SINGAPORE: On Jan 29 (Thursday), the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and the National Heritage Board (NHB) issued a statement saying that 38 Oxley Road, the site of the home of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, had been gazetted for acquisition to “safeguard and preserve it in keeping with its historic significance and national importance.”
The site had been gazetted on December 12, 2025, as a National Monument.
The statement added that the acquisition of 38 Oxley Road means that it cannot be redeveloped for any purpose and that a study will be undertaken in preparation for the next steps for the site. All options, including those proposed in a ministerial committee report in 2018, will be considered.
It also underlined the Government’s commitment to respect Mr Lee’s wishes to protect the privacy of his family, which will be done through removing all traces of their private living spaces inside the home.
“Under no circumstances will the interior of the house as Mr Lee knew, be displayed, recorded, remodelled or duplicated elsewhere,” the statement said, adding that the SLA and NHB will work with the owner of the home, Mr Lee’s second son Lee Hsien Yang, through the acquisition process.
The compensation for 38 Oxley Road will be determined in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act 1966, which considers its market value at the date of the gazette of the acquisition, as well as claims submitted by the persons interested.
After the October 2024 death of Dr Lee Wei Ling, Mr Lee’s daughter, who had been living at 38 Oxley Road, Lee Hsien Yang applied to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to demolish the property.
Mr Lee said he was submitting the application to demolish the house to honour his father’s last wishes. He added that he also planned to build a small private home on the lot, which he intended to be held within the family in perpetuity.
His father had expressed in his will that he wished the house would be demolished “immediately after” Dr Lee moved out.
“It is my duty to carry out his wishes to the fullest extent of the law,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
In November 2025, however, the Government announced its intention to preserve the site as a national monument.
Mr Lee has yet to comment on the announcement from the SLA and NHB, although netizens have not held back their opinions regarding the latest development involving the Lee family home.
“38 Oxley will be remembered as the house where LKY’s last wish was not granted and the place where Lee siblings fought over,” wrote a Facebook user, referring to the rift between Lee Hsien Yang and the late Dr Lee, whose relationships with Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong have been strained over the past years.
Another called it a “house of disputes that tore LKY’s family to bits. That is no longer a worthy remembrance place for LKY’s legacy.”
A Reddit user wrote, “I know that this place is very important to Singapore as a country, LKY has stated that he wishes for it to be demolished. I personally have mixed views, but I do feel like it’s better to respect a person’s wishes at the end of their life.”
“I don’t really see the reasoning here, especially cause it’s been so publicised and public reaction is mostly polarised,” another chimed in.
Others brought up the Founders Memorial, saying that it is a sufficient tribute to the late Mr Lee.
One, meanwhile, wrote that he wished that the latest development would finally put an end to the matter. /TISG
Read also: Jamus Lim: 38 Oxley Road issue is ‘a family dispute best settled privately’
