Singapore Government will keep all options open for 38 Oxley Road, ‘strive for solution that will unite’: David Neo in Ministerial Statement on 6 Nov 2025
By Ng Keng Gene, The Straits Times, 6 Nov 2025
- The Government plans to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a national monument to create a public heritage space.
- If acquired, the site will not be used for private purposes, with options kept open, respecting the Lee family's privacy.
- A detailed study will be conducted after access is gained, with the aim to finalise plans within this government term and with no public access in the interim.
In deciding to gazette the site at 38 Oxley Road as a national monument, the Government’s considerations were for the entire site and not for the buildings and structures within it, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo.
The thinking is to develop the site into a public space like a heritage park that Singaporeans can access if it is eventually preserved and acquired, Mr Neo told the House in a ministerial statement on Nov 6.
“We will keep all options open, and strive for a solution that will unite us as a country, rather than allow this to become a point of contention or division in our society,” he added.
Mr Neo said gazetting the site of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s family home as a national monument “does not obligate the Government to keep the buildings and structures within the site in their current condition”.
Noting that the authorities have not had the chance to enter the site to assess the condition of its buildings, he said: “That is a key reason why we are opting to preserve the site rather than just specific buildings or structures.”
The Government on Nov 3 announced its intention to gazette the roughly 1,100 sq m site as a national monument, citing its historical significance and national importance.
Mr Neo said the Government will conduct a detailed study of the site if access is obtained. “We will take into account factors like their existing condition and weigh the potential benefit of retaining them against the cost.”
All options will be considered for the site, he said, including those proposed by a ministerial committee on 38 Oxley Road in 2018, which include partial or full demolition of the buildings and structures.
Regardless of the option taken, the Government will respect Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his wife Kwa Geok Choo’s wishes to protect their family’s privacy, “by removing all traces of their private living spaces from the interior of the house”, Mr Neo said.
“Under no circumstance will the interior of the house, as Mr Lee and Madam Kwa knew, be displayed or recorded or remodelled or duplicated elsewhere.”
Mr Neo noted that other countries around the world have retained and converted sites associated with their nation’s independence for public education and appreciation, citing the Gandhi Ashram in India – the home of Mahatma Gandhi, who led the campaign for India’s independence from British colonial rule.
He also brought up the Independence National Historical Park in the US, which includes buildings that have witnessed key historical milestones, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence and its Constitution.
In many instances, said Mr Neo, changes have been made to such historical sites.
These, he said, include modifying or adapting the original buildings with new interpretive structures to better enable the public to experience the site as a park or heritage space.
That is why the Government will keep an open mind in the treatment of buildings and structures within 38 Oxley Road, he said.
Mr Neo told the House that the site was where Singapore’s early leaders formulated their vision, plans and values for the country, making it a “unique and foundational part of the story of Singapore’s independence”.
Should the Government acquire 38 Oxley Road, it will not be redeveloped for residential, commercial or other private uses, he said.
38 Oxley Road is currently owned by an entity called 38 Oxley Road Pte Ltd, whose sole shareholder is Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s younger son, Mr Lee Hsien Yang. Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s son, Mr Li Huanwu, is its director.
“Preserving the site means we will be able to avoid a situation where private parties attempt to purchase 38 Oxley Road in future just to have an address that is associated with Mr Lee’s residence,” said Mr Neo.
“I am sure all of us in this House, and the vast majority of Singaporeans, would want to make sure that situation does not happen.”
There has been a long-running dispute between Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s children over the fate of the Lee family home. The issue resurfaced in October 2024 after the death of Dr Lee Wei Ling, the sister of Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang subsequently submitted an application to the Urban Redevelopment Authority to demolish the property, which has been deferred.
On Nov 6, Mr Neo said the Government has decided to preserve the site “because it is the most responsible approach”.
The time has come to make a decision on the matter, he added.
“We will take the deliberate steps to decide. And we will do so in the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans, now and for the future.”
Mr Neo said that if 38 Oxley Road is gazetted as a national monument and subsequently acquired, the Government intends to conclude its plans on the exact use and configuration of the site, including the treatment of the buildings and structures, “well within this term of government”.
In the interim, there will be no public access to the site, he added.
Singapore’s next general election must be called by 2030.
The site’s owner – Mr Lee Hsien Yang – has until Nov 17 to submit objections to the Government’s plan to gazette the site.
The National Heritage Board, which will receive any such objections, will assess them and make a recommendation to Mr Neo for his consideration.
“All objections submitted and recommendations made will be considered objectively and fairly as part of due process,” said Mr Neo.
Thereafter, a preservation order will be made if the Government decides to gazette the site as a national monument.
