Govt says Lee Hsien Yang knows inaccuracy of his claim about 38 Oxley Road and is creating 'false urgency' for demolition

SINGAPORE: Mr Lee Hsien Yang knows the inaccuracy of his claim about 38 Oxley Road, which he wants to be demolished, and is creating "false urgency" for it to be torn down immediately, the Singapore government said on Friday (Oct 25). 

Earlier in the day, Mr Lee, the youngest son of Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, called on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to make a decision on the property, saying in a Facebook post that "the time for that decision is now".

In response, the Singapore government said the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew had accepted that his family home at 38 Oxley Road may be preserved.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who died in 2015, had written to the Cabinet in 2011 acknowledging that they were of the view that the property should not be demolished.

"Thereafter, having accepted that the property may be preserved, Mr Lee Kuan Yew also submitted renovation and redevelopment plans for the property, and obtained approval from URA (the Urban Redevelopment Authority). This was in March 2012.

"Mr Lee Kuan Yew was, in submitting the plans, proceeding on the basis that the property will be preserved," said a Singapore government spokesperson from the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).

"ELABORATE EDIFICE OF LIES"

In pushing for the house to be torn down, Mr Lee Hsien Yang has repeatedly cited his father's last will, executed in 2013. The will stated that the late Mr Lee wanted the house to be demolished, and if that were not possible, the property should be closed to everyone except family and descendants.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew's long-time lawyer was not involved in preparing the last will. 

In 2020, the Court of Three Judges, led by the Chief Justice, found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern, had procured the execution of the last will with "unseemly haste (that) can only be described as improper and unacceptable".

A disciplinary tribunal also found Mrs Lee guilty of misconduct over the handling of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s last will.

On Friday, the government spokesperson added that Mr Lee Hsien Yang chose not to mention that he and his wife had misled Mr Lee Kuan Yew on the execution of his last will. 

The couple were also found to have lied under oath. 

The disciplinary tribunal and the Court of Three Judges said that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee Suet Fern had presented "an elaborate edifice of lies ... both on oath … and through their public and other statements", the government spokesperson noted.

"The affidavits were contrived to present a false picture. Several of the lies were quite blatant," the government spokesperson said.

"Mr Lee Hsien Yang's continued allegations must be seen in this light."

The government added that it is trying to keep options open and give time for current and future generations of Singaporeans to decide on what to do with the former home of the late Mr Lee. 

Options include demotion or preservation of all or part of 38 Oxley Road. 

"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 Lee Kuan Yew's wishes, the historical value of the site and what it can mean for current and future generations of Singaporeans," said the statement. 

Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife have been out of Singapore since 2022 after deciding not to attend a scheduled police interview over potential offences of giving false evidence in judicial proceedings regarding the will of his father.

He said on Oct 22 that he is now a political refugee in the United Kingdom after seeking asylum protection in 2022.

In response to media queries from The Guardian about Mr Lee's asylum status, the Singapore government said there is "no basis” to allegations of "a campaign of persecution" against him as well as other claims about political repression in the country.

LEE KUAN YEW'S STANCE

Mr Lee Kuan Yew had on several occasions publicly expressed his wish for the house to be demolished after his death.

He said in a letter to the Cabinet in October 2010 that it should “not be kept as a kind of relic for people to tramp through” and that it has “no merit as architecture”. 

In his book Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, published in January 2011, he was quoted as saying: "Because of my house the neighbouring houses cannot build high. Now demolish my house and change the planning rules, go up, the land value will go up."

He reiterated his stance in July 2011 in another letter to the Cabinet, but was met with opposition from ministers when he asked them about it.

Subsequently, in another letter to the Cabinet in December 2011, Mr Lee said he had reflected on the matter after the Cabinet was unanimous in saying the property should not be demolished; and that he had decided that if it was to be preserved, work needed to be carried out.

“Cabinet members were unanimous that 38 Oxley Road 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. It must then be let out for people to live in. An empty building will soon decline and decay,” he said. 

"Mr Lee Kuan Yew's will, while stating his preference for the property to be demolished, also acknowledges that the property may be preserved," the government said on Friday. 

"Mr Lee Kuan Yew'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. All of this is set out in the report of the ministerial committee on 38 Oxley Road, published in April 2018," it added. 

NHB TO STUDY OXLEY ROAD SITE

The National Heritage Board (NHB) on Thursday said it would study the Oxley Road site to assess if it is worthy of being preserved as a national monument.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang applied to URA on Oct 21 to carry out the demolition works, about two weeks after his sister Dr Lee Wei Ling died. She had been living in the house before her death.

Demolishing 38 Oxley Road now will rule out a "proper and full consideration" of the options presented in the 2018 ministerial committee report, said the board.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday that "we do not think that any option should be precluded, or closed off, at this stage".

"It is important that we approach the matter with an open mind, as well as keep our options open. The passage of time will help us better appreciate the matter in its proper context, with the benefit of some hindsight."

The study will be conducted by NHB's preservation of sites and monuments advisory board, which includes experts from various sectors.

NHB will then submit its recommendation to the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth to decide whether to issue a preservation order for the site under the Preservation of Monuments Act.

If the minister intends to preserve the site, NHB will notify the owner and occupier to submit any objections “within a reasonable period” before the minister makes a final decision.

If the government decides to preserve the site as a national monument, all options for its fate will remain open to current and future governments, said NHB.

A preservation order can be amended or revoked and no rezoning or alternative use of the site will be allowed until a decision is made in the future, it added.