Singapore weighs preserving 38 Oxley Road despite Lee Hsien Yang’s demolition bid

NHB says allowing Lee Hsien Yang’s demolition bid now would rule out a ‘proper and full consideration’ of the options for the house

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A view of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s Oxley Road residence in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:39pm, 24 Oct 2024Updated: 7:59pm, 24 Oct 2024

Singapore will conduct a heritage study on 38 Oxley Road, the former family home of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, to assess if the site should be preserved.

The home has been at the centre of a long-running dispute among Lee’s children, with the younger two, Lee Hsien Yang and the late Lee Wei Ling, making public their conflicting views with their older brother and former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2017. The brothers have been estranged since.

Announcing on Thursday, Singapore’s National Heritage Board (NHB) said the government recognised that “there will be a diverse range of views among Singaporeans on this matter”.

NHB noted in its statement that following the death of Lee Wei Ling on October 9, Lee Hsien Yang said that he intended to get permission to demolish the home and made an application to the Urban Redevelopment Authority to do so on Monday.

However, the board said making such a move now would rule out a “proper and full consideration” of the options set out in a 2018 report by a ministerial committee for 38 Oxley Road.

The ministerial committee found that the building has architectural, heritage and historical significance and set out three options for a future government: gazette the property as a national monument, retain the basement dining room and tear down the rest, or demolish the entire building.