38 Oxley Road: A timeline of events

SINGAPORE: Mr Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, said on Tuesday (Oct 15) that he would apply to demolish their family home at 38 Oxley Road.

This came days after his sister Dr Lee Wei Ling died. The only daughter of Mr Lee Kuan Yew had continued living at 38 Oxley Road after her father's death in 2015.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang said his decision was in accordance with his parents' wishes, and that he was now the sole legal owner of the house.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said in response to CNA's queries that they have not received any applications regarding 38 Oxley Road. 

WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOUSE? 

The property at 38 Oxley Road was built in the late 19th century, and Mr Lee Kuan Yew lived there from the 1940s until his death. 

The house is associated with key events in Singapore's history. Founding fathers such as Dr Goh Keng Swee and Dr Toh Chin Chye held meetings in its basement dining room in the 1950s, which led to the formation of today's ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). 

Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s children - Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the late Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang - also grew up at 38 Oxley Road.

WHAT DID LEE KUAN YEW WANT FOR IT?

Mr Lee Kuan Yew had on several occasions publicly expressed his wish for the house to be demolished after his death. 

He stated in a letter to the Cabinet in October 2010 that it should “not be kept as a kind of relic for people to tramp through” and that it has “no merit as architecture”. 

In his book Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, published in January 2011, he was quoted as saying: "Because of my house the neighbouring houses cannot build high. Now demolish my house and change the planning rules, go up, the land value will go up."

He reiterated his stance in July 2011 in another letter to the Cabinet.

But this met with opposition from Cabinet ministers when he asked them about it.

Subsequently, in another letter to the Cabinet in December 2011, Mr Lee said he had reflected on the matter after the Cabinet was unanimous in saying the property should not be demolished; and that he had decided that if it was to be preserved, work needed to be carried out.

The house should have its foundations reinforced and the whole building refurbished, and then be let out for people to live in, as an empty building will “soon decline and decay”, he said. 

Yet in his final will executed in 2013, Mr Lee returned to saying he wanted the house to be demolished, and if that were not possible, the property should be closed to everyone except family and descendants.

MR LEE KUAN YEW'S LETTERS TO CABINET, IN FULL

HOW DID IT BECOME AN ISSUE?

The family home became a subject of public interest after Mr Lee Kuan Yew's death on Mar 23, 2015.

On Jun 14, 2017, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee took to social media to accuse Mr Lee Hsien Loong, who was prime minister at the time, of misrepresenting their father for political gain. They stressed that their father had wanted 38 Oxley Road to be demolished.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee said they felt threatened in trying to fulfil this wish of their father’s. They also accused Mr Lee Hsien Loong of abusing his influence in government to drive a personal agenda.

A day later, Mr Lee Hsien Loong uploaded a five-page statement on Facebook stating he had "serious questions" about how the last will of his father was prepared.

He said that when Mr Lee Kuan Yew's last will was read on April 12, 2015, Mr Lee Hsien Yang had repeatedly insisted on demolishing the house immediately; and that the discussion ended only when Dr Lee said she wished to continue living in the house.

In his statement, Mr Lee Hsien Loong also said he had not challenged the validity of his father's last will in court, as he hoped to avoid a public fight that would tarnish Mr Lee Kuan Yew's and his family’s name and reputation.

Upon Mr Lee Kuan Yew's death, his estate was divided equally among the three siblings, and his final will included a clause that allowed Dr Lee to stay there for as long as she desired. 

To resolve the family dispute amicably, Mr Lee Hsien Loong said he was prepared to transfer his share of 38 Oxley Road to Dr Lee for a nominal sum of S$1, on the condition that should the property be transacted later or acquired by the government, all proceeds would go to charity. 

But a resolution proved impossible.

After the 2015 General Election in September, Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang agreed to a fresh proposal by Mr Lee Hsien Loong to transfer his 38 Oxley Road share to Mr Lee Hsien Yang at market value, on the condition that the brothers each donated an amount equivalent to half of that value to charity. 

This was to pre-empt any future controversies over compensation or redevelopment proceeds. 

Mr Lee Hsien Loong said he was prepared to do this so that his brother and Dr Lee could handle the 38 Oxley Road matter “as they saw fit between them”. 

“This is consistent with the position that I had always held and conveyed to my family: That it is not tenable for the family to retain proceeds from any dealing with 38 Oxley Road, as it would look like the family is opposing acquisition and preservation of the house for monetary reasons,” said Mr Lee Hsien Loong at the time. 

“Lee Hsien Yang was and continues to be unhappy about my taking this position. So, it would appear, is Lee Wei Ling,” Mr Lee Hsien Loong had said.  

Five days after his siblings first went public with their accusations, Mr Lee Hsien Loong apologised to Singaporeans for the effect it had on the country's reputation, and Singaporeans' confidence in the government. 

In a statement on Jun 19, 2017, he added that "as the eldest of the siblings, it grieves me to think of the anguish that this would have caused our parents if they were still alive".

HOW DID THE SINGAPORE GOVERNMENT RESPOND? 

The saga made headlines in some of the world's biggest newspapers, which led to Mr Lee Hsien Loong delivering a ministerial statement in parliament on Jul 3, 2017.

