5 days ago
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SINGAPORE: The site at 38 Oxley Road was gazetted for acquisition on Thursday (Jan 29), the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and the National Heritage Board (NHB) said in a media release.
This follows the gazetting of the site as a national monument on Dec 12, 2025.
The site was the home of Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. It was also where events took place which shaped the country's independence movement and national history.
"The site was gazetted for acquisition today in order to safeguard and preserve it in keeping with its historic significance and national importance," said SLA and NHB.
"Preserving and acquiring the site means that it cannot be redeveloped for residential, commercial or other private uses."
Compensation for the site will take into account its market value as of the date of the gazette for acquisition and any claims by parties involved.
After acquisition, the relevant authorities will assess the condition of the buildings and structures within the site, and conduct a detailed study to consider the next steps, the agencies said.
"All options, including those outlined by the 2018 Ministerial Committee, will be considered before a decision is made," they added.
Regardless of the option taken, SLA and NHB said that the government has committed to respecting the late Mr Lee's wishes to protect his family’s privacy. This would include removing all traces of their private living spaces from the interior of the house.
"Under no circumstances will the interior of the house as Mr Lee knew, be displayed, recorded, remodelled or duplicated elsewhere," said SLA and NHB.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew had on several occasions publicly expressed his wish for the house to be demolished after his death.
In an October 2010 letter to the Cabinet, he stated it should “not be kept as a kind of relic for people to tramp through” and that it has “no merit as architecture”.
He reiterated his stance in a July 2011 letter to the Cabinet, but faced opposition from ministers.
In December 2011, Mr Lee wrote that he had reflected on the matter after the Cabinet unanimously opposed demolition, and decided that if the property were to be preserved, it should have its foundations reinforced and be refurbished and let out for people to live in, as an empty building would “soon decline and decay”.
Yet in his final will executed in 2013, Mr Lee returned to saying he wanted the house demolished, or if that were not possible, closed to everyone except family and descendants.
The fate of the house would become the source of dispute among his children - Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang - following his death in 2015.
With matters spilling into the public sphere, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made a ministerial statement in parliament in 2017. A ministerial committee on 38 Oxley Road was also convened, chaired by then Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean.
The committee released a final report in April 2018 with three proposals - retaining the house in whole; retaining just the historic basement dining room; or allowing demolition. The report made no recommendations and noted "there (was) no need to make a decision on the property" at the time, as Dr Lee Wei Ling was still living there.
After Dr Lee’s passing in October 2024, the Urban Redevelopment Authority received a demolition application for the building at 38 Oxley Road. This application was made by Mr Lee Hsien Yang.
In the same month, the National Heritage Board launched a formal assessment of the site to determine if it is worthy of preservation.
In its assessment, the Preservation of Sites and Monuments Advisory Board assessed the site as having "strong national significance worthy of preservation as a national monument", describing it as a foundational part of Singapore's independence that is "not represented by any other site or monument".
Mr Lee Hsien Yang criticised the announcement. In a Facebook post on Nov 3, he wrote that the ruling government had “chosen to trample on Lee Kuan Yew’s unwavering wish to demolish his private house”.
NHB had reviewed his objection letter and maintained its recommendation that the site is worthy of preservation as a National Monument for its historic significance and national importance.
