Singapore hopes to turn home of founding father Lee into monument

SINGAPORE,
Singapore hopes to turn the site of the former home of founding father Lee Kuan Yew into a national monument, officials said on Monday, following a long-running dispute between his children over the fate of the property.

The island state’s National Heritage Board (NHB) said it intended to gazette Lee’s estate, with the possibility of turning the area into a heritage park.

The former home of Singapore’s first prime minister was deemed “to be of historic significance and national importance, and worthy of preservation as a national monument,” the NHB and the Singapore Land Authority said in a joint statement.

The prime location at 38 Oxley Road in land-scarce Singapore has been at the centre of a heated row between Lee’s children since his death in 2015 over whether it should be demolished.

The disagreement erupted in 2017, dividing public opinion as their feud made global headlines.

Lee’s eldest son and former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong favoured preserving the property, which estate agents in 2024 valued at around S$30 million ($23 million).

His two siblings, corporate executive Lee Hsien Yang and the late neurologist Lee Wei Ling, pointed to language in their father’s will calling for its demolition.

The younger siblings accused their brother in 2017 of trying to exploit their father’s legacy for political gain, though the dispute simmered down while Lee Wei Ling was still living on the property.

Her death a year ago left the five-bedroom bungalow empty, reigniting calls from Lee Hsien Yang, who bought the property from his older brother in 2015 for the will to be implemented.

Monday’s joint statement said that should a preservation order—a legal directive placing the property under the NHB’s protection—be issued, Singapore’s government intended to acquire the site.

“If the site is preserved and acquired, the government will convert it into a public space, with one possible outcome being a heritage park,” the statement said.

However, it added that “preserving the site does not obligate the government to preserve all the buildings and structures in their current state,” and authorities had yet to assess the buildings.

The property was the home of founding premier Lee from the mid-1940s until his death. He is credited with transforming the former British colony into a wealthy city-state in just over 30 years.

–BSS/AFP