to an end, TODAY takes a look back at 20 of Mr Lee’s most viral and memorable social media posts.

SINGAPORE'S SELFIE KING

1. Kicking things off is PM Lee’s most popular photograph on his Facebook page. It has more than 169,000 likes and 7,300 comments.

Posted a day after National Day in 2020, the lack of a discernible smile behind Mr Lee’s face mask was perhaps an apt depiction of the country’s overall mood — still very much reeling post-circuit breaker. 

His caption contained just three words: “Photo by me”.

2. Here is Mr Lee donning a safety helmet alongside Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Jan 11 this year. 

They were in Johor commemorating the completion of the RTS Link connecting span – and what’s a commemoration without a selfie? 

The photo garnered over 1.4 million views on X.

3. On National Day 2016, Mr Lee uploaded this 360° “wefie” of him together with a donut of guards.

The photo, taken the day before the Istana Ceremonial Guard at the National Day Observance Ceremony, generated much discussion in the comments on Instagram.

A SLICE OF LIFE (FUN SHOTS)

4. Mr Lee also occasionally posts updates that give us a glimpse into the interesting bits of a prime minister’s day-to-day life — like the time a barn owl flew into his office to greet him in 2013.

Perhaps it wanted a selfie. 

Either way, Mr Lee used the opportunity to state in his post, which garnered 28,000 likes on Facebook, his support for preserving flora and fauna in urban Singapore. 

5. He also updates his followers with unforgettable life milestones — like the time he received his PAssion Silver Concession Card.

6. Even though Mr Lee acknowledged that receiving that silver PAssion card made him a “certified senior citizen”, he can still be young at heart. 

This photo he took with a group of Nanyang Technological University students in 2015 is an example of a “jump shot” – which was very much in trend with younger folk a decade ago.

7. He attempted yet another jump shot in 2017 alongside his fellow Ang Mo Kio Town Council Members of Parliament at his yearly Chinese New Year open house.

Mr Lee chose to put his hands up in the air this time, perhaps thinking what he wrote in the Instagram caption: “Huat ah!”

8. This photo together with his wife Ho Ching was uploaded a day after Valentine’s Day in 2016 and proved popular with netizens.

#THROWBACKS

9. Mr Lee is clearly a fan of the occasional #throwback. 

Here he is seen as a toddler next to his father and Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. 

This picture was posted on Fathers’ Day 2015 and was accompanied by a touching message: 

He wrote: “Fathers are an important part of our lives. They are our guide, role model and inspiration. 

“My father had a powerful influence on me, as he did on others. Now, as a father, I try to do the same for my children.”

10. And here he is with one of them in his arms. 

“Carrying Hongyi. Ho Ching is pregnant with Haoyi,” read the caption. 

11. Social media influencers often do “plugs” on their posts, which refer to the promotion of an item, object or company to their audiences.

Mr Lee, the politician whose number of followers compare decently to other international influencers, gave his own (likely unpaid) plug here.

“Here is a photo of my classmates and me in 1963 wearing our very own Bata shoes!” he wrote in his caption.

“If you have fond memories or photos of your Bata school shoes, do share them in the comments below!”

12. Before the People’s Action Party’s lunchtime rally at Fullerton Square in 2020, Mr Lee took to social media to post this throwback photo from 1984.

That year, he prevailed over Giam Lai Cheng of the United People’s Front to become MP of Teck Ghee Single Member Constituency.

13. Mr Lee also posted this photo on what would have been his father’s 100th birthday, on Sept 16, 2023.

HIP VIDS

14. Jump shots and throwbacks aside, Mr Lee also posts videos on his social media pages. 

They tend to be filmed and edited by his own media team, but they also indicate an openness to the trends of today.

This one on Instagram shows his 2021 Year in Review.

15. The magic cup speaks for itself.

It was made famous when Mr Lee announced the Covid-19 circuit breaker in 2022 — where he seemed to change the language he spoke each time he took a sip of water from said cup. 

Instead of shying away from the joke, he embraced it. In this post, he used the magic cup for yet another “plug”. 

“If you don’t have a magic cup like mine — don’t fret! Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) has launched SG Translate Together — a portal to generate draft localised translations in our four official languages, and include uniquely Singaporean terms.” 

16. There is also this reposted video of otters crossing the road from across the Istana in 2022, shot by a user named OtterGrapher on Instagram.

Mr Lee lets us in on the fact that otters have been exploring the lawns of the Istana for some time.

He proceeded to thank the Istana staff, NParks, the Singapore Police Force and members of the public for helping the otters “co-exist with us safely in our urban environment”.

“This gotong royong (communal spirit) concern for the otters is a metaphor for the society we are building.

“Opportunities for everyone, being prepared for the unexpected, and most of all a society that cares,” he wrote.

PHOTOS TAKEN ON HIS #JALANJALAN

17. A mainstay feature of Mr Lee’s posts on social media are the photos he takes on his #jalanjalan (or walks) — showing off his photography chops in the process.

In December 2019, he ventured out to Gardens by the Bay to catch the annual solar eclipse and ended up capturing this beauty. 

“The skies were a little cloudy, but fortunately at the critical moment the sun (and moon) peeped through!”

He even shared the camera settings he used with his followers. 

18. And if you were in any doubt of his eye for composing great photos, here’s another one he captured while he was exploring the mirror maze at the Light to Night Festival in 2018.

“Some of us were lost in the maze, while others were lost in each other,” he wrote. 

19. Not all his #jalanjalan photos are aesthetic, however. Some just tickle your funny bone. 

While at a restaurant in Rome in October 2021, Mr Lee snapped this picture of “Signor Skeleton” looking thrilled with a glass of red wine.

He didn’t give his followers much context to this post — but do we really need one here?

20. After announcing on Monday that he would be stepping down as prime minister, Mr Lee posted this photo on his Instagram page, and in his caption urged Singaporeans to “give Lawrence (Wong) and his team your full support”. 

Mr Wong told the media on Tuesday that Mr Lee would continue serving as senior minister in the upcoming new Cabinet.

In the comments section of this post, which received over 42,000 likes, Singaporeans seemed to appreciate the visual metaphor Mr Lee provided with the photograph.

One user wrote: “Your legacy will be rooted deep in many of our hearts.”