Urging all Members of Parliament to "examine the issues thoroughly and question me and my Cabinet colleagues vigorously", he said he hoped a full airing of the issue would dispel doubts and strengthen confidence in the country's institutions and system of government.

A ministerial committee on 38 Oxley Road was convened to consider the fate of the house. It is chaired by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, and included then Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, Minister for Law K Shanmugam and then Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong. The latter is now prime minister.

In April 2018, the committee released a final report on the matter, with three proposals: Retaining the house in whole; retaining just the historic basement dining room; or allowing it to be demolished.

"In reaching our views on Mr Lee Kuan Yew's wishes, we relied particularly on the objective evidence placed before us and the key concrete steps that Mr Lee Kuan Yew himself took in his lifetime to put his wishes into effect," Mr Teo said previously. 

"This included the demolition clause in Mr Lee Kuan Yew's last will, his letter to Cabinet dated Dec 27, 2011, as well as the renovation/redevelopment plans for 38 Oxley Road, which he submitted to the URA in March 2012, and obtained approval for."

The report did not make any recommendations and noted "there (was) no need to make a decision on the property" at the time, as Dr Lee was still living there.

"The various options in the report are meant to help a future government make an informed and considered decision when the need arises," the committee said.

WHAT DO WILL DISPUTES HAVE TO DO WITH THE ISSUE? 

In the final version of his will in 2013, Mr Lee Kuan Yew said he wanted the house to be demolished. If that were not possible, the property should be closed to everyone except family and descendants.

In his ministerial statement in 2017, Mr Lee Hsien Loong pointed out that the clause about the demolition had been removed in the fifth and sixth versions of the will, and only reinserted in the seventh and final will. 

The first six wills were prepared by Mr Lee Kuan Yew's lawyer, Madam Kwa Kim Li, between August 2011 and November 2012.

She was not involved in preparing the seventh and final will, executed on Dec 17, 2013 with the involvement of Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife Mrs Lee Suet Fern, a lawyer.

Mrs Lee Suet Fern was later found guilty in 2020 of grossly improper professional conduct in her handling of her father-in-law's last will. 

A disciplinary tribunal as well as the Court of Three Judges - the highest disciplinary body dealing with lawyers' misconduct - found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee Suet Fern misled the late Mr Lee in the context of the execution of his last will, and that they had lied under oath during the proceedings.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee Suet Fern left Singapore in 2022 after deciding not to attend a scheduled police interview related to the matter. Earlier in October, Mr Lee Hsien Yang posted on Facebook saying he would not return to Singapore for his sister’s wake and funeral. 

Mdm Kwa was also ordered to pay S$13,000 in penalties over misconduct in relation to the late Mr Lee’s wills in 2023. 

She had to pay S$5,000 for failing to "scrupulously safeguard" the late Mr Lee's confidentiality while handling his will, and S$8,000 for misleading Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee in an email response to their queries.

This was after Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee, as executors of their father's estate, made four complaints against Mdm Kwa, of which two were eventually referred to a disciplinary tribunal. 

The first claimed that Mdm Kwa breached privilege and duties of confidentiality by sending emails with records of communications with Mr Lee Kuan Yew to all three children, even though Mr Lee Hsien Loong was not an executor of the estate. The second alleged that she had given false and misleading information to the executors in her emails. 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? 

In his Facebook post on Tuesday, Mr Lee Hsien Yang confirmed that with the passing of his sister, he was now the “sole legal owner of 38 Oxley Road”. 

“Lee Hsien Loong said in parliament in 2015 that when Wei Ling passed, it would be up to ‘the government of the day’ to decide whether to allow demolition," Mr Lee Hsien Yang wrote in his post.

“It has been nine years. That day is today.” 

In response to CNA's queries, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said it has noted Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s intention to apply for the demolition of the house. 

“(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,” MND said in its statement. 

Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s application is likely to be “long-drawn” since the government has yet to decide on the future of 38 Oxley Road, said political commentator Eugene Tan. 

He also said the matter was unlikely to be an issue at elections, which must be held by November 2025.

“Even if any party seeks to make it an issue, it is unlikely to be one that voters will be deeply concerned about,” he added. “But it is an issue that the ruling party would rather not distract voters from their election manifesto.” 

Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies, echoed that view.

"I think there are other factors that are more pressing and perhaps more of a determinant as far as the electoral outcome is concerned," he added. 

The issue may come up during campaigning, but is unlikely to sway votes, said Dr Mustafa. 

"But if it becomes a lot more heated, intense and it continues to drag on, then maybe," he added, noting that there is still "quite a runway" until the next elections. 

While the 2018 ministerial committee report offers three options, the Cabinet is not bound by any of them, said Assoc Prof Tan. 

He said there were pros and cons to the proposed fates of 38 Oxley Road - demolishing the house keeps to the wishes of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his wife, while preserving the house has heritage or historical value.

This also does not have to be a “binary decision" and there can be a solution “halfway” between the two, so that the issue need not be contested in the public eye, the associate professor of law at Singapore Management University noted. 

He suggested, for example, that the basement dining room be relocated to a Founders’ Memorial currently being constructed.

Noting that 38 Oxley Road is private property that has a large amount of public interest because of its history, Dr Mustafa similarly called for the government to negotiate a compromise about how to deal with the house. 

"I think if the government takes that kind of approach it would go down well with the population."