The Government will then begin the process to acquire the site, as part of the plans to eventually make it accessible to the public, said Mr Neo. The acquisition will be done in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act.
Mr Neo noted that the site’s owner, any occupiers, and any other persons interested will be given the opportunity to submit their claims to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to determine the compensation.
A professional private valuer will also be appointed to assist SLA in determining the market value of the land, taking into consideration any claims submitted, he said.
If the owner is not satisfied with the compensation awarded, he can file an appeal with the Land Acquisition Appeals Board.
“The acquisition will allow the Government to take all necessary steps to safeguard the site and preserve it in keeping with its historical significance and national importance,” said Mr Neo.
Govt intends to gazette site of the late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s house at 38 Oxley Road as national monument
By Ng Keng Gene and Tham Yuen-C, The Straits Times, 3 Nov 2025
The site of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s family home at 38 Oxley Road has been earmarked to become a national monument and could be converted into a public heritage park.
On Nov 3, the Government announced that it intends to gazette the site to preserve it as a national monument, after the National Heritage Board’s Preservation of Sites and Monuments (PSM) Advisory Board assessed that it has historic significance and national importance.
If a preservation order is made, the Government plans to acquire the site to safeguard and preserve it, said the National Heritage Board (NHB) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) in a joint statement.
“If the site is preserved and acquired, the Government will convert it into a public space, with one possible outcome being a heritage park. This means the site cannot be redeveloped for residential, commercial or other private uses,” said NHB and SLA.
This is the latest development in the long-running dispute over the fate of the Lee family home at 38 Oxley Road, which is owned by Mr Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
The issue resurfaced in October 2024 after their sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, died. She had been living in the house after Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s death in 2015. Mr Lee Hsien Yang subsequently submitted an application to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to demolish the property.
On Nov 3, 2025, the authorities said NHB has recommended preserving the site, after the PSM Advisory Board found it “to be of national significance, with great historic merit”. This comes about a year after the NHB launched its formal assessment of 38 Oxley Road.
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo has accepted the recommendation.
Preserving the site does not obligate the Government to preserve all its existing buildings and structures in their current state, the authorities said, noting that they have not had the chance to assess what state these are in.
A detailed study will be carried out to consider the next steps.
NHB and SLA said the Government will consider all options for the site, including those proposed by a ministerial committee on 38 Oxley Road in its 2018 report, and intends to make a decision “well within this term of government”.
The committee had suggested a range of options, including retaining the property, retaining the dining room and tearing down the rest of the property, and demolishing it fully.
“Regardless of the option taken, the Government will respect Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes, and will remove all traces of Mr Lee’s and his family’s private living spaces from the buildings,” NHB and SLA said.
NHB said it has given Mr Lee Hsien Yang written notice of Mr Neo’s intention to make a preservation order.
Under the Preservation of Monuments Act 2009, Mr Lee Hsien Yang will be given two weeks – until Nov 17 – to submit any objections. The minister will consider every objection before making a final decision on whether to make an order to preserve the site as a national monument, the authorities said.
With the issuance of the notice to Mr Lee Hsien Yang, 38 Oxley Road is now legally recognised as a proposed national monument.
Singapore currently has 76 national monuments, with the latest one – three blocks of the former Kandang Kerbau Hospital in Hampshire Road – collectively gazetted on Oct 1, 2025. The former hospital premises had been listed as a proposed national monument since Sept 5.
Proposed monuments are accorded similar protections to gazetted monuments, and those who alter or change monuments in a way that affects their character and significance face punishment.
NHB’s PSM division is responsible for identifying and researching potential national monuments. It also recommends nationally significant sites or structures for preservation as national monuments, and advises the Government on matters relating to monuments.
The formal assessment of the 38 Oxley Road site announced in October 2024 was conducted by the PSM Advisory Board – comprising experts from various sectors – following a study by NHB for the 2018 ministerial committee report.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew died in March 2015, leaving the property to his eldest son, SM Lee, who was then Singapore’s prime minister.
In June 2016, the Cabinet – excluding then Prime Minister Lee, who had recused himself from all government decisions to be taken on the property – had tasked the ministerial committee to prepare drawer plans of various options for the property.
In 2017, the family feud over the house was made public by Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee, who were the joint administrators and executors of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s will.
The two younger siblings alleged that SM Lee wanted the pre-war one-storey bungalow preserved for his political gain, against their father’s wishes.
SM Lee subsequently refuted their accusations in a ministerial statement in Parliament, after having raised “grave concerns” over the “troubling circumstances” around the preparation of their late father’s final will.
The house now belongs solely to Mr Lee Hsien Yang after SM Lee sold it to him in 2015 at market value.
URA had deferred its evaluation of Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s demolition application, given the NHB study.
