'I understood the tactical purpose': George Yeo on how Lee Kuan Yew 'harmed' PAP's chances to win Aljunied GRC in 2011
PHOTO: Facebook/George Yeo
PUBLISHED ONAugust 17, 2023 8:02 AMByChing Shi JieFounding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's contributions to Singapore are immeasurable to say the least.
But in his latest book, former Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo said that the elder statesman had "harmed" the People's Action Party's (PAP) Aljunied Group Representation Constituency slate in the 2011 General Election, reported CNA.
Lee antagonised Aljunied voters then by stating that those who chose the opposition would have "five years to repent", wrote Yeo in the final book of the trilogy series George Yeo: Musings, which is set to release on Aug 31.
Yeo eventually lost his parliamentary seat in Aljunied GRC in the general elections that year to the Workers' Party, and later retired from politics.
According to Yeo, Lee only apologised for the remarks privately to him, but not publicly - something he added that he was "disappointed with".
"Lee Kuan Yew always told us that a public offence could not be made up by a private apology. As a politician, I understood the tactical purpose," he said, adding that it drew the heat from elsewhere during an election when there was "considerable anger" against the PAP.
The key issues that emerged from the 2011 General Election included immigration, high inflation and competition for jobs and housing, reported Reuters.
It was also the election where PAP earned 60.1% of votes, the lowest since Singapore's independence.
In George Yeo: Musings, Yeo wrote that he eventually found closure and reconciled with Lee after "tensions" with each other.
After learning about Lee's declining health in Sept 2013, Yeo reached out to the former's office to convey his birthday wishes.
The offer was immediately accepted and, together with Yeo's wife, the two men met for the first time following 2011's events.
Yeo wrote that their last meeting was at the 2014 National Day Parade. Mr Lee died on March 23 the following year.
Book 'not meant' to critique Lee: Yeo
Speaking to CNA and Today ahead of the book launch, Yeo said that the chapters on his interactions with Lee were not meant to critique the man as a Singapore leader.
Rather, he sought to provide a balanced and honest view of his own interactions with Lee.
He said: "I presented an overall picture (and) a total assessment of my experience with him. And I did ask a few friends to run through my chapters to give me their views, their reactions, whether it was too positive or negative, whether it was too kind or unkind.
"But no major changes (needed), because I was conscious of the balance right from the outset, in the words, and in the choice of pictures."
Since his retirement from politics, Yeo is now a visiting scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the founding patron of its Asia Competitiveness Institute.
He was previously appointed to the Vatican's Council for the Economy in 2014, reported The Straits Times.