16/10/2024

The famiLEE tree: 38 Oxley Road

Lee Hsien Yang says he will apply for demolition of 38 Oxley Road
A view of 38 Oxley Road

Mr Lee Hsien Yang said on Tuesday (Oct 15) that he will apply to demolish the house at 38 Oxley Road, the former home of his father and founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The house was Mr Lee Kuan Yew's home from the mid-1940s until his death in 2015, and was also the home of his daughter, Dr Lee Wei Ling, who died last week.

In a Facebook post, Mr Lee Hsien Yang said he would apply to demolish the house in accordance with his parents' wishes. He intends to build a small home on the site subsequently, he said. "To honour my parents' last wishes, I am applying to demolish the house at 38 Oxley Road and thereafter to build a small private dwelling, to be held within the family in perpetuity," he said. Mr Lee Hsien Yang said that he is "the sole legal owner of 38 Oxley Road" and, following his sister's death, "the only living executor" of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's estate.

"In his will, he wished for the house to be demolished 'immediately after' Wei Ling moved out of the house. It is my duty to carry out his wishes to the fullest extent of the law," he said. He also noted that his brother, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had said in parliament in 2015 that "it would be up to 'the government of the day' to decide whether to allow (the house's) demolition", referring to a point in time when Dr Lee was no longer living there. "It has been nine years. That day is today," said Mr Lee Hsien Yang.


Oxley Rd house: Govt to ‘carefully consider’ issues, including Lee Hsien Yang’s application to demolish
In a Facebook post on Oct 15, Mr Lee Hsien Yang intends to build a small private dwelling there

Mr Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest child of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, said he will be applying to demolish his family’s house at 38 Oxley Road to build a small private dwelling. In a Facebook post on Oct 15, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, who is the younger brother of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said he intends for the dwelling to then “be held within the family in perpetuity”.

The authorities have not received any application in respect to the house, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said in a joint statement on the same day, in response to queries. Separately, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said it has taken note of Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s post. “(The) Government will carefully consider issues related to the property in due course, taking into account Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes and the public interest, including considering any applications with regard to the property,” said an MND spokesman.

To demolish the house at 38 Oxley Road, Mr Lee Hsien Yang requires approval for building works from the BCA, as well as planning permission from the URA. His announcement follows the death of his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, on Oct 9.


Lee Hsien Yang moves to tear down 38 Oxley Road
Lee Hsien Yang is the sole legal owner of 38 Oxley Road. He intends to build a small private dwelling on the plot ‘to be held within the family in perpetuity’

LEE Hsien Yang is applying to demolish his family home at 38 Oxley Road where his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, lived before she died on Oct 9.

The younger son of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew shared in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 15) that he intended to “build a small private dwelling to be held within the family in perpetuity” in the demolished asset’s place. He also reiterated his father’s wishes for the house to be demolished “immediately after” Dr Lee moved out.

“I am the sole legal owner of 38 Oxley Road. After my sister’s passing, I am the only living executor of my father Lee Kuan Yew’s estate… It is my duty to carry out his wishes to the fullest extent of the law.” Citing his brother Lee Hsien Loong’s 2015 Parliament statement that it would be up to “the government of the day” to decide whether to allow demolition, he added: “It has been nine years. That day is today.”


Lee Hsien Yang seeks to demolish 38 Oxley Road home
Lee Hsien Yang applying to demolish the family home at 38 Oxley Road

The youngest son of Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew is seeking permission from authorities to demolish his late father’s home in the latest escalation of a bitter feud over the fate of the country’s most high-profile property.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Lee Hsien Yang said he is applying to demolish the house at 38 Oxley Road and thereafter build a small private residence, to be held within the family, to honor his parents’ last wishes. His remarks come a week after the death of his sister Lee Wei Ling, who had been living in the residence. The siblings have been embroiled in a years-long dispute with their elder brother, Lee Hsien Loong, over whether to demolish their father’s colonial-era house.

The new chapter in the private-turned-public dispute now threatens to become another political headache for Hsien Loong’s successor Lawrence Wong, who took over as prime minister in May. Wong, who must call for elections by late 2025, has been busy trying to manage cost-of-living concerns and navigate stormy US-China relations.


