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SINGAPORE: The preservation of the 38 Oxley Road site would complement the upcoming Founders\u2019 Memorial by providing visitors with an \u201cauthentic connection\u201d to pivotal events that contributed to Singapore\u2019s independence, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo said on Thursday (Nov 6).<\/p>\n
Mr Neo was responding to questions in parliament after delivering a ministerial statement on the government\u2019s plan to gazette the site of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew\u2019s family home as a national monument. A total of 11 Members of Parliament and one Non-Constituency MP spoke during the session.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistoric sites are preserved because they provide us with an authentic connection to the important events and the people of the past,\u201d said Mr Neo. \u201cWhat 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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\u2019 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,\u201d said Mr Neo.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 Memorial commemorates, he said.<\/p>\n
The Founders\u2019 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\u2019s Bay East Garden at the end of 2028.<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 taking Singapore from colonial rule to independence \u2013 rather than the private lives of its occupants.<\/p>\n
The late Mr Lee had lived there from the 1940s until his death in March 2015, while his three children \u2013 Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and the late Dr Lee Wei Ling \u2013 also grew up there.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Several MPs raised questions about the Lee family\u2019s privacy.<\/p>\n
Of particular interest was what constituted the site\u2019s private living spaces, with the authorities having said that all traces of these spaces would be removed.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cwidely documented in different forms of media in the past, and all these were done prior to Mr Lee’s passing\u201d.<\/p>\n
He cited the basement dining room as an example. The room was where Singapore\u2019s 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\u2019s Action Party (PAP).<\/p>\n
\u201cBut 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,\u201d said Mr Neo.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo respect Mr Lee\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exact nature of the removal will only be determined after authorities access the site and assess the condition of the buildings and structures.<\/p>\n
Mr Neo said that the measures that are being put in place for 38 Oxley Road \u201care not exceptional measures\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed to the former Supreme Court \u2013 currently part of the National Gallery \u2013 and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Balestier, as national monuments which \u201chave all had their interiors somewhat significantly altered, although the exteriors have been preserved\u201d.<\/p>\n
MP Joan Pereira (PAP-Tanjong Pagar), the MP for the area where 38 Oxley Road is located, asked whether residents in the vicinity would be consulted for the development of the national monument.<\/p>\n
She raised residents\u2019 concerns about traffic congestion and illegal parking, which could worsen if the site becomes a national monument.<\/p>\n
Residents told CNA on Monday they were apprehensive about increased traffic and visitors, though some hoped the development might bring much-needed upgrades to the ageing estate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n