In a Facebook post on Nov 3, Mr Lee Hsien Yang said the order to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a national monument “effectively rejects the demolition application”.
“The PAP government has chosen to trample on Lee Kuan Yew’s unwavering wish to demolish his private house,” he added.
In response to queries, SM Lee’s press secretary, Ms Chang Li Lin, said: “SM Lee has recused himself from the matter... He has no comment to add.”
38 Oxley Road offers unique link to birth of independent Singapore, says Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo
By Isabelle Liew, The Straits Times, 6 Nov 2025
- Upcoming Founders’ Memorial cannot replicate Oxley’s ‘authenticity’, he says38 Oxley Road, Lee Kuan Yew's family home, is historically significant as the birthplace of independent Singapore and a site of key historical events.
- The Government intends to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a national monument to preserve its history and prevent private redevelopment.
- Preserving the site will enable future generations to understand Singapore's history and the values that shaped the nation, transitioning from colony to a sovereign nation.
The site at 38 Oxley Road, where the family home of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew is located, needs to be retained because of its historical significance to independent Singapore, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo.
Explaining the decision to earmark the site as a national monument, Mr Neo told Parliament on Nov 6 that very few sites here have such a confluence of “people, place and events”.
“As a young nation, we need to retain this unique site, for it bears witness to the birth of independent Singapore, and to key moments in our history,” he said.
Mr Neo also said Singapore is “not memorialising any single leader” in preserving the site.
Rather, such sites and markers will remind Singaporeans of the country’s hard-won path to becoming a multiracial, multi-religious and sovereign nation, in a way that is not “distant or abstract”, he said.
“We are safeguarding the grounds where future generations can stand – to understand where we came from, who we are, and what we overcame together,” he added.
Mr Neo also said that the Government’s approach to the 38 Oxley Road site was “the most responsible” one.
On Nov 3, the National Heritage Board (NHB) and Singapore Land Authority announced their intention to gazette 38 Oxley Road to preserve it as a national monument, after an advisory board assessed that it has historic significance and national importance.
If the site is preserved and acquired, it will be converted into a public space, with one possible option being a heritage park.
If the Government preserves and acquires the site, it cannot be redeveloped for residential, commercial or other private uses. This would avoid a situation where private parties attempt to purchase the property to have an address that is associated with Mr Lee’s residence, Mr Neo said.
NHB’s Preservation of Sites and Monuments advisory board had assessed the site to have strong national significance worthy of preservation as a national monument. Public officers on the advisory board had recused themselves during the assessment to ensure that the site was considered independently, Mr Neo noted.
In the 1950s, the site bore witness to pivotal events that marked Singapore’s transition from a British colony to an independent nation.
It also served as the venue for conversations, activities and decisions of Singapore’s founding leaders, which profoundly influenced the trajectory of the country’s independence movement and subsequent national history, Mr Neo said.
For example, the basement dining room of the house was where individuals such as Dr Goh Keng Swee, Dr Toh Chin Chye, Mr S. Rajaratnam and Mr K.M. Byrne discussed the feasibility of forming a political party to contest the 1955 Legislative Assembly election.
The site at 38 Oxley Road was also where some of these leaders formulated their vision, plans and values for Singapore, leading to the formation of the People’s Action Party, its victory in the 1959 Legislative Assembly election, and the country’s first fully independent government.
“This makes the site a unique and foundational part of the story of Singapore’s independence,” Mr Neo said, adding that he agreed with the advisory board’s recommendations.
“If preserved, the site would allow current and future generations of Singaporeans to reflect upon these significant events, and the ideals and values that have shaped Singapore.”
Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang) asked if the upcoming Founders’ Memorial would be able to capture the historical and national significance of the country’s founding values and ideals, without having to preserve 38 Oxley Road. Responding, Mr Neo said the Founders’ Memorial does not share the same sense of place as the Oxley site – a place that “housed all the critical events”.
“Being in the same space as those who came before us is not something that can be captured by replication at another site,” he said.
Slated to open in 2028, the Founders’ Memorial at Bay East Garden will have exhibition galleries and a 5ha outdoor garden. Its construction is estimated to cost $335 million.
Workers’ Party Non-Constituency MP Eileen Chong asked if the possible heritage park at the Oxley site would have “additional heritage value or visitor experience, beyond the sense of space”, compared with the Founders’ Memorial.
Mr Neo reiterated that the Founders’ Memorial, which is built on reclaimed land, is not the same space as 38 Oxley Road, where significant events took place and people came together.
“There will not be that same sense of authenticity,” he said.
If the Oxley Road site were to be preserved, it would add to the Founders’ Memorial to give Singaporeans “a fuller understanding of what it means to be Singaporean, our sense of national identity, and how we can forge forward as one people”, he added.
