Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew re-elected MP uncontested

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Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew was returned to Parliament on Wednesday without any contest, retaining his seat in the port district he has represented for more than half a century.

Lee, 87, and four other candidates of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) were declared the only candidates in the constituency after a tiny opposition party failed to beat a noon deadline for submitting nomination papers.

The walkover means 82 of the 87 parliamentary seats will be up for grabs in May 7 elections, making it the most keenly contested vote since Singapore gained independence from the Malaysian federation in 1965.

Lee was elected prime minister in 1959 after Singapore gained self-rule from Britain and has been returned to power ever since, mostly without opposition.

He stepped down as Prime Minister in 1990 but remains a powerful figure as the top adviser to his son Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who took over in 2004 and is leading the PAP into an election for the second time.

The elder Lee, who appeared weak and spoke with a slight slur, was accompanied by his daughter at a public school where he filed his nomination papers.

His wife of 63 years, Kwa Geok Chew, died in 2010.

The opposition team that wanted to challenge Lee had filed their papers 35 seconds past the deadline after a last-minute struggle to raise a combined S$80,000 ($65,000) deposit designed to weed out nuisance candidates.

"I would welcome a contest in Tanjong Pagar because I've worked there since 1955," the British-educated lawyer told cheering supporters, referring to his electoral district.

"Indeed the whole of Singapore has changed since 1959 when I became the first Prime Minister. I can assure you I'll look after you for the next five years."

Once a scruffy port, Tanjong Pagar is now home to a modern container terminal and some of the country's most expensive private real estate, from condominiums to hotels, public housing and office buildings.

Before filing his candidacy papers, Lee warned Singaporeans against electing more opposition members into Parliament.

"Do not rock this foundation," said Lee, who has earned praise for Singapore's phenomenal rise from an impoverished colonial outpost to a modern economic powerhouse, but has been criticised for his iron-fisted style of governance.

A self-confessed admirer of 16th century Italian political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli, Lee once said he preferred being feared to being loved.

"I have never been overconcerned or obsessed with opinion polls or popularity polls. I think a leader who is, is a weak leader," he had said.