Lee Hsien Yang to apply for 38 Oxley Road house to be demolished
In a Facebook post on Oct 15, Mr Lee Hsien Yang said the entity would be “held within the family in perpetuity”

Mr Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest child of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, says he will be applying to demolish the house at 38 Oxley Road to build a small private dwelling. In a Facebook post on Oct 15, Mr Lee, who is also the younger brother of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said the entity would be “held within the family in perpetuity”. He did not elaborate on who he would file the application with. The announcement follows the death of their sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, on Oct 9.

Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang were the joint administrators and executors of the late Mr Lee’s will. In 2017, they made public their dispute with SM Lee, who was Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s oldest child, over the will with regard to 38 Oxley Road. The two younger Lee siblings had alleged that SM Lee, then the prime minister, wanted the pre-war house preserved for his political gain, against their father’s wishes. But SM Lee refuted their accusations in a ministerial statement in Parliament, after having raised “grave concerns” over the “troubling circumstances” around the preparation of their late father’s final will.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang reasserted his claim to the property on Oct 15. “I am the sole legal owner of 38 Oxley Road. After my sister’s passing, I am the only living executor of my father Lee Kuan Yew’s estate. “In his will, he wished for the house to be demolished ‘immediately after’ Wei Ling moved out of the house. It is my duty to carry out his wishes to the fullest extent of the law,” he wrote in his post. 
“Lee Hsien Loong said in Parliament in 2015 that when Wei Ling passed, it would be up to ‘the Government of the day’ to decide whether to allow demolition. It has been nine years. That day is today,” he added.


Lee Hsien Yang says he will apply for Oxley Road house to be demolished
In a Facebook post on Oct 15, Mr Lee Hsien Yang intends to build a small private dwelling there

Mr Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest child of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, said he will be applying to demolish the house at 38 Oxley Road to build a small private dwelling. In a Facebook post on Oct 15, Mr Lee, who is the younger brother of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said the entity would be “held within the family in perpetuity”.

He did not elaborate on who he would file the application with. The announcement follows the death of their sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, on Oct 9. Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang were the joint administrators and executors of the late Mr Lee’s will. In 2017, they made public their dispute with SM Lee, who was Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s oldest child, over the will regarding 38 Oxley Road.

The two younger siblings had alleged that SM Lee, then the prime minister, wanted the pre-war house preserved for his political gain, against their father’s wishes. But SM Lee refuted their accusations in a ministerial statement in Parliament, after having raised “grave concerns” over the “troubling circumstances” around the preparation of their late father’s final will. SM Lee sold the house to Mr Lee Hsien Yang in 2015 at market value, on the condition that they both donated half of the value to charity. SM Lee donated 100 per cent of his proceeds.


Lee Hsien Yang conveys statement by Lee Wei Ling appealing for demolition of 38 Oxley Road
"Please honour my father by honouring his wish for his home to be demolished,"

Lee Hsien Yang made a Facebook post on Oct. 9, 2024, in which he conveyed a statement from his late sister, Lee Wei Ling. He said he’d been tasked to do so upon her passing.

The statement addressed their family home at 38 Oxley Road, and appealed for its demolition.
According to Lee Hsien Yang, Lee Wei Ling also wanted a "simple private send off". Lee Wei Ling, daughter of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, passed away at home on Oct. 9. 

Lee Hsien Yang wrote in the post that Lee Wei Ling directed him to convey the following statement on 38 Oxley Road:
  • "My father's, Lee Kuan Yew, and my mother's, Kwa Geok Choo, unwavering and deeply felt wish was for their house at 38 Oxley Road, Singapore 238629 to be demolished upon the last parent's death.
  • Lee Kuan Yew had directed each of his three children to ensure that their parents' wish for demolition be fulfilled. He had also appealed directly to the people of Singapore. Please honour my father by honouring his wish for his home to be demolished."


Lee Hsien Yang, estranged brother of ex-Singapore PM, renews call to demolish family home
A view of the house at 38 Oxley Road, the residence of Spore’s first prime minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew

A day after his sister’s death, the estranged brother of former Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has appealed to Singaporeans via social media to “honour” his late father’s wishes to demolish their family home.

