LHY announces application to demolish 38 Oxley Road following sister’s passing, in honour of parents' wishes

On 15 October 2024, Mr Lee Hsien Yang (LHY) announced his intent to apply for the demolition of the family home at 38 Oxley Road, Singapore. The decision follows the recent passing of his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, on 9 October 2024. LHY made the announcement via a Facebook post, stating his desire to honour his parents’ wishes regarding the future of their historic home.

Dr Lee Wei Ling’s funeral was held on 12 October in a solemn ceremony marked by light rain, drawing comparisons to the weather during the funeral of their father, Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), in 2015. In his Facebook post, LHY, now the sole executor of LKY’s estate, reaffirmed his commitment to fulfilling his father’s final wishes. “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 wrote. LKY’s will, executed in December 2013, included a clause requesting the house’s demolition “immediately after” Dr Lee Wei Ling moved out. LHY emphasised his duty to carry out this wish. "After my sister's passing, I am the only living executor of my father LKY’s estate. It is my duty to carry out his wishes to the fullest extent of the law," he said. He also referenced his brother, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (LHL) remarks in Parliament in 2015, when he was Prime Minister, stating that upon Dr Lee’s passing, the decision to demolish the house would rest with the “Government of the day.” Dr Lee, a respected neurologist, had been an outspoken advocate for preserving her father’s wishes, particularly concerning 38 Oxley Road. Both she and LHY, as executors of LKY's will, consistently supported the demolition of the property as outlined in their father’s will. She even had LHY convey the following statement upon her passing:

“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.”

LKY has always expressed that he wanted his house demolished after his death or kept as a private residence for his family and descendants. This view was also reinforced in his memoirs and writings. In 2015, following LKY’s death, LHL sold the property to LHY at full market value with no restrictions on what either side could say or do after disputes between the siblings over the property. The only condition was that both sides donate half of the house’s value to charity. This proposal was based on an earlier variation discussed before their father’s death. LHY accepted, and the agreement was signed in December 2015, with the purchase price undisclosed. Since then, the property has been owned by LHY through a holding company, 38 Oxley Road Pte Ltd.
  Despite the sale, tensions over the future of 38 Oxley Road persisted, culminating in a public dispute in 2017, when the siblings aired their grievances online and in parliamentary discussions. The siblings claimed in June 2017 that after the sale of the property to LHY, the Singapore Government, via a "secret" ministerial committee headed by then-Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, raised concerns about the reinstatement of the demolition clause in the December 2013 will, which had been removed from earlier versions. LHL, then Prime Minister, stated in his 2017 Ministerial Statement that he addressed the allegations by his siblings, clarifying that he had recused himself from all decisions regarding 38 Oxley Road. He confirmed that the ministerial committee had been studying various options related to the house since then. In the same parliamentary session, then-DPM Teo stated that the government’s position was that “no decision is needed now,” as Dr Lee was still living in the property. With Dr Lee's passing, a decision will now have to be made. LHY's impending application to demolish the house is expected to spark renewed debate in Singapore, as the Government has yet to make a final decision on whether the house will be demolished or preserved as a historical landmark.