New preservation study for 38 Oxley Road needed as past findings not presented to monuments board: Edwin Tong

SINGAPORE: Another preservation study on 38 Oxley Road was needed as the findings of a previous assessment of the property were not presented to the Preservation of Sites and Monuments Advisory Board (PSM AB), said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong on Monday (Nov 11).
Mr Tong was responding to parliamentary questions from Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai and MP Louis Chua (WP-Sengkang) on the former home of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Mr Leong had asked why another study was required when the ministerial committee formed to consider the fate of 38 Oxley Road had previously determined that it had “architectural, heritage and historical significance” based on a National Heritage Board (NHB) assessment of the property.
Mr Chua had asked for the terms of reference for NHB’s current study of the property and how they differ from those of the ministerial committee.
In a written reply to their questions, Mr Tong said that while NHB’s previous findings were incorporated into the ministerial committee’s 2018 report on the property, they had not been presented to the PSM AB. 
“The ministerial committee concluded that no decision had to be made at that point in time, and all options would be kept open,” he said.
“Hence, the research was not presented to the PSM AB for their assessment then on the suitability of 38 Oxley Road as a national monument.”
When NHB conducts research on a building, site or structure with the potential to be designated a national monument, the research is typically presented to the advisory board.
The board would then conduct an independent assessment of this research to determine whether its subject should be preserved as a national monument.
“The PSM AB makes this assessment based on objective criteria, for all sites which have the potential to be preserved as a national monument,” said Mr Tong.
The minister said that the decision to begin the new study was linked to Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s move to begin proceedings to have the house on the site demolished.
“In view of the recent application by the owner to demolish the building, which would immediately rule out a proper and full consideration of options, NHB has commenced the process to determine 38 Oxley Road’s eligibility and suitability for preservation as a national monument,” said Mr Tong. 
“This includes presenting the research to the PSM AB for their independent assessment. Based on the assessment, NHB would then provide a recommendation to the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth to decide whether to issue a preservation order for the site under the Preservation of Monuments Act.”
He added: “This follows the usual assessment process before any building, site or structure can be preserved as a National Monument, and we will apply this accordingly to 38 Oxley Road.”
On Oct 15, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s younger son Mr Lee Hsien Yang said that he would apply to demolish the house, days after the death of his sister Dr Lee Wei Ling.
Dr Lee, Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s only daughter, continued living at 38 Oxley Road after his death in 2015.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang said that his decision to apply for the house’s demolition was in line with his parents’ wishes, and that he was its sole legal owner.
NHB said on Oct 24 that Mr Lee Hsien Yang applied to the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Oct 21 to carry out the house’s demolition.
The house is associated with key events in Singapore’s history. Founding fathers such as Dr Goh Keng Swee and Dr Toh Chin Chye held meetings in its basement dining room in the 1950s, which led to the formation of today’s ruling People’s Action Party. 
In 2017, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered a ministerial statement in parliament after his siblings accused him of using his influence in government to drive a personal agenda regarding 38 Oxley Road.
The ministerial committee was convened subsequently.
While the ministerial committee report concluded that Mr Lee Kuan Yew preferred that the house be demolished, he was prepared to accept other options – if it was refurbished and kept in a habitable state with his family’s privacy protected, NHB said last month.
The report laid out several options for the house – retaining the entire building, retaining only its basement dining room or demolishing it fully – but NHB said that these were “not exhaustive”.
“The intention is for a future government to consider these, and other options that could emerge later, and make an informed and considered decision in the fullness of time, taking into consideration the wishes of Mr Lee Kuan Yew,” the board said.