Hsien Yang’s recent attack was made last week on Facebook. He raised the issue of state funds being used to renovate a rented house. “Just because the tenant is a minister,” he wrote.
He continues to slam the older brother’s administration. When a corruption case involving the Transportation Minister was disclosed earlier this month, Hsien Yang wrote: “This is evidence of the failure of Lee Hsien Loong’s leadership”.
The rented property in question is owned by the state, under the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). Located at Number 26 Ridout Road, it is currently rented out to Minister for Law K. Shanmugam, who moved in to it in 2018, for three years, later extending the lease. He explained that he was renting the property because he wanted to sell his own private residence. Note that the selling price of houses in Singapore is indeed astronomical, among the highest in the world.
Minister Shanmugam, formerly Minister for Law and Minister of Foreign Affairs and also Minister of Home Affairs, is paying rent of SGD 26,000 a month (equivalent to Rp 300 million) for this colonial house.
Hsien Yang’s controversial Facebook post, read by an amazed world, resulted in the issuance of an ultimatum by Singapore’s Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, also the Deputy Minister for Law, commanding Hsien Yang to either correct his Facebook post or take it down. Edwin Tong also officially denied that the expensive renovation on 26 Ridout Road was carried out because a government minister resided there.
As Prime Minister, the eldest brother has already ordered an investigation into this case. The verdict: there is no connection between the house renovation and its current tenant. Thus, an accusation of “disseminating false news” was leveled at the absent Hsien Yang.
Piling on the full force of Singapore law, Hsien Yang was informed that if he failed to correct said post, he would be subject to another charge: “Violation of the broadcasting law”.
He then made one correction while uploading another inflammatory statement, as he remains convinced that the renovation is related to the renter.