Lee Hsien Yang’s claim on 38 Oxley Road inaccurate

Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s claim that the 38 Oxley Road house should be immediately demolished in accordance with his father’s will is inaccurate, said a government spokesperson on Oct 25.

While founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew stated his preference for the house to be demolished in his will, he also acknowledged that it may be preserved, added the spokesperson for the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang “knows that what he says is inaccurate”, the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that he is “trying to create a false urgency by pushing for the immediate demolition of the property”.

“The Government, on the other hand, is trying to keep options open (including demolition or preservation of all or part of the property) and give time for current and future generations of Singaporeans to decide,” the spokesperson said.

Questions over the fate of the house resurfaced after the death of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter, Dr Lee Wei Ling, on Oct 9. Dr Lee, the younger sister of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, lived in the house until her death.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang, their younger brother, had called on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to take action on the issue in an Oct 25 Facebook post.

In his post, he also said their father’s will states that the house should be demolished “immediately after” Dr Lee stopped living there.

“This is your responsibility. You have had nine years to consider. Further delay would trample on the last wishes of Lee Kuan Yew, whom you claim to honour. Please lead,” he wrote.

In its statement, the Government cited a letter written to the Cabinet by Mr Lee Kuan Yew on Dec 27, 2011. In it, the late Mr Lee acknowledged that Cabinet members unanimously felt that the house should not be demolished.

“I have reflected on this and decided that if 38 Oxley Road is to be preserved, it needs to have its foundations reinforced and the whole building refurbished,” he wrote. “It must then be let out for people to live in. An empty building will soon decline and decay.”

In March 2012, he submitted renovation and redevelopment plans for the property and obtained approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

“Mr LKY was, in submitting the plans, proceeding on the basis that the property will be preserved,” the government spokesperson said.

“Mr LKY’s views are quite clear. His preference was for the property to be demolished. But he accepted that it need not be demolished, and he gave his views on how the property ought to be preserved.”

The spokesperson added that this is set out in the ministerial committee report on 38 Oxley Road.

In 2018, the ministerial committee led by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean recommended three options for the house, leaving the final decision up to a “future government”.

They were: to preserve the property and gazette it for conservation or as a national monument; to retain the basement dining room, which has the most historical significance, and tear down the rest of the property; or to allow the property to be demolished fully for redevelopment.

In its Oct 25 statement, the Government also made reference to judgments by the Court of Three Judges and a disciplinary tribunal in 2020. They had found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern, lied under oath during disciplinary proceedings against Mrs Lee, a lawyer, over her handling of the last will of Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

The government spokesperson noted that the couple had presented “an elaborate edifice of lies”, and that the Court of Three Judges concluded that Mr Lee Kuan Yew “ended up signing a document which was in fact not that which he had indicated he wished to sign”.

“Mr LHY’s continued allegations must be seen in this light,” the government spokesperson said.

The spokesperson acknowledged that there is a range of views among Singaporeans on what should be done about the 38 Oxley Road house.

“Many Singaporeans would in fact prefer to put behind us questions about Mr LKY’s will, and the property, and move on,” the spokesperson said.

“Instead of closing all options now, we should keep the options open and consider them carefully, in the fullness of time, taking into account Mr LKY’s wishes, the historical value of the site and what it can mean for current and future generations of Singaporeans.”