Lee Kuan Yew

Chan Chun Sing: Related?

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Based on Cabinet Minister Chan Chun Sing’s logic:

“I am not related to Mr. Lee’s family. . .my surname is Chan and my wife’s surname is Low.”

Thanks to several readers and netizens for contributing to this post.

If anyone has additional info, please contact me to verify the data so that readers can stay informed. Thank you :)

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PART 1: PAP Chairman KHAW BOON WAN on Politicians

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In 2013, Mr Khaw said that when a person enters politics, there is “no difference between his or her public and private life.” He said the same thing in 2012.

PART 2: NETIZENS on Chan Chun Sing’s BACKGROUND

a) “Ascertaining his relationship is important as it also ascertains meritocracy or nepotism.”
(– Alvin Ong)

b) “According to CCS: my surname is Chan, my wife surname is Low, how are we related to Lee? So he wants to say only Lee’s can be related to Lee? Funny…”
(– Nelson Chan)

c) “CCS became full minister in a short span of time without any significant accomplishment. I wonder why.”
(– Bruce Wee)

PART 3: VERIFICATION + ADDITIONAL INFO

1. CHAN CHUN SING: “I’m Not Related to Mr. Lee”

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Chan Chun Sing at funeral of Kwa Geok Choo (Mrs. LKY). Source: AsiaOne

In 2011, a netizen posted a screenshot on a forum, which showed Chan Chun Sing standing behind members of Lee Kuan Yew’s family at the funeral of Mr. Lee’s wife, Kwa Geok Choo.

As to whether he is related to LKY, Chan Chun Sing said:

“I was at the funeral because the Army, under my charge then, was assigned the task of honouring the late Madam Kwa with the ceremonial gun carriage procession. . .My surname is Chan and my wife’s surname is Low. I don’t have any close relatives with the surname Lee as far as I know.”

Source: AsiaOne

  • Reader’s Comment: If Chan Chun Sing was at Kwa Geok Choo’s funeral in the “official capacity as the Chief of Army,” technically he should be dressed in formal military attire. Even then, he should be with other guests or military personnel. 

State-controlled newspaper, The Straits Times, mentioned that Chan Chun Sing’s parents are divorced (in an article dated 8 March 1988).

This ST article (20 August 1988) mentions Chan Chun Sing’s mother’s and sister’s names:

  • Mother: Kwong Kait Fong
  • Sister: Chan Siew Yin

His father’s name has not been mentioned.

The above two images are most likely of Chan Chun Sing’s wife, whose surname is Low. Her first name has not been mentioned.

2. MONICA LEE = Spouse of GEORGE CHAN CHOR CHEUNG

Monica Lee Kim Mon, who married a Chan, is the sister of Lee Kuan Yew. Her spouse was George Chan Chor Cheung, son of Chan Wing from Kuala Lumpur.

Chan Wing made his fortune in 1897 at age 24 with the opening of Hong Fatt Tin Mine. He had more than 20 children and was the richest person in Kuala Lumpur up to 1941. Chan Wing and 15 family members studied in Cambridge University (LKY’s alma mater). He had residences in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. He passed away in 1947.

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George Chan and Monica Lee in an LKY Lunar New Year family photo. Source: Peranakan Association Magazine Issue 1, 2015

George Chan Chor Chueng was a designer involved in the building of Jurong Bird Park [Kwa Soon Bee (brother of Mrs. LKY / Kwa Geok Choo) used to be the Chairman of Jurong Bird Park].

George Chan Chor Cheung passed away in October 2012. He is said by family members to have “never said a bad word about anyone.”

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Nassim Jade Purchases. Image from TangTalk.com

P.S. Chan Chee Chiu is a son of George Chan Chor Cheung. Monica Lee Kim Mon purchased a unit with Chee Chiu in the Nassim Jade scandal.

  • Reader Tip: The marriage record of George Chan Chor Cheung and Monica Lee Kim Mon can be retrieved from the Singapore Registry of Marriages for the month of October 1951.

3. HO CHING’S MOTHER = CHAN Chiew Ping

Ho Ching’s mother’s name is Chan Chiew Ping. She was from Taiping, Malaysia.

4. CHAN SIBLINGS + Mary SEET-CHENG (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

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Alan Chan and sister, Chan Heng Chee. Source: SG Tatler

Alan Chan Heng Loon, Public Service Commission (PSC) Member and former principal private secretary to Lee Kuan Yew, has two “illustrious siblings“: Professor Chan Heng Chee and Chan Heng Wing.

Alan Chan was Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Chan Heng Chee is Ambassador-at-Large for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Chan Heng Wing is a senior advisor in Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mary Seet-Cheng is a Senior Specialist Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is married to Leonard Cheng Tye Loke, and has the same first and last name as Lee Kuan Yew’s aunt (Mary Seet nee Chua Swee Neo).

There is a “Leonard Cheng Tye Loke” listed in ICIJ’s Offshore Banking database.

4. SEET LI LIN and JHO LOW from 1MDB

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Seet Li Lin partying with Leonardo DiCaprio in Las Vegas and LA. Source: Sarawak Report / FB

  • Reader Tip: Please note this important fact. LKY’s mother’s sister married a SEET whose family has many siblings. One of them, SEET LI LIN, has become NOTORIOUS because he is the right hand man of Malaysia’s Jho Low and the 1MDB Scandal. This has appeared even in the US media. Seet is the son of one of the siblings related to Arthur Seet Keong Hoe (son of Seet Cheng Kang, who married Lee Kuan Yew’s aunt).

Seet Li Lin is a close colleague of Jho Low, both of whom are involved with the 1MDB scandal.

It is interesting that this “Seet Li Lin” has not been mentioned in local media such as The Straits Times.

From Seet Li Lin’s Facebook:

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The PAP Manifesto reminds me of my best pieces of work in college: loads of nice pics, big on fluff, a light touch on content, says a lot yet very little, somewhat convincing but actually confusing. Most important of all, we always get away with it by gaming the system.

— Seet Li Lin, 21 April 2011

UPDATE (7 Sept 2015): According to Sarawak Report, Jho Low’s father, Larry Low Hock Peng, is on the list of frozen Swiss bank accounts.

