SINGAPORE: Lee Hsien Yang said the PAP government’s plan to gazette the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s home at 38 Oxley Road as a national monument “tramples” on his father’s wish for the house to be demolished.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Hsien Yang said his father was opposed to monuments, adding that the move “disrespects Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy and values”.
He said the order to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a national monument effectively rejects his application to demolish the property.
“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,” he said.
“The Founders’ Memorial is already a huge and expensive monument. Lee Kuan Yew was opposed to monuments. The PAP disrespects his legacy and values by choosing to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a monument.”
The government announced on Monday that the site of 38 Oxley Road will be gazetted as a national monument.
Singapore’s founding prime minister lived there from the mid-1940s until his death in 2015.
The single-storey bungalow, built in the 19th century, also served as the early headquarters of the PAP.
It was in the basement dining room that the party was founded and where Singapore’s early leaders met to plan the transition from colonial rule to independence.
The property has been at the centre of a long-running family dispute since Lee’s death on March 23, 2015.
His three children disagreed on the fate of the house when his will was read.
Hsien Yang and his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, said their father wanted the house demolished without compromise.
Their elder brother, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was of the view that their father was prepared to consider alternatives if the government decided otherwise, The Straits Times reported.
Hsien Yang has until Nov 17 to submit any objections to the gazette notice, after which Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo will “consider every objection” before making a final decision on whether to issue a preservation order.
Following Dr Wei Ling’s death on Oct 9, 2024, Hsien Yang said in a Facebook post that he would apply to demolish the house and build a small private dwelling “to be held within the family in perpetuity”.
He submitted the application on Oct 21, 2024.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
