38 Oxley Road site offers authentic link to independence that Founders’ Memorial cannot replicate: David Neo

SINGAPORE: The preservation of the 38 Oxley Road site would complement the upcoming Founders’ Memorial by providing visitors with an “authentic connection” to pivotal events that contributed to Singapore’s independence, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo said on Thursday (Nov 6).

Mr Neo was responding to questions in parliament after delivering a ministerial statement on the government’s plan to gazette the site of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s family home as a national monument. A total of 11 Members of Parliament and one Non-Constituency MP spoke during the session.

“Historic sites are preserved because they provide us with an authentic connection to the important events and the people of the past,” said Mr Neo. “What is unique is that it gives us an opportunity to stand on the same grounds and be in the very same space where pivotal events in national history took place, and we are walking in the same footsteps of those who came before us.”

Responding to a clarification by MP Liang Eng Hwa (PAP-Bukit Panjang), Mr Neo said that preserving sites like the former City Hall, the Padang and the former Kandang Kerbau Hospital helps future generations connect with critical parts of the country’s history.

“This sense of place, this being in the same space as those who came before us, is not something that can be captured by replication at another site. The Founders’ Memorial is a site that is reconstructed. It does not share that same sense of place, that same place that housed all the critical events,” said Mr Neo.

The 38 Oxley Road site would help visitors understand what took place there, providing historical context and background to the shared values and ideals that the Founders’ Memorial commemorates, he said.

The Founders’ Memorial, which is being developed at an estimated cost of S$335 million (US$256.6 million), is slated to open at the Gardens by the Bay’s Bay East Garden at the end of 2028.

In response to MP Alex Yam (PAP-Marsiling-Yew Tee), the acting minister emphasised that the 38 Oxley Road monument would focus on the historical events that happened there – taking Singapore from colonial rule to independence – rather than the private lives of its occupants.

The late Mr Lee had lived there from the 1940s until his death in March 2015, while his three children – Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and the late Dr Lee Wei Ling – also grew up there.

If the site becomes a national monument, various efforts would be undertaken to remind Singaporeans of its significance, said Mr Neo in response to MP Lee Hui Ying (PAP-Nee Soon). This would be something the National Heritage Board and the Ministry of Education could explore, he added.

RESPECTING THE LEE FAMILY’S PRIVACY

Several MPs raised questions about the Lee family’s privacy.

Of particular interest was what constituted the site’s private living spaces, with the authorities having said that all traces of these spaces would be removed.

Responding to MP Ang Wei Neng (PAP-West Coast-Jurong West), Mr Neo said some spaces within the buildings at 38 Oxley Road would be considered less private, as they had been “widely documented in different forms of media in the past, and all these were done prior to Mr Lee’s passing”.

He cited the basement dining room as an example. The room was where Singapore’s founding fathers such as Dr Goh Keng Swee and Dr Toh Chin Chye held meetings in the 1950s, which led to the formation of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

“But there would be other spaces, such as bedrooms, which do not have any association with the historically significant events that took place at the site,” said Mr Neo.

“To respect Mr Lee’s wishes, such personal spaces would then be reconfigured or removed, and it will range from removing furnishings, fixtures or any objects still left, to potentially also tearing down such spaces, while taking into consideration issues like structural integrity and the safety of the buildings.”

The exact nature of the removal will only be determined after authorities access the site and assess the condition of the buildings and structures.

Mr Neo said that the measures that are being put in place for 38 Oxley Road “are not exceptional measures”.

“All historic sites generally will involve some modifications to some extent to allow for adaptive reuse, and this also ensures that the sites remain … beneficial and useful to current and future generations of Singaporeans,” he said.

He pointed to the former Supreme Court – currently part of the National Gallery – and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Balestier, as national monuments which “have all had their interiors somewhat significantly altered, although the exteriors have been preserved”.

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