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Larry Low Hock Peng, father of Jho Low. Source: Sarawak Report

A quick summary of names in Jho Low’s family:

  • Grandfather = Low Meng Tak
  • Father = Low Hock Peng, Larry
  • Son #1 = Jho Low
  • Son #2 = Szen Low

5. NG SIBLINGS (Parents and Spouses)

Ng Chee Khern was Chief of Air Force from 2006 – 2009. Ng Chee Peng was Chief of Navy from 2011 – 2014, and was appointed the CEO of CPF in Jan 2015. Former defence chief, Ng Chee Meng, has been touted as a potential office-bearer.

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Ng Brothers | Image by Roy Ngerng

Ng Chee Peng’s wife is Valerie Low Yin Lee, who shares the same surname as the wife of Chan Chun Sing. Ng Chee Meng’s wife is Datin Michelle Lim Bee Leng. Ng Chee Khern’s wife is Elaine Ng, CEO of National Library Board.

Ng Ban Hin and Lee Hang Foe are the parents of the Ng siblings. A photo of them is available on Page 9 in this PDF document.

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Ng Ban Hin (Father) | Source: NLB

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Lee Hang Hoe (Mother) | Source: NLB

6. IVY LIM and NG ENG HEN

Prof. Ivy Lim Swee Lian, CEO of Singhealth, is married to Minister for Defence, Ng Eng Hen.

Ivy Lim Swee Lian has the same first name and last name as Ivy Lim Seok Cheng, sister-in-law of Kwa Geok Choo (Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew). Ivy Lim Seok Cheng’s father was Lim Chong Pang, whose father-in-law was Lee Choon Guan.

Lee Choon Guan co-founded the Chinese Commercial Bank in 1912. In 1932, the Chinese Commercial Bank and the Ho Hong Bank (founded by Lim Peng Siang) merged with the Overseas-Chinese Bank to form the Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC Bank).

Ng Eng Hen is said to be the nephew of real estate tycoon, Ng Teng Fong (who had 10 siblings).

  • Reader Tip: A forum poster said the Chinese newspapers mentioned Ng Eng Hen as “the nephew” of Ng Teng Fong. Does anyone have a newspaper clipping?
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Ng Eng Hen at the wake of Ng Teng Fong.

6. NG TENG FONG and ROBERT NG

The late Mr. Ng Teng Fong (founder of Far East Organization) was billed as Singapore’s richest man by Forbes magazine in September 2009.

Robert Ng Chee Siong is the son of Ng Teng Fong. Robert Ng is a board member of Temasek and is married to Yeoh Saw Kheng (楊素瓊), the third daughter of Dr. Yeoh Ghim Seng, the former Speaker of Parliament of Singapore (Source: CapitalProfile PDF).

Ng Teng Fong’s family has close ties to the governments of Singapore, Hong Kong and China (Source: PDF document). The Ngs have also enjoyed a close relationship with Lee Kuan Yew.

7. LOW YEN LING

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Low Yen Ling, 2011

Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Social and Family Development, has refrained from revealing the names of her husband and her father in previous interviews.

Could she be related to the spouses of Chan Chun Sing and Ng Chee Meng?

LKY’s Relations to Opium Trade

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Thanks to some netizens for fact-checking, etc.

Verification, excerpts, and additional info below.

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1) VERIFICATION (STARTING from KWA GEOK CHOO / MRS. LKY)

1. Kwa Geok Choo’s uncle-in-law is Tan Chin Tuan, whose nephew is Tony Tan.

Kwa Geok Choo’s mother was Wee Yew Neo. Wee Yew Neo’s father was Wee Theam Seng, the oldest Straits Chinese Christian and Manager of Chinese Commercial Bank.

2. Wee Theam Seng had a brother called Wee Theam Tew (a graduate of Raffles Institution and later a solicitor, who went to China in 1904 and served as the secretary of Prince Su, the military governor of Peking and Minister to the Emperor).

3. From Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources:

Wee Theam Tew, one of the leading Chinese legal practitioners of Singapore, comes of a family who have resided in the Straits Settlements for three generations. His grandfather, Mr. Wee Theam Soo, came from China as a literary graduate, and, together with Dr. Lim Boon Keng’s father and Mr. Cheng Hong Lim’s father, to whom reference is made on another page, acquired the first opium farm in the colony.

4. Lee Kuan Yew’s father, Lee Chin Koon,  was a storekeeper and depot manager for the Shell Oil Company. Lee Chin Koon’s father was Lee Hoon Leong. Hoon Leong worked with the Heap Eng Moh shipping line for tycoon Oei Tiong Ham. He rose in Oei’s estimation, until he was afforded power of attorney over the tycoon’s assets in Singapore.

5. Oei Tiong Ham was the wealthiest man of his era in the Dutch East Indies, and he made a fortune as an opium revenue farmer (opium farms were only part of his commercial empire).

Oei’s vast fortune amounted to 200 million guilders at his death and he lived in a large house in Semarang resembling a fairytale palace. There were no less than 40 servants and huge banquets specializing in different cuisines were given.

  • NOTE: The surnames Wee and Oei are part of the Huang Surname Clan (which puts “Wee Theam Soo” and “Oei Tiong Ham” in the same clan).

6. Oei Tiong Ham had 8 official wives who bore him 13 daughters and 13 sons (plus 18 concubines with a total of 42 children). His son, Oei Tjong Tiong, married Lim Chit Geck, the daughter of Lim Nee Soon.

7. Lim Nee Soon was one of the pioneers of rubber planting. His big investments in the pineapple industry won him the nickname “Pineapple King.” He was a generous charitable benefactor with a keen interest in social and community matters, and one of the most influential businessmen of the day.

Lim Nee Soon was a leading member of the Teochew clan association Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan.

On the formation of Huay Kuan association:

. . .The Kongsi’s accounts were kept private by the Seah family, and undisclosed even to other members. In 1929, a rival Teochew faction led by Lim Nee Soon founded a new association known as the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan (潮州八邑会馆). The Huay Kuan mounted a lawsuit against the Seah family, alleging that the latter monopolised Kongsi affairs.

Lim Nee Soon was also a close friend of Dr Sun Yat Sen.

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Special guests MP Mr Teo Ser Luck and Deputy Prime Minister Mr Teo Chee Hean at the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan Anniversary Dinner.

