People want Lee to retire: Poll

People want Lee to retire: Poll

SINGAPORE: A majority of Singaporeans want their nation's elderly founding father, Lee Kwan Yew, to quit politics, according to an Internet poll held after he said he would not retire while he could still contribute.

Lee, who turned 80 this week, served as prime minister from the nation's independence in 1965 to 1990 and has since kept an influential role in the government as senior minister, a Cabinet post.

Lee told the Straits Times newspaper in an interview to mark his birthday that he would remain senior minister as long as he could contribute, and after that he would keep his parliamentary seat until he was no longer fit and able.

"You don't have to tell me. I can feel it when I am no longer making a contribution," Lee said.

But many Singaporeans, who live under a political system that has allowed the People's Action Party to rule since independence, want him to retire, according to the poll carried out by Internet portal Yahoo Singapore.

By 2 p.m. (1 p.m. Jakarta time) on Friday, 43 percent of 5,675 respondents said they wanted Lee to retire from politics immediately, while another 10 percent said he should retire "soon".

Forty-four percent said he should continue in politics while the rest were unsure. -- AFP