Singapore's founding leader Lee Kuan Yew is fighting a neurological disease that is making it difficult for him to walk steadily, his daughter revealed Sunday. Lee, who turned 88 in September, suffers from sensory peripheral neuropathy, his physician daughter Lee Wei Ling, director of the National Neuroscience Institute of Singapore, wrote in her weekly Sunday Times newspaper column.
"In my father's case, sensory peripheral neuropathy has caused the conduction of sensation from his legs to his spinal cord to be impaired. This makes his walking unsteady, as many Singaporeans have already noticed," she wrote.
The column, which deals with a wide range of issues, is closely followed for glimpses into the private life of Singapore's most influential family. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the columnist's elder brother.
Lee Kuan Yew retired from the cabinet after general elections in May but continues to travel overseas and remains a member of parliament, a post he has held since 1955. He served as prime minister from 1959 to 1990.
"His day-to-day condition now fluctuates. On some days he is fairly steady and on other days his balance is poor.