PUBLISHED ONOctober 10, 2024 4:20 AMByChing Shi JieA day after Dr Lee Wei Ling's death, her younger brother has brought attention to the future of their family home.
In a Facebook post on Thursday (Oct 10), Lee Hsien Yang wrote that he was conveying a message from his sister.
"My father's, Lee Kuan Yew, and my mother's, Kwa Geok Choo, unwavering and deeply felt wish was for their house at 38 Oxley Road to be demolished upon the last parent's death.
"Lee Kuan Yew had directed each of his three children to ensure that their parents' wish for demolition be fulfilled. He had also appealed directly to the people of Singapore.
"Please honour my father by honouring his wish for his home to be demolished."
Dr Lee, who died at the age of 69 on Wednesday, was living in the house at 38 Oxley Road.
The family home has been the subject of a long-running feud the pair had with their elder brother, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
In December 2015, the then-prime minister and his younger brother issued a joint statement saying the they had each agreed to donate half the value of 38 Oxley Road to the charities named in their father's obituary notice.
A year later, Lee Hsien Loong said that he had recused himself from all government decisions involving the house, adding that in his personal capacity, would also like to see this wish honoured.
But in June 2017, Dr Lee and Lee Hsien Yang said they felt threatened in trying to fulfil their late father's wish to demolish the house.
They also accused their elder brother, the then-prime minister, of opposing that wish "as the preservation of the house would enhance his political capital".
After Lee Hsien Loong denied those allegations in Parliament, a ministerial committee released a report in 2018, laying out three options for the house — it can either be preserved, or partially retained, or demolished.
No decision was needed at that time, the committee said, adding that "Dr Lee is likely to continue residing there for the foreseeable future".
After the report was issued, Lee Hsien Loong said: "I hope that when the time comes to decide on what to do with the house, this report will help the Government of the day to make an informed decision that both respects my father's wishes and is in the public interest".
READ ALSO: 'More than a doctor': Former patients pay tribute to Lee Wei Ling
chingshijie@asiaone.com
