SINGAPORE, Nov 3 (Bernama-Xinhua) — Singapore plans to preserve the longtime home of Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s first prime minister and widely credited founding leader, as a National Monument that may eventually become a public heritage space, Xinhua reported.
In a joint statement on Monday, Singapore’s National Heritage Board (NHB) and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said that the site at 38 Oxley Road “bore witness to pivotal events in the 1950s that marked Singapore’s transition from a colony to an independent nation.”
The NHB launched a formal assessment of the site on Oct 24, 2024. Based on its findings, the board has recommended that the site be preserved.
Acting Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth David Neo has accepted the recommendation and intends to gazette the site as a National Monument.
If a Preservation Order is issued, the government intends to acquire the site “to safeguard it and preserve it in keeping with its historic significance and national importance,” the statement said. Upon acquisition, the site will be converted into a public space, with one possible outcome being a heritage park.
The NHB has issued a written notice to the owner and occupier of the site, who will be given “a reasonable period to submit any objections.”
Local media have reported that the property is owned by Lee Kuan Yew’s youngest son Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
The statement added that “preserving the site does not obligate the government to preserve all the buildings and structures on the site in their current state.” Once access is obtained, authorities will conduct a detailed study to determine how to proceed.
“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,” it said.
The Oxley Road house was the home of Lee Kuan Yew from 1950 until his death in 2015.
— BERNAMA-XINHUA