Basement dining room at 38 Oxley Road considered ‘less private’ than other parts of house by Govt
By Ng Keng Gene, The Straits Times, 6 Nov 2025
Spaces in 38 Oxley Road that have been documented in different forms of media, including the historically significant basement dining room, are considered “less private” by the Government, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo said on Nov 6.
Responding to Mr Ang Wei Neng (West Coast-Jurong West GRC) about what constitutes private living spaces on the site of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s family home, Mr Neo said that there are spaces, such as bedrooms, that “do not have any association with the historically significant events that took place at the site”.
Mr Neo had earlier repeated the Government’s position that it will respect Mr Lee’s wishes for his family’s privacy to be maintained by removing all traces of their private living spaces from the house at 38 Oxley Road.
To respect Mr Lee’s wishes, said the acting minister, personal spaces such as bedrooms are likely to be “reconfigured or removed”.
This could “range from removing furnishings, fixtures or any objects still left, to potentially also tearing down such spaces”, he said.
The acting minister on Nov 6 spent 50 minutes in Parliament responding to clarifications from 12 MPs on a 20-minute speech he had delivered.
In the speech, Mr Neo laid out the thinking behind the Government’s intention to gazette the site at 38 Oxley Road as a national monument.
Noting that public officers have yet to gain access to the site, Mr Neo said that the structural integrity and safety of buildings on the site will have to be ascertained before a decision is made on what can be removed.
The basement dining room is widely regarded as the most historically significant part of the house, and was where key players in 1950s politics – including the late Mr Lee – discussed their ideas for Singapore’s future.
The National Heritage Board (NHB) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) had said on Nov 3 that if the site is gazetted and subsequently acquired by the Government, 38 Oxley Road will be converted into a public space such as a heritage park.
A written notice of the Government’s plan to gazette the site was issued to its owner, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, on that day.
Other MPs, including Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC) and Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC), asked whether residents in the area and members of the public will get opportunities to give feedback on plans for the site.
Residents had earlier told The Straits Times that traffic congestion and illegal parking were among their concerns over the proposed national monument.
Reiterating that a decision had not been made on whether the site will be gazetted as a national monument – such a decision will be made only after a period for objections closes on Nov 17 – Mr Neo said that Government agencies “will conduct a holistic feasibility study on the potential options and the future use” if the site is acquired.
He said beyond considering the site’s use, the study will assess how future use will impact traffic and parking, and how public access can be granted without causing disamenities to the surrounding area.
“We will also engage residents, and we will consider their feedback as part of this process,” he said.
If the site is made a national monument, public agencies will also “identify possible stakeholder groups and conduct engagements to help shape the future of the site, and to ensure that the potential of the site for public education is maximised”, he said.
Those invited to give their views could include heritage enthusiasts and educators, as well as those who represent different demographic groups, such as young people and seniors.
At present, the landed housing area designation for 38 Oxley Road and its surrounds limits the height of buildings within the area to two storeys. Ms Gho Sze Kee (Mountbatten) asked if this designation will remain.
Mr Neo said that until a decision on whether the site will be gazetted as a national monument is made, “it will be quite premature for the Government to review the planning and development controls for the neighbourhood”.
Associate Professor Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) asked how the NHB’s Preservation Sites and Monuments Advisory Board weighs public interest against private ones before deciding if a site should be gazetted.
He cited Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes for the house to be demolished and its current owner Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s application for it to be torn down, beginning his clarifications by declaring that the Workers’ Party has received “financial contributions from certain members of the Lee family associated with the Oxley property”.
These contributions were declared under relevant regulations, he said, adding: “Nevertheless, we have received neither request nor guidance to speak on this matter, and the statements and questions that follow are entirely our own.”
In response, Mr Neo said that the advisory board scores potential national monuments based on technical merit and does not consider other things, such as an individual’s wishes.
He added that the criteria all potential national monuments are assessed on follow international best practices. The assessment, he said, includes qualitative and quantitative assessment of the identified site’s national significance, historical merit and architectural design merit.
Singapore’s advisory board comprises experts from various fields such as architecture, history and conservation, and is tasked with assessing the worthiness of potential national monuments identified by the NHB.
On the need to acquire the site if it is gazetted as a national monument – something Mr Foo Cexiang (Tanjong Pagar GRC) had sought clarity on – Mr Neo said that such a move is the best way to serve public interest.
“The Government has the resources and the expertise at its disposal to ensure that the site is properly maintained, and it is maintained in a manner that will be able to benefit Singaporeans,” said Mr Neo.
Mr Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) asked if an independent valuation of 38 Oxley Road would be carried out before acquisition, and if the cost of acquisition would be made public even if established processes do not require such disclosure.