8. When Lim Nee Soon was eight years old, he was left in the care of his maternal grandfather, Teo Lee.

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“Teo Lee is the great-great-grandfather of Teo Chee Hean, DPM of Singapore.” Source: Teo Lee Family

Teo Lee’s descendant is Teo Chee Hean, who is the cousin of Ivy Lim Seok Cheng. Ivy Lim’s spouse is Kwa Soon Chuan, the brother of Kwa Geok Choo (Mrs. LKY / “The Dragon Lady“).

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2) EXCERPTS ON OPIUM TRADE

Some excerpts on the history of opium trade in the region.

a) Over time, Tan [Seng Poh] rose through the ranks of Singaporean Chinese society to become a Justice of the Peace, an Honorary Magistrate, a Municipal Councillor as well as a wealthy opium farmer.

After 1870, syndicates of Straits Chinese controlling the lucrative opium farms extended their involvement in the trade beyond Singapore to Bangkok, Saigon, and Shanghai.

Source: Asia Research Institute — Transcultural Diaspora: The Straits Chinese in Singapore, 1819-1918 (PDF Download)

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b) One Chinese witness (Mr. Koh Seang Tat) says that he has never known of heard of an opium consumer breaking himself of the habit, and this view is supported by one medical man.
(Appendix 151)

Opium is commonly smoked by the Chinese in this colony, especially by the lower classes, artisans, and coolies.
(Appendix 165)

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Singapore, view inside opium den, 1941. Photographer: Harrison Forman.

Opium consumption is considered as a great vice by our Chinese. The habit of opium consumption in many cases reduces the habitués to extreme poverty and eventually to a stealthy and dishonest life.
— Chan-U-Pai, Director of the Po Leung Kuk, Hong Kong (Apendix 204)

Source: First Report of the Royal Commission on Opium, 1894

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c) Coolies were given to opium inhaling to relieve their tired bodies of its soreness and to gambling in an attempt to escape from their misery. The whites and wealthy Chinese employed the coolies mainly because of their willingness to work hard for little money.

Source: Blog to Express

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d) “. . .that most debasing and pernicious drug, opium, in combination with the Chinese secret societies of which spring many of those daring outrages and robberies that disgrace our settlements.”  (Pg-449)

In 1910 in Singapore, the development from opium farming to Opiumregie, like elsewhere, was completed by the opening of a modern opium factory. Once the mechanization of opium production and distribution was a fact, mass addiction could be realized. (Pg-453)

It is well described by Trocki:

“Most important was the expansion of the global market communicated to Singapore through the major trades: opium, capital, and manufactures from India and the West. In addition to redirecting the commodity flows to the West, the shift created a vast demographic eruption. It was as if the current of wealth flowing out of China began to pull with it the Chinese peoples themselves. Singapore came into being as a result of these global forces.”

Opium played in this global shift the most crucial role. Singapore’s opium scene in the 19th-century is, therefore, much more important than only in a local or regional context.

Officially, nearly half of all revenues of the British was earned by opium. It cannot demonstrate how much private or individual British officials, military men or bankers earned. Indirectly, it also suggests how much a very few super-wealthy people (Chinese) pocketed as their share of the opium rents in this century.

Source: History of the Opium Problem: The Assault on the East, ca. 1600 – 1950 (BRILL)

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e) Chan Wing was a man of principle and did not invest in sinful businesses like opium dens, tax-farming and slave trading.

Source: Insider’s Kuala Lumpur (3rd Edn)

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f) In 1879, Banhap, together with Cheang Hong Lim (one of the trio of Singapore opium farmers who made up the “Great Syndicate”) launged a daring attempt to seize control of the entire Asian opium trade.

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Cheang Hong Lim 章芳琳 (1841-1893). Source: RL

When Banhap and Cheang Hong Lim acquired the Hong Kong opium farm, it was not simply an attempt to extend their control over yet another colonial port. The Wo Hang and Yan Wo, the two major opium syndicates in Hong Kong, also controlled the coolie trade of Hong Kong. . .the two firms also sold prepared opium to Chinese immigrants. . .The goal of Banhap and Cheang was to take control of this trade in prepared opium which would have been worth about $3.5 to $4 million per year.

They were among the wealthiest men in Asia at the time and were linked to a vast network of kin, business associates, clansmen, and dependents.

Source: Connecting Seas and Connected Ocean Rims (BRILL)

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g) The Singapore opium farmer simply purchased his supplies on the open market in Singapore. He processed the opium into chandu and distributed it to local opium shops for retail consumption by the population of Chinese coolies.

As a group, it is clear that the farmers were among the most influential and “respectable” of Singapore’s Chinese. They were also economic leaders and were deeply involved in the papper and gambier economy of Singapore and the surrounding territories. These plantations were the major employers of the Chinese coolies who were the major consumers of opium. It is also probable [that] the farmers were intimately connected to the Chinese secret societies of Singapore.

Source: The Rise of Singapore’s Great Opium Syndicate, 1840-86 (Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Department of History, NUS)

3) ADDITIONAL INFO

1. This photo album has some Singapore opium photos (uploaded by Julia Di Lorenzo).

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2. This chart shows the intermarriages between Straits Chinese Banking Families in Singapore. Done by Roy Ngerng (originally posted on his blog, TheHeartTruths).

Wee Theam Seng (Mrs. LKY’s grandfather + senior OCBC banker on the right side of the opium image) is circled in this image.

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3. This post takes a look at the close historical ties between the Singapore government and Burmese military junta.

PAP: Royal Bloodline (Combined Family Tree)

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Verification and some excerpts on “the aristocracy” below.

Presented in 4 sections:

1. Combined PAP Family Tree (image)
2. Excerpts on Meritocracy / Aristocracy
3. Verification (text + links)
4. Additional Info

P.S. Thanks to some hardworking netizens for help with research and fact-checking. Above image of LKY from Facebook.

