In a Facebook posting today (10 Sep), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling reiterated that founding PM Lee Kuan Yew had always wanted his house at 38 Oxley Road to be demolished.
She reminded everyone that at a special session of Parliament on 13 April 2015, PM Lee said, “Mr Lee’s position on 38 Oxley Road was unwavering over the years, and fully consistent with his lifelong values. We should respect his wishes, as well as those of Mrs Lee.”
However, since then, she said that PM Lee has sought to “rewrite history” about their father’s stance on demolition “to claim, unbelievably, that Lee Kuan Yew wavered in his unwavering wish”.
She quoted PM Lee saying, “However, after hearing Cabinet’s unanimous views that the property should not be demolished, Mr Lee eventually came to accept that the Government was likely to preserve the property in the public interest. He was consequently prepared to be flexible and contemplate options short of demolition.”
She went on to say that after their mother died in 2010, PM Lee led their father and the family to believe that the house had in fact been gazetted or that its gazetting upon their father’s passing would be inevitable.
“By Nov/Dec 2013, Pa had doubts about this. He discussed the implications of degazetting on his will with Kim Li his lawyer, with a view to amending his will,” Dr Lee revealed.
“My father made it well known in his lifetime that he would like 38 Oxley Road demolished when I no longer need it. Papa doesn’t mince words, yet a special committee of the Cabinet was formed to divine what Papa really wants!!” She said.
“As I stated in a Facebook post previously, one has to be remarkably dumb or ill-informed to not know what LKY wanted to happen to his marital home. He spent his whole life looking after the welfare of Singaporeans both current and further welfare. All he asks in return is that his marital home be demolished and not open to public or worst of all, turned into a shrine for him.”
Dr Lee said that their father was strongly against any personality cult and to date, no major structure in Singaore has been named after him.
“If any Singaporean needs to be reminded of his legacy, just look around at the thriving metropolis and the kind of society we are,” she added.
“Another reason Pa wanted Oxley demolished was because Mama was a private person, she is willing to temporarily play the role of the prime minister’s wife but she does not want the public tramping through her family home. This is a minor reason as far as nation building is concern.”
Dr Lee said she is certain that forming a “LKY personality cult” is bad for Singapore. “I had to move on after Papa’s demise and so should all Singaporeans. To look back with yearning for a dead leader means the country will never progress beyond the current phase,” she explained, telling Singaporeans not to “worship” LKY anymore.
She then turned to PAP saying, “The problem is that the PAP is trying to build a LKY personality cult. I hope this will fade away. Not because I am an unfilial daughter but because I want Singapore to continue to prosper and survive beyond LKY.”
“So Oxley should be demolished after I am gone. But precisely because this is not a certain outcome, I am bringing up this topic again,” she explained why she is bringing up the matter again.
Dr Lee also explained that her younger brother, Hsien Yang, now owns the house after buying it from PM Lee at market value “with the stipulation from Loong that Yang donates a further 50% of the value of the property to charity which he has done”.
Hsien Yang’s sole purpose in buying the house was so that he would be in a position to seek to fulill their parents wishes one day, that is, to demolish the house after her passing when she is no longer staying there, Dr Lee revealed.
“Papa gave his whole life to toiling for Singapore. Surely Singaporeans can find it in their hearts to grant my father his unwavering wish.”
The post was also shared by PM Lee’s brother, Lee Hsien Yang on his Facebook page.