Mr Neo had earlier said that any acquisition of the property would be done in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act, and that a professional private valuer would be appointed to assist SLA to determine the market value of the land.
In December 2015, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his younger brother Lee Hsieng Yang came to an agreement for the elder Mr Lee to sell his younger brother the house at fair market value.
The elder Mr Lee gave what he had received to charity, while the younger Mr Lee donated half the value of the house to charity.
Then PM Lee said in 2017 that the donations were made so that the Lee family would be seen “not to be benefitting financially from 38 Oxley Road either through receiving compensation from the state for acquisition, or resisting acquisition or preservation or conservation to profit by redeveloping and selling the property”.
Asked by Mr Giam if the cost of acquisition will be disclosed, Mr Neo said: “I am not totally au fait with what is required under the Land Acquisition Act, but my commitment to the member is that due process will be given and it will follow the requirements under the Land Acquisition Act.”
The acting minister added: “If the Act requires a disclosure, the disclosure will be done as well.”
38 Oxley Road site has ‘strong national significance’ and great historic merit, says National Heritage Board’s Preservation of Sites and Monuments (PSM) division advisory board
By Ng Keng Gene and Isabelle Liew, The Straits Times, 3 Nov 2025
- 38 Oxley Road, Lee Kuan Yew's home, holds "strong national significance" and may be preserved as a national monument, according to an advisory board assessment.
- The house was the venue for key political activities and decisions by Singapore's founding leaders, shaping the nation's independence movement.
- The site, one of few remaining Early style bungalows, served as the PAP's election HQ and a place where Lee Kuan Yew worked when he was PM.
The site of the family home of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew at 38 Oxley Road has been assessed to have strong national significance worthy of preservation as a national monument, an advisory board said.
The site bore witness to pivotal events in the 1950s that marked Singapore’s transition from a colony to an independent nation and was “more than just the home” of Mr Lee, said the National Heritage Board’s Preservation of Sites and Monuments (PSM) division advisory board on Nov 3.
“The modest buildings contrast with the impactful and consequential decisions taken there,” it said in its statement of assessment.
In October 2024, the National Heritage Board (NHB) said that the PSM advisory board would carry out a study of 38 Oxley Road to determine whether it has national historical, heritage and architectural significance as to be worthy of preservation.
On Nov 3, the advisory board said the site has great historic merit, noting that it served as the venue for political conversations, activities and decisions of Singapore’s founding leaders, which profoundly influenced the trajectory of the country’s independence movement and subsequent national history.
“This makes the site a foundational part of the story of Singapore’s independence, which is not represented by any other site or monument,” it said.
Preserving the site would allow present and future generations of Singaporeans to reflect on the gravity of these significant events, as well as the ideals and values that have come to shape Singapore, the advisory board added.
Mr Tan Kok Hiang, who chairs the PSM advisory board, said: “38 Oxley Road was where the foundations of Singapore’s independence were established. The board was unanimous about its national significance, and it fills a critical gap in educating current and future generations about this pivotal stage in our history.”
Mr Lee lived in the property from the mid-1940s until his death in 2015. He initially rented the property, before purchasing it in 1965 with his wife Kwa Geok Choo.
The NHB earlier studied the property for a 2018 ministerial committee report that laid out a range of options for it, such as retaining or demolishing it.
This study, published in April 2018, considered the site’s historical and architectural significance. It also considered the property’s authenticity by documenting the changes to the house, which was built in the late 1890s.
The study noted the house’s association with key national events.
“The individuals who gathered in the basement of No. 38 Oxley Road became key players in the politics of that era and altered the destiny of the country,” it said.
Specifically, it was in the basement dining room of the house that the founding members of the PAP began meeting in the 1950s to consider the feasibility of forming a political party.
The PAP made its debut at the 1955 Legislative Assembly election and the house served as the party’s election headquarters.
Preparations for that election were made by the PAP in the house’s verandah, where unionists and postal workers prepared posters.
The PAP has won every general election in Singapore since 1959 – when the party conducted its campaign largely out of Oxley Road.
Later, as prime minister, Mr Lee worked on national matters at a teak desk in the house’s study.
As for its rarity, 38 Oxley Road is one of the last remaining bungalow-style houses in the area, where such houses were once common.
A “twin” bungalow that was formerly located at 40 Oxley Road has since been demolished, with its plot subdivided into three lots – now 40, 42 and 44 Oxley Road.
Of the more than 200 bungalows that have been conserved in Singapore, said NHB in 2018, 16 are from the Early style, which 38 Oxley Road belongs to.
Bungalows in the Early style were built from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, and are generally one-storey tall.
As it was built on a slope, 38 Oxley Road has a single storey at the front and two storeys towards the rear.