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2. EXCERPTS on MERITOCRACY / ARISTOCRACY:

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1. “Meritocracy means a country picks its best citizens, not the relatives of the ruling class, to run a country.”
— Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (2015)

2. “Without a natural aristocracy. . .society will lose out.”
— Lee Hsien Loong, 2015

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Group photo of founding of OCBC. FRONT ROW: Tan Chin Tuan (Tony Tan’s uncle) is fourth from left. BACK ROW: Kwa Siew Tee (Mrs. LKY’s father) is third from left. Source: NAS / Veritas

3. OCBC has been described as a “clan bank” with “familial ties between the bank’s directors and close networking.”
— The Star, 2011

4. “It is all but impossible to distinguish between legitimate and ill-gotten gains because there is no public disclosure of the wealth of officials and their relatives. Conflict-of-interest laws are weak or nonexistent. The business dealings of the political elite are heavily censored in the state-controlled news media.”
— ‘Princelings’ in China (NYT)

5. The networks of hundreds of GLCs that are popularly referred to as Singapore Inc are not just vehicles for the conduct of business. Collectively they provide an extensive and almost inescapable vehicle of elite patronage and power.

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Chan Heng Chee (left), former political critic, and Lee Kuan Yew during LKY’s visit to the U.S. in 2000.

There have been scholars who have been critical of the government in their youth, but by the time they have arrived in government, they have always transformed themselves into models of elite solidarity.
— Michael Barr, The Ruling Elite of Singapore

6. It makes it a lot easier to understand Singapore if you [begin] from the premise that it is a Chinese family business, complete with a patriarch, an eldest son, guanxi networks and questions of cross-generational continuity.
— Michael Barr, The Ruling Elite of Singapore

7. Guanxi refers to the benefits gained from social connections and usually extends from extended family, school friends, workmates and members of common clubs or organizations. It is customary for Chinese people to cultivate an intricate web of guanxi relationships, which may expand in a huge number of directions, and includes lifelong relationships. The more you ask of someone the more you owe them. Guanxi can perpetuate a never-ending cycle of favors.
— Wikipedia (Guanxi)

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Chua Kim Teng (LKY’s maternal grandfather – centre row, 4th from left), Leong Ah Soon (centre row, 4th from right) Lee Kuan Yew’s mother Chua Jim Neo (centre row, 2nd from left), and her brother Chua Kheng Hoe (last row, second from left) was also related by marriage to Lee family (Family Photo from Lee Suan Yew)

8. “Family ties develop and strengthen over generations through family, clan, or tribal group activities and ceremonies. This family network can be a source of prestige as well as socioeconomic and political sucess.”
— Encyclopedia of Social Networks (SAGE)

9. “Fundamental change to the political regime will have to await Lee Kuan Yew’s demise. . .any legitimacy that Lee has secured through his personal authority will likely pass with him.”
— Cho Oon Khong, 1995

10. “It may not be imperative for us to know the family history of all the faces that appear in Singapore Tatler. But Singaporeans should at least know more about the roots of those who hold this country’s destiny in their hands.”
— Tan Sai Siong (Straits Times)

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11. “Cling to people you can trust — your family, your clan.”
— Lee Kuan Yew, 1984 National Day Rally (video below)

[youtube.com/watch?v=3ofjSBGmOcY&w=420&h=315;feature=youtu.be&t=10m30s]

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3. VERIFICATION (PAP COMBINED FAMILY TREE)

1. Verification for the right side of the image can be found on this post, re: how Tony Tan is related to PM Lee Hsien Loong.

2. Wee Kim Wee’s mother was Chua Hay Luan. Chua Hay Luan is the sister of Chua Kim Teng (father of Chua Jim Neo, LKY’s mother). Mr. Wee addressed Chua Jim Neo as “cousin” in the preface of a book published in the mid-70s. The preface was mysteriously removed from later publications.

3. This post has some text and links on how Teo Chee Hean is related to PM LHL.

In a 2006 Sunday Times article, Teo Chee Hean paid tribute to Tan Chin Tuan by saying:

‘I remember [TAN Chin Tuan] because he was very kind to my father (Teo Cheng Guan). After the war, he gave my father a job at OCBC and my father worked with him for many years. He was always very kind to our family.’

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Newspaper article about Teo Chee Hean’s great-granduncle.

  • READER TIP: Newspaper article about Teo Chee Hean’s family (mostly about Teo Eng Hock, Teo Chee Hean’s great-granduncle). The man on the right is Teo Chee Hean’s father. The woman in the centre with black cheongsam is Teo Chee Hean’s mother (Mrs. Teo Cheng Guan, or Madam TAN Suang). 张志贤 is Teo Chee Hean’s Chinese name.

4. On Teo Chee Hean’s link to Ivy Lim (sister-in-law of Kwa Geok Choo / Mrs. LKY): Teo Chee Hean’s father and Lim Chong Pang are the same generation. Teo Chee Hean and Ivy Lim Seok Cheng (Lim Chong Pang’s daughter) are the same generation. So they would address each other as 表姐, 表弟. In English, “cousin.” The link is through Teo Chee Hean’s great grand aunt (Teo Choon Lian) and Ivy Lim’s great grandfather (Lim Peng Nguan; spouse of Teo Choon Lian).

5. On Lim Kim San: Lim Chong Pang’s father was Lim Nee Soon. Lim Nee Soon’s daughter, Lim Mui Gek, married Tan Huck Khong. Tan Huck Khong’s uncle is Tan Chong Teck. Tan Chong Teck’s grandson is Pang Kim Hin — Tan Chong Teck’s eldest daughter, Tan Poey Quee, married Pang Leong Chwee and is the mother of Pang Kim Hin (married to Chew Kheng Imm). Pang Leong Chwee’s sister, Pang Gek Kim, is the wife of Lim Kim San. Thus Lim Kim San is the uncle of Pang Kim Hin.

6. On Goh Keng Swee: Lim Chong Pang’s father-in-law was Lee Choon Guan. Lee Choon Guan’s father-in-law was Tan Keong Saik. Tan Keong Siak’s father’s brother had a son named Tan Kiong / Keong Keng, who had a daughter called Tan Siok Kim. Tan Siok Kim was married to Chew Cheng Yong. Chew Cheng Yong’s brother-in-law was Goh Leng Inn, father of Goh Keng Swee.

* Tip: Many of the names mentioned above were the leading pioneers in banking and trading sectors during The Straits Settlements. They also held many leading positions in the municipal commission where they worked closely with the British colonial government in the running of domestics affairs of Singapore.

Hence, they all played influential roles in the politics and economy during that time.

As such, readers are encouraged to do their own reading on these pioneers.

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4. ADDITIONAL INFO:

1. According to several netizens, this is the “main branch” of Singapore’s Royal Bloodline.

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2. This chart shows the intermarriages between Straits Chinese Banking Families in Singapore. Done by Roy Ngerng (originally posted on his blog, TheHeartTruths).

