We have never asked Govt to allow immediate demolition of Oxley Road house: Hsien Yang

SINGAPORE — Responding to a question on why he is seeking “an immediate commitment on demolition” of the house on 38 Oxley Road, Mr Lee Hsien Yang on Tuesday (June 27) said he and his sister have never asked the Government to allow the property to be demolished right away.

In a Facebook post on Monday night, Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Indranee Rajah questioned Mr Lee's urgency in the issue, given that his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, has indicated that she would live in the house for the foreseeable future.

Responding via a Facebook post, Mr Lee wrote: "We have never asked the Government to allow us to demolish the house now, only after Wei Ling's departure."

He also claimed that Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who chairs a ministerial committee weighing options for 38 Oxley Road, had rejected a suggestion for a memorial garden to be built on the property after the house was demolished, following Dr Lee's departure. "DPM Teo was reluctant and did not pursue the discussion further. (PM Lee) also rejected this offer," Mr Lee Hsien Yang added.

Mr Lee and Dr Lee are in a public dispute with their elder brother, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, over the fate of their family home on Oxley Road. Their late father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, had expressed his wish for the house to be demolished after his death, or after Dr Lee moves out.

Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang said in a June 14 statement that they felt "threatened" in their attempt to carry out their late father's wishes, and alleged that PM Lee was misusing his authority to prevent the demolition of the house. PM Lee has denied the allegations.

Both sides have also clashed over the setting up of the ministerial committee weighing options for the house. 

Renewing his criticisms of the committee, Mr Lee Hsien Yang questioned why it had to be set up since Dr Lee intended to continue living in the house. He also accused the committee of being "focussed primarily on parroting attacks" on the final will of the late Mr Lee, particularly a clause in the document stating his wish for the house to be demolished.

Several ministers have addressed the setting up of the committee, including its chair, DPM Teo. Mr Teo had said that there was nothing secretive about the committee, and that its interest in the late Mr Lee’s will is “confined to the light that it sheds on his wishes for the house”.

Mr Teo added that the Cabinet cannot avoid responsibility on matters of public interest. In this case, for instance, it has to consider the heritage and historical significance of the house on 38 Oxley Road, the birthplace of the ruling People's Action Party.