SINGAPORE: After it was announced on Nov 3 (Monday) that 38 Oxley Road, the home of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, would be preserved as a national monument, his younger son Lee Hsien Yang spoke out against it in a Facebook post.
In a “statement by Lee Kuan Yew’s Estate” on Monday evening, the younger Mr Lee underlined that his father had been opposed to monuments, and wrote that the Founders Memorial “is already a huge and expensive monument.”
In deciding to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a monument, he claimed that the ruling People’s Action Party “disrespects Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy and values.”
“The PAP Government has chosen to trample on Lee Kuan Yew’s unwavering wish to demolish his private house. He regarded his whole house as private and wanted it demolished in its entirety. The order to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a national monument effectively rejects the demolition application,” he wrote.
On Oct 15, 2024, shortly after the death of his sister, Lee Wei Ling, he announced that he would apply to obtain permission from the authorities to demolish the house.
38 Oxley Road had been the home of Dr Lee until she passed away on Oct 9, 2024. Mr Lee said he was submitting the application to demolish the house to honour his parents’ last wishes, adding that he planned to build a small private home on the lot, which he intended to be held within the family in perpetuity.
He also wrote that he is the sole legal owner of the property, and since the death of Dr Lee, he is the only living executor of their father’s estate.
Mr Lee, who was granted asylum in the United Kingdom in August 2024, has not been in Singapore since he left on June 15, 2022. He had not been able to attend the funeral in Singapore of Dr Lee. He has said, however, that he remains a citizen of Singapore and hopes to return one day.
38 Oxley Road
The announcement that 38 Oxley Road was being earmarked as a national monument was made by the National Heritage Board and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).
“The site bore witness to discussions and pivotal decisions that shaped the course of Singapore’s history to become an independent nation. The intention to gazette the site as a national monument recognises its historic significance and national importance. This will preserve a key part of our independence journey for future generations,” said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo. /TISG
Read also: Government moves to preserve 38 Oxley Road as national monument
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