SINGAPORE, Nov 3 — The Singapore government has reportedly announced plans to gazette 38 Oxley Road, the former home of the republic’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, as a national monument.
The National Heritage Board (NHB) said its Preservation of Sites and Monuments Advisory Board found the property to be of national significance and historic value, Singapore’s The Straits Times reported today.
If a preservation order is issued, the government intends to acquire the site and convert it into a public space, possibly a heritage park, according to a joint statement by the NHB and the Singapore Land Authority.
The property is owned by Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and has long been at the centre of a family dispute over whether it should be demolished or preserved.
The controversy resurfaced last year after their sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, died and Lee Hsien Yang applied to the Urban Redevelopment Authority to demolish the house.
Under the Preservation of Monuments Act, Lee Hsien Yang has until November 17 to file any objections before Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo makes a final decision.
Authorities said any future redevelopment would remove traces of the Lee family’s private living spaces in line with the late Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes.
