SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew on Tuesday justified the city-state's strict political controls as he clashed in open court with his fiercest critic over a defamation case.
Repeatedly questioned by opposition politician Chee Soon Juan about what he claimed was the absence of political freedoms and the rule of law, Lee pointed to Singapore's economic success as the "acid test" of his legacy.
Lee, a Cambridge-trained lawyer, said Western liberal organisations have always been critical of Singapore's political system, dominated by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) since 1959, but added that "we think we know better."
In a day of drama at the Supreme Court, Chee, the secretary general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), his sister Chee Siok Chin and their lawyer questioned the elder Lee and his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, on the witness stand.
The Lees -- the father was prime minister from 1959 to 1990 and his son came to power in 2004 -- have already won a summary judgement against the SDP, its secretary-general Chee and his sister.
The two leaders had sued over allegations of government corruption made in an SDP newsletter ahead of general elections in May 2006, and the hearings this week were held to determine the amount of damages.
"Mr. Lee, we meet at last," blurted Chee as he sprang up to cross-examine the 84-year-old Lee Kuan Yew. "You have been avoiding me," he said, setting the stage for a series of heated exchanges.
Chee focused his questioning on the lack of democracy and rule of law, prompting the judge to repeatedly warn him to ask only questions relevant to the assessment of defamation damages.
"You have nothing of substance against me," Lee Kuan Yew told Chee in one of the clashes as Chee looked for questions.
He said Chee was trying to "degrade" the court proceedings, and the Lees' lawyer chided the opposition activist for using the hearing to "insult, annoy and to scandalise" his clients.
At one point, Lee Kuan Yew called Chee a "liar", a "cheat" and that he knew several doctors who described his actions as those of a "near-psychopath".
Chee, who had faced jail terms and fines in his fight against the ruling PAP, accused Lee of having run the country "undemocratically" and of "crushing" press freedom.
"I will take whatever you dish out," Chee said.
Lee told Chee the final test of his legacy was what Singapore has become now -- a country favoured by foreign investors and ranked consistently worldwide as a business-friendly nation with world-class facilities and little corruption.
Earlier in the day, Chee, his sister and their lawyer M. Ravi had also questioned Prime Minister Lee, who remained calm and composed.
"Mr Lee, don't hide behind your counsel. Come out, be a real leader," Chee taunted the prime minister after the Lees' counsel repeatedly objected to the line of questioning.
The Lees have already won hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages from past lawsuits against members of the country's tiny opposition and insist that they need to protect their reputations from unfounded attacks.
Chee is already bankrupt after failing to pay 500,000 Singapore dollars (365,000 US) in libel damages to the elder Lee and another former prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, for remarks he made in the 2001 elections.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