The house has a high-pitched roof, which suggests lofty ceilings typical of bungalows, allowing hot air to rise and cool air to sink, resulting in cooler rooms.
The building is also elevated on arched masonry, which helps ventilate its basement space.
According to the 2018 ministerial committee report, 38 Oxley Road bears close resemblance to two conserved Early style bungalows – 733 Mountbatten Road and 9 Buckley Road.
What’s next for 38 Oxley Road?
By Ng Keng Gene, The Straits Times, 4 Nov 2025
The Government on Nov 3 announced its intention to gazette 38 Oxley Road – the site of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s family home – as a national monument.
If gazetted and subsequently acquired by the Government, the site will be converted into a public space such as a heritage park, the authorities said.
The National Heritage Board (NHB) started this process on Nov 3 by issuing a written notice – formally called a notice of intention – to the site’s owner, Mr Lee Hsien Yang.
The notice states Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo’s intention to gazette the site as a national monument.
Buildings, structures and sites become national monuments when the culture, community and youth minister makes a preservation order to place them under the NHB’s protection.
The Straits Times unpacks what could happen in the lead-up to the site officially becoming a national monument.
What happens now that the Government has decided to gazette 38 Oxley Road as a national monument?
When Mr Lee was issued the notice of intention on Nov 3, the site at 38 Oxley Road became legally known as a proposed national monument.
Proposed national monuments are accorded similar protections as gazetted monuments, and those who alter or change monuments in a way that affects their character and significance face punishment under the Preservation of Monuments Act.
Mr Lee has two weeks, or until Nov 17, to submit any objections to the planned preservation order.
Mr Neo will then consider objections received – if any – before making a final decision on whether to place a preservation order on the site, which will legally give it national monument status.
The law does not dictate how long the minister can take to decide on whether he will make a preservation order after the notice of intention is issued.
This means it is not publicly known when 38 Oxley Road will be gazetted should Mr Neo’s final decision be to gazette it.
Will any objections received by the NHB stop 38 Oxley Road from being gazetted as a national monument?
No. The Preservation of Monuments Act obliges the minister to consider every objection received to the planned preservation order.
There is nothing to stop the minister from making a preservation order thereafter.
Administrative law expert Kevin Tan, an adjunct professor at the National University of Singapore, said the minister’s decision is final.
He said this means that unless there is an objection based on illegality, irrationality, or breach of the rules of natural justice, there is no further way to challenge the preservation order.
Professor Tan said illegality could include, for example, a situation where the minister exceeded his jurisdiction, failed to exercise his discretion properly, or acted in bad faith.
What will happen after a preservation order is issued?
The Government plans to acquire the site if a preservation order is issued. Post-acquisition, public officers can assess the physical condition of the property, and also prepare preservation guidelines – a document that spells out exact features of the monument which must be preserved.
According to a report published in 2018 by a ministerial committee tasked to study the future of 38 Oxley Road, “once a preservation order is served upon the owner and the occupier (if different from the owner) of the monument, the architecture of the property (including the dining room) cannot be modified in any manner contrary to the preservation guidelines issued by the NHB”.
Each monument is issued a unique set of preservation guidelines.
It was in the property’s dining room that “ideas and decisions that came to shape Singapore’s future were discussed and made” by key players in 1950s politics, said the report.
The report noted that, “given that the property is currently being occupied as a dwelling house, the state is legally required to acquire it within one year from the date of the preservation order”.
“This is to free the owner from all forms of imposition arising from the preservation,” it added.
Dr Lee Wei Ling – Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s daughter – was the last known resident of the house. She died in the home on Oct 9, 2024.
After acquisition, a physical study of the site is needed to prepare the preservation guidelines mentioned in the ministerial committee report. It is otherwise not possible for NHB officers to determine which features found on the site – and the structures within it – are worth preserving.
However, the NHB said on Nov 3 that the authorities “have not had the chance to assess the state of the buildings and structures” within 38 Oxley Road.
ST has sought clarification from the NHB on whether any public officers have attempted to enter the site to study it.
The NHB said in a statement to ST that preservation guidelines are prepared after a preservation order is made.
For instance, when 11 features were collectively gazetted as part of Fort Siloso, Singapore’s 74th national monument, in 2022, the director of NHB’s preservation of sites and monuments division, Ms Jean Wee, said the preservation guidelines would take at least two years to produce.
For 38 Oxley Road, the authorities have indicated that preservation guidelines will be prepared only after the property is acquired by the Government and becomes state property, which public officers can enter without requiring permission from a private owner.
Without the NHB’s written permission, no work should be done on a monument or proposed monument from the time a notice of intention is given until the preservation guidelines are issued.