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3. A Feudalism chart showing the 99%’s place in society (image by Amendment Gazette).

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4. Collection of “elitism” quotes by PAP Ministers.

Mrs. LKY: “The Dragon Lady”

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A look at Kwa Geok Choo (Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew) through the perspective of Peranakan culture.

This post is presented in 12 sections:

1. Peranakan Roots + Family Background
2. The Dragon Lady
3. Kwa Geok Choo’s Gold Coin Necklace
4. Images of Gold Coin Necklace
5. Peranakan Culture: General Info
6. Peranakan Culture: A Hidden Matriarchy
7. Peranakan Culture: Phoenix Symbol
8. Peranakan Culture: Females
9. Lee Kuan Yew on Kwa Geok Choo
10. Kwa Geok Choo: Intellect and Capabilities
11. Kwa Geok Choo: State Funeral
12. Kwa Geok Choo: Political Legacy

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1. PERANAKAN ROOTS + Family Background

1) Madam Kwa and her husband, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, both Peranakans, are featured in the Great Peranakans — Fifty Remarkable Lives exhibition.

Source: The Straits Times (2015)

2) . . .born to a well-to-do family, studied law as a Queen’s Scholar in England’s Cambridge University, [and] remained a deeply private person.

Source: Philly.com

2. THE DRAGON LADY

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Mrs and Mr LKY | Image from HerWorld

“Dragon Lady”: A woman of somewhat sinister glamour often perceived as wielding ruthless or corrupt power. (Dictionary.com)

Kwa Geok Choo was described as a “proverbial dragon lady” by a former senior correspondent for The Straits Times.

Francis Seow also referred to Kwa Geok Choo as a dragon lady (short version below; click here for the full-length interview):

Transcript:

The whole structure of government, from the time [Lee Kuan Yew] took office, to the present day, has been designed in such a way that his son will succeed him. And the son has succeeded him, you know?

Now in order to preserve that legacy that he has passed on now to his son, all the troublemakers have to be run out of town, to use an American expression. Behind all this grand scheme of things is. . .the word I’m looking for is. . .The Dragon Lady.

Lee Kuan Yew’s wife. She’s the one with the overweening ambition for her son to take over. She is the one who has been advising Lee Kuan Yew what to do, how to do it, etc.

Many people don’t know this.

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Dowager Empress Cixi.

But I’m telling you today, the power behind the throne is the dowager. The dragon lady, if you like. And she is very smart! That is why all these guys have to get out of the way, and they had to be ruined. Or like me, driven out of the country. If I were to go back, I would go straight from the aeroplane to jail.

— Interview with Francis Seow (former solicitor-general of Singapore)

3. KWA GEOK CHOO’S GOLD COIN NECKLACE

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Kwa Geok Choo’s gold coin necklace.

1) A nyonya and her jewellery are never apart. . . the display of opulence was not just a statement of wealth but also spoke volumes of their shrewdness and austerity.

Source: A Nyonya and Her Jewellery

2) For the 25th anniversary of Lee & Lee law firm in 1980, the firm’s partners had two gold coins specially made for the two senior partners, Mrs Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Dennis Lee.

Unbeknownst to them, Mrs Lee had a chain made for the coin, and would wear it as a necklace on special occasions and at formal functions.

Long after she left the firm, partners would glimpse the gold coin around her neck when her image appeared on TV or in newspaper pictures.

She was appearing at those formal functions as the wife of Singapore’s founding father. But the gold coin around her neck was a reminder that she was also a trailblazing legal luminary in her own right.

Source: Straits Times

4. IMAGES of KWA GEOK CHOO’s GOLD COIN NECKLACE

5. PERANAKAN CULTURE: General Info

1) The Baba Culture is one that is unique to the early settlers along the Straits of Malacca. Since the 17th Century, Chinese traders arrived and lived along these coastal lands bringing with them their wealth of wares, customs, traditions and religions from the south of China.

The off-springs of these ‘locally born Straits Chinese’ were called Peranakan Baba (or Nyonya for womenfolk).

With the arrival of the Europeans in the 18th Century to this part of the world, the Babas were quick to adapt to the changing environment. They became the compradors or ‘go-betweens’ for the Europeans and the locals. Many Baba men held office and important positions in the Portuguese, Dutch & British governments and they rose in status & stature to become successful businessmen who even took on leadership roles in society.

Source: The Main Wayang Company

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President Yusof Ishak with Mrs. LKY’s Parents, Kwa Siew Tee (left) and Wee Yew Neo (right), 1968. | Image from NAS

  • Note: Kwa Geok Choo’s father, Kwa Siew Tee, had several leadership roles (he was one of the founders of the OCBC Bank which he served as General Manager from 1935 to 1945, the Municipal Commissioner of the Colony of Singapore in 1947 and Public Service Commissioner in 1953). (Source: PDF download)

2) Peranakans were bilingual, speaking English as well as their dialect of Baba Malay, and embraced influences from various religions including Buddhism, Taoism, ancestral worship and Christianity.

Source: Five facts about Asia’s unique Peranakans

6. PERANAKAN CULTURE: “A Hidden Matriarchy”

“Matriarch”: A woman who controls a family, group, or government. (Dictionary.com)

1) “While the males are out working to support the family, it is the females that preside the household. A hidden matriarchy, the Nyonya wives rule the household with an iron fist, managing and directing the day to day activities of the household and also controlling the funds in the family.”

Source: Women in the Peranakan Family

2) As someone who married into a Chinese/Peranakan family, [KMN’s] family does hold fast to one Perankan tradition: a powerful matriarchy. The women plan the gatherings, steer the families, and in my observations, usually have the first (and last) say on many matters of importance.

Source: I Married Into a Matriarchy

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Source: ST

3) Chris reminded me that Peranakan families are ‘outwardly patriarchal and internally matriarchal’. Of course! Look at the Little Nyonya, scheming matrons obviously reigned over the households, pretending to be subservient to weak-minded husbands on the surface. Chris, who is Baba by the way and should be awarded some authority on the subject by way of relation, attests to the *fact* that the average Baba man is weaker than the Nyonya woman.

