In August 2011, Mr Lee Kuan Yew decided to will 38 Oxley Road to son Lee Hsien Loong and told the family so.
Mr Lee's concern for the house was that the house should not become run‐down and dilapidated, and that it should not be an expensive burden to maintain....
His wife, Mdm Kwa Geok Choo had a different concern, one of privacy.
She felt strongly that her private living spaces should always remain private. She had been most distressed at the thought of people tramping through her personal spaces after she and her husband passed away, to gawk at how they had lived.
PM Lee and Ho Ching came up with a proposal to renovate the house that will demolish all the private living spaces to preserve the privacy of the family while preserving the basement dining room which was of historical significance.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew accepted this proposal. Everyone in the family were kept fully informed of the considerations and intentions.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew also met the architect, went through the proposal, and approved the scheme to reinforce the foundations and renovate the house.
He signed the authorisation to submit the development application to URA on 28 March 2012, which URA approved on 17 April 2012. (See: https://www.facebook.com/
Lee Hsien Yang raised no objections to all of these plans despite being fully informed. He raised them only after Mr Lee Kuan Yew had passed away.
Excerpt from PM Lee's speech on the plans for 38 Oxley Road as discussed with his father, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew:
In August 2011, about a month after the Cabinet meeting, my father decided to will 38 Oxley Road to me as part of my share of his estate, and told the family.
Ho Ching and I knew my father’s wishes and also my mother’s feelings....
We also knew how Cabinet and the public viewed the matter.
We started discussing alternatives with my father, to see how best we could fulfill his wishes, in the event that the house could not be demolished.
My father's concern was that the house should not become run‐down and dilapidated, and that it should not be an expensive burden to maintain.
My late mother had a different concern: privacy
She felt strongly that her private living spaces should always remain private. She had been most distressed at the thought of people tramping through her personal spaces after she and my father passed away, to gawk at how they had lived.
Ho Ching and I came up with a proposal to renovate the house to change the inside completely.
- Demolish the private living spaces to preserve the privacy of the family
- Keep the basement dining room, which was of historical significance
- Strengthen the structure which was decaying, and create a new and separate living area, so the house could be lived in.
My father accepted this proposal.
In December 2011, he told the family that it was “best to redevelop 38 Oxley Road straightaway”, after he died, and do what we proposed – remove the private spaces and renovate the house without knocking it down.
At around the same time, on 27 December 2011, he wrote to Cabinet a third time:
[ “Cabinet members were unanimous that 38 Oxley Road should not be demolished as I wanted. I have reflected on this and decided that if 38 Oxley Road is to be preserved, it needs to have its foundations reinforced and the whole building refurbished. It must then be let out for people to live in. An empty building will soon decline and decay.” ]
Ho Ching and I therefore proceeded along these lines
.
We kept the family fully informed of our considerations and intentions.
We emailed everyone, including my father, my sister, my brother and his wife.
No one raised any objections to the plan.
My father met the architect, went through the proposal, and approved the scheme to reinforce the foundations and renovate the house.
[See photo for relevant correspondence]
My father signed the authorisation to submit the development application to URA on 28 March 2012, which URA approved on 17 April 2012.
As far as I knew, that was how the family had settled the matter.
I heard nothing to the contrary until after my father died. See More
In August 2011, about a month after the Cabinet meeting, my father decided to will 38 Oxley Road to me as part of my share of his estate, and told the family.
Ho Ching and I knew my father’s wishes and also my mother’s feelings....
We also knew how Cabinet and the public viewed the matter.
We started discussing alternatives with my father, to see how best we could fulfill his wishes, in the event that the house could not be demolished.
My father's concern was that the house should not become run‐down and dilapidated, and that it should not be an expensive burden to maintain.
My late mother had a different concern: privacy
She felt strongly that her private living spaces should always remain private. She had been most distressed at the thought of people tramping through her personal spaces after she and my father passed away, to gawk at how they had lived.
Ho Ching and I came up with a proposal to renovate the house to change the inside completely.
- Demolish the private living spaces to preserve the privacy of the family
- Keep the basement dining room, which was of historical significance
- Strengthen the structure which was decaying, and create a new and separate living area, so the house could be lived in.
My father accepted this proposal.
In December 2011, he told the family that it was “best to redevelop 38 Oxley Road straightaway”, after he died, and do what we proposed – remove the private spaces and renovate the house without knocking it down.
At around the same time, on 27 December 2011, he wrote to Cabinet a third time:
[ “Cabinet members were unanimous that 38 Oxley Road should not be demolished as I wanted. I have reflected on this and decided that if 38 Oxley Road is to be preserved, it needs to have its foundations reinforced and the whole building refurbished. It must then be let out for people to live in. An empty building will soon decline and decay.” ]
Ho Ching and I therefore proceeded along these lines
.
We kept the family fully informed of our considerations and intentions.
We emailed everyone, including my father, my sister, my brother and his wife.
No one raised any objections to the plan.
My father met the architect, went through the proposal, and approved the scheme to reinforce the foundations and renovate the house.
[See photo for relevant correspondence]
My father signed the authorisation to submit the development application to URA on 28 March 2012, which URA approved on 17 April 2012.
As far as I knew, that was how the family had settled the matter.
I heard nothing to the contrary until after my father died. See More
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