38 Oxley Road: A timeline of events since the Lee family feud became public
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The house at 38 Oxley Road, which belonged to founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
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SINGAPORE – 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
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 PM Lee. But PM Lee transferred the property to his brother, Mr 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, 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.
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, 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.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew acknowledged in a Dec 27, 2011 letter written to the Cabinet that Cabinet members unanimously felt that 38 Oxley Road should not be demolished.
PHOTO: MCCY
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.
He 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.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his wife Madam Kwa Geok Choo at their home at Oxley Road with their three children, (from left) sons Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Hsien Yang and daughter Lee Wei Ling.
PHOTO: LEE FAMILY
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, 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.
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”.
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.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Oct 21, 2024: Mr Lee Hsien Yang makes an application to the Urban Redevelopment Authority to demolish the house.
Oct 24, 2024: The National Heritage Board (NHB) announces that it will carry out a study of 38 Oxley Road
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”.
The basement dining room at 38 Oxley Road. This was where the founding members of the People's Action Party (PAP) discussed setting up a new party.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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.