Close to midnight on Wednesday, Lee Hsien Yang posted on his Facebook page that he was conveying a message from his late sibling: “My father’s, Lee Kuan Yew, and my mother’s, Kwa Geok Choo, unwavering and deeply felt wish was for their house at 38 Oxley Road, Singapore 238629 to be demolished upon the last parent’s death.”

Lee Wei Ling, the daughter of Singapore’s first prime minister, died at home at the age of 69, four years after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare and degenerative brain disease. She and Lee Hsien Yang, 67, had been estranged from their eldest sibling, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, over what to do with their family home, where she lived, following their father’s death.


Home of former PM Lee Kuan Yew at 38 Oxley Road at centre of dispute
The home of late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew at 38, Oxley Road

A long-running question over what to do with the home of the late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew at 38, Oxley Road has come into focus again after two of the late Mr Lee's children, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, issued a statement on the matter on Wednesday (June 14).

In their statement, they reiterated their father's wish that the house be demolished upon his death. The two siblings, who are joint executors and trustees of their father's estate, also said that their elder brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and his wife Ho Ching had opposed this wish as "the preservation of the house would enhance his political capital".

The issue of 38, Oxley Road made the news back in 2015, several weeks after Mr Lee Kuan Yew died at the age of 91 on March 23 that year. In April 2015, Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang stated publicly that the late Mr Lee had asked for his house to be demolished after his death, and asked Singaporeans to respect this wish. In his will, Mr Lee Kuan Yew said that the house should "be demolished immediately after my death or if my daughter, Wei Ling, would prefer to continue living in the original house, immediately after she moves out of the house".


Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanted his house to be demolished: 5 things about 38 Oxley Road

There have been calls to turn Mr Lee Kuan Yew's house into a museum, but in his will, he had asked for it to be demolished.

In the event that an order would be issued against his wishes, the former Prime Minister added in his will: "If our children are unable to demolish the house as a result of any changes in the law, rules or regulations binding them, it is my wish that the house never be opened to others except my children, their families and descendants."

The pre-war bungalow at 38, Oxley Road, which was built by a Jewish merchant more than 100 years ago, has witnessed some momentous turning points in Singapore's history.

5 things about 38 Oxley Road:
  • Why demolish the house?
  • The Lees' marital home
  • Old furniture, and no shower
  • Family gatherings
  • Hive of political activity


Ministerial panel lays out 3 options for 38 Oxley Road, says fate of Lee Kuan Yew's house is for future govt to decide
The ministerial committee set up to consider the future of 38 Oxley Road says the decision on which option to take will be left to a future government

The ministerial committee set up to consider the future of 38, Oxley Road has laid out three options for the house and says the decision on which to take will be left to a future government. It released a 21-page report on Monday (April 2), listing the three possibilities for founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's home:
  • retain the property by gazetting it as a national monument or for conservation
  • retain the basement dining room, which has the greatest historical significance, and tear down the rest of the property
  • allow the property to be fully demolished for redevelopment

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who chaired the four-member panel, said it did not make any recommendations as no decision is required at this point. Mr Lee's daughter Lee Wei Ling has said she intends to continue living in the house. Said DPM Teo: "Ultimately, in the fullness of time, a future government will have the responsibility to consider the public-interest aspects of the property, taking into account Mr Lee's wishes. They will have to decide what to do with the property and be able to carry the decision."


Lee Kuan Yew’s Oxley Road home has ‘architectural, heritage and historical significance’

As the silent witness to critical meetings and events which “altered the destiny of the country”, the 38 Oxley Road family home of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew has historical as well as architectural and heritage significance, the National Heritage Board (NHB) and a ministerial committee weighing options for the property have said.

The committee released its report on Monday (April 2), which included a detailed 31-page assessment by the NHB. The board noted that individuals who had gathered at the bungalow’s basement — such as Mr S Rajaratnam, Mr Devan Nair, Dr Toh Chin Chye and Dr Goh Keng Swee — later became key players who helped build modern Singapore. It also described the property as a “rarity” with a “complex architectural type with a history dating back to 18th century colonial India”. Of the more than 200 bungalows which have been conserved to date, only an estimated 16 belong to the same style and era as 38 Oxley Road.