Work done after that also requires the board’s written permission.
Prof Tan said that making a preservation order on a site that public officers have not been able to enter is a pre-emptive move that protects it from damage.
“An officer does not need to be in a site to know of its historical and national importance,” he said, adding that this is especially true for structures that are not being kept because of architectural merit.
What will the national monument at 38 Oxley Road comprise?
Based on a draft preservation order issued alongside the notice of intention, the monument will comprise the land lot that the property sits on, as well as buildings and structures within the land lot.
The lot has an area of about 1,100 sq m, which is about the size of 2½ basketball courts.
How will the compensation that Mr Lee Hsien Yang receives for 38 Oxley Road be determined?
Should a preservation order for 38 Oxley Road be made, the property will be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act. Compensation will be determined in accordance with the Act, and account for the market value of the site as at the date of acquisition.
The Singapore Land Authority, which manages state land – including through acquisitions – will appoint a professional property valuer to assist it in determining the market value of the site.
Mr Karamjit Singh, chief executive of property consultancy Delasa, said that in general, the key factors that valuers consider are location, tenure and redevelopment potential.
He noted that the redevelopment potential is affected by several factors, such as the site’s area, whether a land betterment charge is payable upon redevelopment, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s plan for the site.
Mr Singh added that for old houses being purchased for their redevelopment potential, buyers tend to disregard the value and condition of the existing house, but instead consider how many new homes they can build on the site, and how much they can sell these homes for.
Prof Tan said that parties affected by the acquisitions under the Land Acquisition Act may appeal against the compensation to be awarded, but not against the acquisition itself.
This means that Mr Lee will not be able to stop the acquisition.
Why does gazetting the site as a national monument not oblige the Government to preserve all the buildings and structures on the site in their current state?
The Preservation of Monuments Act allows the minister to amend or revoke the preservation order.
The Act also allows for structures and parts of buildings to be gazetted as a national monument.
One possibility laid out by the ministerial committee in 2018 was to gazette only the property’s dining room – the most historically significant part of the house – while allowing the rest of the house to be demolished.
Doing so, said the committee, is one way to fulfil Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wish to tear down the building.
It, however, noted that there may be a loss of context if the dining room is retained, but not the rest of the property.
The founding prime minister had stated in his will his wish for the building to be torn down.
He also said in his will that if demolition was not possible, the house should “never be opened to others except my children, their families and descendants”.
The NHB said on Nov 3 that if the property is gazetted and acquired, the Government will remove all traces of private living spaces to respect Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes for privacy. It did not give its definition of “private living spaces”.
One example of a building that was only partially gazetted as a national monument is the former Cathay Building in Handy Road.
The facade of the building was gazetted as a monument in February 2003, while the rest of it was replaced by a modern glass-cladded building in the 2000s.
Additional reporting by Grace Leong
38 Oxley Road: A timeline of events since the Lee family feud became public
By Tham Yuen-C, The Straits Times, 3 Nov 2025
When founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s last will was read on April 12, 2015, less than a month after his death, his three children had disagreed on the fate of his 38 Oxley Road house.
The family feud spilled into public view on June 14, 2017, when Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling, the two younger siblings, went online to denounce their elder brother, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
They accused him of trying to block the demolition of their late father’s house against his wish.
They believed their father wanted the house demolished without compromise, but then PM Lee was of the view that Mr Lee Kuan Yew was prepared to consider alternatives should the Government decide otherwise.
This arose because of their different interpretations of a demolition clause in their father’s will.
The elder Mr Lee – who died on March 23, 2015, aged 91 – had bequeathed the house to then PM Lee. But he transferred the property to his brother Lee Hsien Yang at market value in late 2015, in a bid to resolve the siblings’ disagreement over the fate of the property.
This was done on the condition that they both donated to charity an amount equal to half the value of the house. In addition to that, then PM Lee had donated a further equivalent sum.
After the transfer of the house, the three siblings issued a joint statement about their hope that the Government will allow the house to be demolished.
Then PM Lee also said in the statement that he had recused himself from all government decisions involving 38 Oxley Road and, in his personal capacity, would also like to see his father’s wish honoured.
The matter, however, did not end there. Disagreements continued on issues like the role played by Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s lawyer wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern, in the will; the involvement of a ministerial committee on the property; and transparency on government procedures and conflicts of interest in key public appointments.
Even as the private spat was brewing, a ministerial committee, reporting to then Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, was set up in June 2016 to prepare drawer plans on various options for the house.
Explaining the committee’s role, then DPM Teo said it was not secret, and that he had set it up as the Government has the responsibility to consider the public interest aspects of any property with heritage and historical significance.
He said due process was needed to consider the various options before making any decision on 38 Oxley Road.