Source: Baba Bling: The Peranakan Museum

4) The portraits of matriarchs displayed above Peranakan Chinese altars in Malacca indicate the powerful position of the matriarch in ruling over the family. These Nyonyas came across as assertive, even bossy as they rose to the position as matriarchs in charge of running an extended family under one household. A mature Baba with great status and influence in the society would have to submit to an uncompromising mother at home.

Source: China Media Research: Analyzing the Little Nyonya

7. PERANAKAN CULTURE: Phoenix Symbol

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What appears to be a “Phoenix” motif on Mrs. LKY’s cheongsam. The bird has a crest of feathers on its head.

1) [Kelvin Pow] explains that the Peranakan culture is matriarchal, hence the phoenix rather than the dragon is the preferred embellishment in its decorative arts.

“I think it is very important that we retain our heritage. I think it is also important for people, especially younger Singaporeans to understand their culture and where they came from.”

Source: ST Jobs — House of Antiques

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Nyonya porcelain featuring a phoenix motif, at the Peranakan Museum.

2) A typical motif used in nyonya porcelain ware is the Phoenix, a symbol of the matriarchal infrastructure of a Peranakan household.

Source: On the Trail of the Phoenix

Full-length version of Peranakan traditional wedding costume donned on the bride, with phoenix collar. Image: lonelytravelog
Phoenix collar to symbolise the power of the feminine phoenix in Peranakan society. Image: lonelytravelog

3) The images above show the Peranakan traditional wedding costume donned on the bride. The geometric layering around her neck is the phoenix collar to symbolise the power of the feminine phoenix in Peranakan society.

Source: lonelytravelog (Peranakan Museum + Phoenix Collar)

8. PERANAKAN CULTURE: Females

a) Young Women

In contrast to her sheltered teenage years, the married Nyonya was given relatively more freedom. It was as if she had served her time, and was now qualified to manage a household and take care of herself.

As she gained more confidence in her dealings with her neighbours, friends and counterparts, her role was likened to that of the strong-willed managing director of a corporation. She controlled almost everything that happened at home.

In public, however, it was the husband who was seen to be the number one person.

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Image from BBC / Getty

b) Keeping it within the Family

In the early days, the younger members of the community married among themselves. This desire to remain within the community was so strong that it was common for people to marry their relatives, even their cousins. The only restriction imposed involved unions between paternal cousins.

c) Colourful Metaphors

Be warned that Peranakans have a way with words. Eavesdrop on two Nyonyas having an animated conversation, and you will be in for a linguistic experience that is hard to forget.

Source: Asiapac Books (Gateway to Peranakan Culture)

d) Cooking + Sewing

“Peranakan families are matriarchal, though the nonya’s role is often seen as supportive to the husband – women are often expected to cook and sew well.”

Source: FRV Bali: Peranakan Museum SG

“She was a skilful knitter, and knitted us sweaters to stay warm, one after another.”

Source: Lee Hsien Loong on Mrs Lee Kuan Yew

9. LEE KUAN YEW on KWA GEOK CHOO

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1) “Without her, I would be a different man, with a different life.”
— Lee Kuan Yew

2) “. . .a discerning judge of character. She would tell me whether she would trust that man or not. And often she is right.”

Source: Straits Times

3) “My great advantage was I have a wife who could be a sole breadwinner and bring the children up. That was my insurance policy.”

Source: LKY: The Man and His Ideas, Page 235

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Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo. Image: ST

4) “. . .[she’s my] tower of strength.”

Source: Philly.com

5) “Over the years I’ve been a kept man. My wife keeps the family.”

Source: Lee Kuan Yew in Parliament, 1985

6) Lee Kuan Yew discussed the possibility of euthanasia with his doctors and family in his final years as he struggled with illness and mourned the death of his wife.

Associate professor Michael Barr, who has studied and published on Singapore, said Lee had been left lost and distraught following the death of his wife, Kwa Geok Choo, in 2010, to whom he had been married for 60 years.

Source: South China Morning Post

10. KWA GEOK CHOO’S INTELLECT and CAPABILITIES

1) The late Madam Kwa, wife of Singapore’s former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, was undoubtedly an excellent Peranakan woman, steel clothed in velvet, as Peranakan women were known to be!

Source: Passage Magazine by FOM.sg (PDF download)

2) Mrs Lee Kuan Yew was the firm’s ‘intellectual mind‘, while Mr Dennis Lee took care of the business side of things.

Mrs Lee’s personality, according to one prominent lawyer who declined to be named, is best summed up in the way she always dressed impeccably in a cheongsam to work, but would change into rubber flip-flops once there.

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White cheongsam worn by Kwa Geok Choo. Image: Peranakan Museum.

‘When we heard her walk around in the flip-flops, I would joke that that is power,’ he said. ‘Power in rubber flip-flops.’

Source: Straits Times

3) In 1940, Geok Choo entered Raffles College where, to Kuan Yew’s consternation, she beat him in the English and Economics examinations.

They married while in Cambridge, and graduated together with first class honours degrees in 1949. Geok Choo did it in two years; he in three. She was the first woman in Malaya to get a first class honours law degree.

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Lee Kuan Yew and his wife, Kwa Geok Choo in 1968. Photo: Benson Lo

Though she opted to stay in the political background and play the role of supportive wife, she was a founding member of the People’s Action Party (PAP). She was highly skilled in legal draftmanship, helping to draft the PAP Constitution, and later the crucial provisions that guaranteed Singapore’s continued water supply when Singapore separated from Malaysia.

Source: Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame

4) Standing proudly atop its box on the third floor of the Peranakan Museum, the barrister’s wig that belonged to the late Madam Kwa Geok Choo (21 December 1920 – 2 October 2010) is very much a tribute not only to its erstwhile owner, but also to the era’s fledgling coterie of able Peranakan women.

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Kwa Geok Choo’s barrister’s wig.

Source: Passage Magazine by FOM.sg (PDF download)

5) Known for her attention to detail, Kwa Geok Choo once interrupted the taping of an interview to touch up [Lee Kuan Yew’s] hair and makeup.

kwa_makeup

Source: Straits Times

11. KWA GEOK CHOO: STATE FUNERAL

From the Press Statement from the PM’s office on the passing of Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew:

The family requests that no obituaries and no wreaths or flowers to be sent. All donations will go to the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) Health Research Endowment Fund.