Bungalows of this style, built in the late 19th century and early 20th century, are typically one-storey high with pitched, tiled roofs of Chinese influence, lofty ceilings and broad verandahs to shelter occupants from the heat of the sun. “Over time, it came to be associated with key national events. Today, it testifies to the formation of a new government for Singapore,” said NHB of the bungalow on 38 Oxley Road. The ministerial committee added: “The Committee assesses that the Property has architectural, heritage and historical significance.”


38 Oxley Road back in the spotlight after Lee Wei Ling's death
The family home at 38 Oxley Road has been the subject of a long-running feud among the Lee sibling

A day after Dr Lee Wei Ling's death, her younger brother has brought attention to the future of their family home.

In a Facebook post on Thursday (Oct 10), Lee Hsien Yang wrote that he was conveying a message from his sister. "My father's, Lee Kuan Yew, and my mother's, Kwa Geok Choo, unwavering and deeply felt wish was for their house at 38 Oxley Road to be demolished upon the last parent's death.

"Lee Kuan Yew had directed each of his three children to ensure that their parents' wish for demolition be fulfilled. He had also appealed directly to the people of Singapore. "Please honour my father by honouring his wish for his home to be demolished." Dr Lee, who died at the age of 69 on Wednesday, was living in the house at 38 Oxley Road.


38 Oxley Road

38 Oxley Road is an eight-bedroom two-storey bungalow located near Orchard Road, Singapore. The house was built in the late 19th century and was the residence of the first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, from the 1940s until his death in 2015. The first meeting of the People's Action Party (PAP) occurred in the basement.

In 2017, it became central to a dispute in Singapore among Lee's children, Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling, over its use and demolition. Lee Kuan Yew had originally willed the house to Lee Hsien Loong, who later sold it to Lee Hsien Yang in 2015 at market price, on the condition that both of them would donate half of the value to charity.

Lee's will included a condition that his daughter Lee Wei Ling be allowed to stay there. She died on 9 October 2024, opening a range of plausible options for the house as set out by the Ministerial Committee in 2018. The options are to (i) retain the property by gazetting it as a National Monument or for conservation; (ii) retain the dining room and demolish the rest of the property; or (iii) allow the property to be demolished fully and allow for the site to be redeveloped.


38 Oxley Road: A timeline of events
How the death of Singapore’s founding prime minister kicked off a familial and national dispute over what is now perhaps the country’s most famous residence

Mr Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, said on Tuesday (Oct 15) that he would apply to demolish their family home at 38 Oxley Road. This came days after his sister Dr Lee Wei Ling died. The only daughter of Mr Lee Kuan Yew had continued living at 38 Oxley Road after her father's death in 2015.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang said his decision was in accordance with his parents' wishes, and that he was now the sole legal owner of the house.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said in response to CNA's queries that they have not received any applications regarding 38 Oxley Road.

A TIMELINE OF EVENTS:
  • WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOUSE?
  • WHAT DID LEE KUAN YEW WANT FOR IT?
  • MR LEE KUAN YEW'S LETTERS TO CABINET, IN FULL
  • HOW DID IT BECOME AN ISSUE?
  • HOW DID THE SINGAPORE GOVERNMENT RESPOND?
  • WHAT DO WILL DISPUTES HAVE TO DO WITH THE ISSUE?
  • WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?


Death of Lee Kuan Yew’s only daughter, Dr Lee Wei Ling
About 30 people sent the late Lee Wei Ling off in the rain on Sat 12 Oct 2024

According to Shin Min Daily News, her casket was brought into the hearse at about 1:50pm. Her funeral wake was held from Oct. 10 to 12 at the Pearl and Sapphire Hall (Level 3) of the Singapore Casket in the Lavender area.

The send-off, which occurred in the rain, was led by Li Huanwu, the second son of Lee Hsien Yang, who is the younger brother of Lee Wei Ling. Li Huanwu, who held the portrait of his aunt, was accompanied by his younger brother Li Shaowu by his side.

The send-off was witnessed by the public. The hearse reportedly arrived at the Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium Complex at about 2:30pm. She was cremated at about 2:45pm.


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