He added that some members of the Cabinet, including himself, felt it would be useful if a future government deciding on the house had a set of options that came from ministers who had personally discussed this matter with the late Mr Lee.
Others in the committee included then Minister for Law K. Shanmugam, then Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu and then Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong.
This is what happened after the dispute went public:
June 19, 2017: PM Lee, who was on vacation when his siblings went public with the family feud, issues a statement and a video of his apology.
In it, he expresses deep regret that the dispute with his siblings has harmed Singapore’s reputation and affected confidence in the Government.
He says he will deliver a ministerial statement to refute the “baseless accusations” his siblings have made against the Government.
He urges all MPs to examine the issues thoroughly and to question him and his Cabinet colleagues vigorously, adding that he has instructed that the PAP whip be lifted. This allows MPs to speak according to their conscience and not be bound by their party’s position.
July 3 to 4, 2017: PM Lee refutes the charges of abuse of power over 38 Oxley Road in Parliament.
He says there is no evidence to back up the claims, and that he and the Government have acted properly and with due process.
Among other things, questions around transparency on government procedures and conflicts of interest in key public appointments come up for scrutiny during the two-day debate in the House.
PM Lee says Singaporeans have been given a full account of how the Government works and what it has done in the case of the late Mr Lee’s house.
He also discloses that the late Mr Lee had signed off on plans to redevelop the house – an indication that even as he wished for it to be demolished when he died, he was prepared to consider other options.
PM Lee distributes two family e-mails to MPs showing that the late Mr Lee approved the plans for the bungalow and how they were done “honestly, transparently, not on false pretences”.
A total of 36 ministers and MPs speak over two days.
July 6, 2017: After the Parliament session, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee say in a seven-page joint statement that they will stop making further posts against PM Lee for the time being, provided their wish and their father’s desire to demolish the Oxley Road house “are not attacked or misrepresented”.
They say that the recent Parliament session raised more questions than answers, and give a summary of their case against their elder brother and also their side of the story about how the rift came about.
April 2, 2018: The ministerial committee issues its report, outlining three possible options for the house: retaining it in whole by gazetting it as a national monument or for conservation, retaining just the historic basement dining room, or allowing it to be fully demolished.
It says the decision on which of the options to adopt will be left to a future government, as no decision is currently required. Dr Lee has said she intends to continue living in the house.
The committee says it assessed that 38 Oxley Road has architectural, heritage and historical significance.
The release of the report is accompanied by a separate 31-page report by the National Heritage Board (NHB), detailing the house’s historic and architectural interest.
Oct 15, 2024: Questions over the fate of the house resurface after the death of Dr Lee on Oct 9, 2024. She had lived in the house until the end.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang says he will be applying to demolish the house to build a small private dwelling.
In a Facebook post, he says he intends for the dwelling to then “be held within the family in perpetuity”.
Separately, the Ministry of National Development says it has taken note of Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s post, and adds that the Government “will carefully consider issues related to the property in due course, taking into account Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes and the public interest, including considering any applications with regard to the property”.
Oct 21, 2024: Mr Lee Hsien Yang makes an application to the Urban Redevelopment Authority to demolish the house.
Oct 24, 2024: NHB announces that it will carry out a study of 38 Oxley Road to assess if the house is worthy of preservation as a national monument.
It says the study – to be conducted by its Preservation of Sites and Monuments advisory board, which comprises experts from various sectors – will determine if the site “has national historical, heritage and architectural significance as to be worthy of preservation”.
Oct 25, 2024: Mr Lee Hsien Yang calls on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to decide on the fate of 38 Oxley Road. Posting on Facebook, he says it is PM Wong’s responsibility to do so and adds that he has had nine years to consider what to do.
He adds that the late Mr Lee had wanted the house to be demolished immediately after Dr Lee stops living there, and says “further delay would trample on the last wishes of Lee Kuan Yew, whom you claim to honour”.
The Ministry of Digital Development and Information replies to say the claim that the house should be immediately demolished is inaccurate.
The ministry adds, through its spokesperson, that while the late Mr Lee had stated his preference for the house to be demolished in his will, he also acknowledged that it may be preserved.
The spokesperson also says that Mr Lee Hsien Yang is “trying to create a false urgency by pushing for the immediate demolition of the property”.
Nov 3, 2025: The Government announces that it intends to gazette the 38 Oxley Road site to preserve it as a national monument, having assessed it to be of historic significance and national importance.
Related
Intention to gazette the site at 38 Oxley Road as National Monument, for possible use as a heritage park -3 Nov 2025
Government’s Intention to Preserve the Site of 38 Oxley Road -Ministerial Statement by Mr David Neo, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Senior Minister of State for Education on 6 Nov 2025
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