Kwa Geok Choo was given a heroine’s funeral:

The glass-encased brown coffin of Kwa Geok Choo, who died aged 89 on Saturday after a long illness, was transported to a suburban crematorium on a ceremonial gun carriage normally reserved for state and military funerals.

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Casket of Mrs. LKY

The government said the usage of a ceremonial gun carriage “is in recognition of her exceptional and unique contributions to Singapore for more than five decades, beginning before Singapore became independent.”

12. KWA GEOK CHOO: POLITICAL LEGACY

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Mr. and Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew. Image: CNA

Her political legacy runs deep.

In 1959, she delivered her first and only party political broadcast during the general election that year, urging women to vote for the PAP. She was the only English-speaking woman in the party who had the requisite firmness and conviction for the broadcast.

‘I have been proof-reading and sometimes correcting [Lee Kuan Yew’s] speeches from his earliest 1950 speech to the Malayan Forum in London,’ she told The Straits Times in 1998.

The early history of the People’s Action Party (PAP) also bears the stamp of her involvement.

‘Who else would have drafted that Constitution for them?’ she said. ‘My husband doesn’t draft things. He was an advocate; he was a court lawyer.’

Drafting the rules of a society, by contrast, was her speciality.

Source: Straits Times

MORE INFO:

This blog post has a family tree of Kwa Geok Choo’s relatives holding government positions in Singapore.

Elitism Quotes (PAP)

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Small collection of quotes by PAP Ministers etc. on the “aristocracy mentality.” Thanks to readers for contributing some of these :)

1. “Without a natural aristocracy. . .society will lose out.”
— Lee Hsien Loong, 2015

2. “I don’t respond to anything on The Real Singapore, which is a Facebook page and website written by morons, commented on by morons, and read and shared by morons.”
— Calvin Cheng, 2014

3. “The problem today is that PAP is a bit too elitist. . .they don’t feel for the people; overall, there is a lack of empathy.”
— Ngiam Tong Dow, 2013

4. “Maybe it made lesser mortals envious and they thought maybe he was a little bit boastful.”
— Charles Chong, MP (on senior civil servant Tan Yong Soon’s S$46,000 five-week course at a prestigious French cooking school)

5. “I feel my own angst riding with the common people. But I suppose it’s good to get the feel from the ground every now and then, to connect with the peasantry.”
— PAP Supporter and former Law Society employee, Nicholas-Seth Leong on his second MRT trip in 2012

6. “Please, get out of my elite uncaring face.”
— Wee Shu Min, scholar-daughter of former MP Wee Siew Kim

7. “Remember your place in society before you engage in political debate… Debate cannot generate into a free-for-all where no distinction is made between the senior and junior party… You must make distinctions – What is high, what is low, what is above, what is below, and then within this, we can have a debate, we can have a discussion… people should not take on those in authority as ‘equals’.”
— Former Foreign Minister George Yeo (1994)

8. “They (top civil servants) get paid more, they’re highly educated, and they have bigger egos, bigger than any government employees I’ve met anywhere else in the world. It’s not good or bad, but they consider themselves superior to almost any government employee in the world.”
— Renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith on civil servants’ ego in Singapore (2011)

TanChooLeng

9. “$600,000 a year is peanuts.”
— Mrs. Goh Chok Tong (2004)

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Source: FB

10. “We are our own check. The integrity of our leaders, of our MPs. That’s where the check comes from. . .not this seductive lie of check and balance.”
— Goh Chok Tong, 26 August 2015

11. “I didn’t ask for it. That was the rate for the job, that’s what I accepted. You don’t like the rate, I can’t help it.”
— President Nathan who doesn’t feel he needs to defend his high salary which was criticised extensively online. (The Sunday Times, 7 Aug 2011)

12. “I don’t think that there should be a cap on the number of directorship that a person can hold.”
— PAP MP John Chen who held 8 directorships

13. “It’s not for the money because some of the companies pay me as little as $10,000 a year.”
— PAP MP Wang Kai Yuen who held 11 directorships

14. “One evening, I drove to Little India and it was pitch dark but not because there was no light, but because there were too many Indians around.”
— Former PAP MP Mr Choo Wee Khiang, in a speech in Parliament in 1992

15. “Smaller Medisave means you’re lazy and work less.”
— Khaw Boon Wan (2013)

16. “There’s no ladder to climb when the top rung is reserved for people with a certain name.”
— Forbes (2009)

17. “The elite’s privileged position in decision-making and exclusive formulation of organisational policies will only serve to reflect the elite’s self-interests instead of that of the masses.”
— Classical elite theorist Robert Michels, via Soh Yi Da

18. “Our funds are accountable to the government. I would not believe that transparency is everything.”
— PM Lee Hsien Loong, The Telegraph UK

19. “As an anti-PAP retired civil servant, I can tell you that all the PAP media events are staged with great care. Every photo opportunity is meticulously planned. As a former government press officer told me, we must manipulate the message.”
— TRE Comment

20. “We are same — same but different.”
— Lim Swee Say via Teo Chee Hean (2015)

21. “Only rich or corrupt people work for free.”
— Vivian Balakrishnan, when asked about the salaries of Members of Parliament (2015)

22. “The reality as societies developed is that leaders often come from the same social circles, educational backgrounds and even family trees.”
— Lee Kuan Yew, 2011

23. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.”
— Lee Kuan Yew, 1987

24. “In short, the elite.”
— Lee Kuan Yew, 1966

elite_meaning

Google search for meaning of “Elite”

+ + +

For more PAP ministers’ quotes, check out the following resources:

1) Top 30 Quotes from the Ivory Tower (TOC)

2) Photo Album (Martyn See)

3) Great PAP Quotes (Comment saved by Chris Ho)

4) Infamous Quotes by SG Leaders (AskMeLah)

Chris Ho: Saved Comment on LKY

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Great post via Chris Ho in March 2015, with many pertinent points mentioned (based on a comment by netizen “hortensisus_truth,” saved by Chris Ho).

  • Will update the pic above when I get the chance! (March 2016 — I moved house a couple of months ago…)

Re-posted below.

The SG PR machine will do its very best to persuade the world that Lee Kuan Yew was a benevolent man. The truth is far more complicated and in some instances downright sinister. His economic legacy may be available for all to see, but at what cost?

The Telegraph even chooses to repeat the lie that LKY believed in the rule of law. He believed in no such thing. He believed in HIS rule & HIS law. To this day, the judiciary remains a compliant poodle that dares not go against the government & has made the most outrageous rulings so as not to inconvenience the PAP (ruling party.) Just look up: Cheng San GRC polling day ruling

Consider the following:

1) SG, under his rule, had one of the highest execution rates per capita in the entire world – often for ridiculously small crimes. (See Van Nguyen’s execution – one of the least just executions ever).

2) To this day, it is still not mandatory to provide domestic workers with a day of leave each week. Nothing short of modern slavery for more than 100,000 poor, migrant labourers who can do practically nothing about it if they have a ruthless, uncaring employer-which many do. SG may have gotten rich but the exploitation of regional workforces has played a massive role in that wealth generation. That mindset has been passed into society which is one of the least caring rich countries on earth towards its migrant poor.

3) The claims of zero corruption are simply laughable. Is nepotism not considered corruption? The reality is that with such iron control of the media, it has been hard to establish who owns and controls what in SG – interestingly as alternative media has grown, so has evidence of corruption. Just consider: LKY’s son is PM, his other son was head of the Singtel and is CEO of Civil Aviation Authority, his daughter-in-law is in charge of the sovereign wealth fund, his relative is President. I could go on but it is absolutely clear that the entire family benefitted enormously from his ruthless control of the government. The gov lost 40% of the vote in the last election & yet still retains 82 out of 89 seats in parliament? Why? The electoral system has been gerrymandered & twisted to the ruling party’s benefit entirely corruptly. No corruption? Absolute rubbish & nonsense.

4) The birth rate. If you want a real indictment of his rule – look to the SG birth rate. SG has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates. People have simply given up having children because this densely populated island is a hot house of constant and almost unbearable pressure on its citizens. He created a school system that deliberately made people of lesser academic talents feel second class and were treated as second class. The result has been a brain drain of creative talents. Like the Mayans before him, his legacy may be to have eradicated his own people in the name of material glory. Some legacy.

5) Intolerance. The local and sympathetic foreign press will use euphemisms for his “knuckle duster” approach to dissent or political control. Ask those who have been imprisoned by him without trial whether they think it was just the knuckle duster? One of the world’s longest serving political prisoners, without trial, was in SG – 32 years – and there are literally countless others. See Operation Coldstore and Operation Spectrum for a hint of his charming, bullying, ruthless style.

6) Gay rights. SG is the only G20 country in the world where it is still illegal to be gay. Gay people are arbitrarily abused for their inherent sexuality and from time to time their sexuality is used against them. For that matter, try and be an independent academic. (See Cherian George – denied tenure simply because he was a mild government critic, despite being one of the foremost journalism professors in the country).

7) Opacity in government. The Singaporeans are forced to save their money in a scheme called the CPF. This is used for healthcare, housing, education and retirement. It remains to be seen, however, whether the way that money is managed is fair, reasonable and corruption free. Whilst it may indeed be all above the board, the government has refused to disclose much information about this giant pool of money and how exactly the money is used, invested etc. There remains a lingering doubt as to whether the money is truly available for citizens or used in their best interest. SG has no freedom of information laws, tightly controls the flow of information out of government and repeatedly refuses to provide data that justifies their actions.

LKY was a utilitarian, Platonic and Machiavellian bully. Praise his economic achievements but never forget those who have suffered, and there are plenty today and in the past who still do so, because of his ruthlessness. Spare a thought for the exiled, the executed, the unfairly punished, the bankrupted, and, above all the S’porens who were left for 30 years in a climate of utter fear. His legacy is far less benign than a sycophantic press will acknowledge.

Check out some excerpts by Chris Ho I compiled some time ago, and follow his witty, entertaining and enlightening updates on FB.

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[Photo from FB]

CHRIS HO is a singer/musician/author/underground filmmaker/music fan/DJ.

Chris Ho Online: Facebook | Photo Album | Website | Music | DJ Profile

Tony Tan – Related to Lee Hsien Loong?

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* Chart and verification below. If readers know of any inaccuracies, please contact me to verify the data. Thank you :)

TonyTan_LHL

Short Version: Tony Tan is related to Lee Hsien Loong.

Longer Version:

1. Tony Tan’s father is Tan Seng Hwee.

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Tony Tan, Family | Source: NLB

2. According to Geni, Tan Seng Hwee’s half-brother is Tan Chin Tuan.

TanSengHwee_Mother

In this newspaper article, Tan Chin Tuan is referred to as the “adopted son” of Tan Seng Hwee’s mother. A reader says “half-sibling” is correct since Tan Chin Tuan and Tan Seng Hwee had the same father (different mother). | Source: NLB (25 Nov 1934)

3. Tan Chin Tuan (Tony Tan’s uncle) was married to Helen Wee, who is the sister of Wee Yew Neo. (Sources: Geni, NLB, Veritas and Rojak Librarian).

TanChinTuan_SILofWee

Tan Chin Tuan (Mrs. LKY’s uncle-in-law) and Kwa Siew Tee (Mrs. LKY’s father) = sons-in-law of Wee Theam Seng. Source: Veritas and NLB (4 Feb 1946)

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Wife of Tan Chin Tuan = “Helen.” Source: NLB (10 June 1954)

4. Kwa Siew Tee married Wee Yew Neo in 1910. They are the parents of Kwa Geok Choo (Mrs. LKY).

5. Tony Tan’s mother is Jessie Lim Neo Swee (refer to screenshot on Point #1).

6. Jessie Lim is the sister of Lim Geok Neo, who is the wife of Seet Cheng Kang.

Lim Geok Neo is the only portion in the family tree where I could not verify the information from more than one reliable source. However, the Geni profile for Lim Geok Neo was added by a family member (private profile), and is currently being managed by a fellow family member (Jimmy Seet).

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Lim Geok Neo was the wife of Seet Cheng Kang. Profile was added by a Seet, and is currently managed by Jimmy Seet (son of Seet Cheng Kang). Source: Geni.

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Jimmy Seet, son of Seet Cheng Kang. Source: Geni

7. Seet Cheng Kang’s second wife was Chua Swee Neo, who is the sister of Chua Jim Neo, who is the mother of Lee Kuan Yew.

8. This means that Tony Tan is related to Lee Hsien Loong through the family members of both Mr. and Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew.