The home of our ex Prime minister LKY will remain a memory for many of us. It is currently the most talked about topic in Singapore; and today, Parliaament opens with a ministerial statement from PM Lee as well as other ministers. The whip has also been lifted. MPs are free to ask questions and express their views.
SHC members are free to discuss the issue on this post. Please stay away from politicising the issue. No name calling; and plse respect every member points of view.
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This post closes on 31 Jul 2017 midnight.
Terence Seah
to me, 38 Oxley Road has become an issue because it was LKY’s home. And he is not a nobody; he was our ex-PM and founder of Singapore. Most of us live, work and play during his time.
I guess for most of us, if we have made a will, and if the current government wishes to consider other options for the house and land, we probably would have no further say.
The issue came fast, and it has become the most talked about subject in Singapore; maybe because the issue had been kept within the family. Now that the matter has surfaced, it probably will become an extended issue.
LKY had signed off the demolition of the house. But somehow he wavered on possible government intervention. I also guess we will never know what is in Hsien Yang and Dr Lee’s minds. Same as we would not know what is in PM Lee and Ho Ching’s mind.
But finally, I see that the rule of government will prevail.
Terence Seah
Hi Terence,
38 Oxely Road is only the fire wire, Main issue will be the powers. Perhaps both parties are hope their next generation continues to lead in SG as son of LHY also very smart, his mum definitely will not be
happy if continue leading by son of PM and same thought to HC too.
Whenever I log in YouTube, most of news appear daily discussion not only by Singaporean and foreigners as well, Lee family’s matter become an open discussion to the world feel sad to see this happen in our leader being a naive of Singapore, look forward they able to solve their problem soon.
38 Oxley Rd is a freehold property which thus, would entitled the owner/s “Permanent and Absolute tenure of land or property with freedom to dispose of it at will”. However, its disposal is now subjected to debates by parties who are not the rightful owners . Am I missing something?
Hi HC,
If I am not mistaken, LHL sold his share for $1. This makes it a fact that the ownership has changed to the siblings.
But I guess the fact is in Spore, the government can decide on the outcome of any property, it finally sees fit.
Wth a will, the decision on 38 Oxley Road is up to the outcome of the will. But, rule of law still prevails. We are citizens.
Terence Seah
Yes the rule of law prevails over other considerations.
The LKY’s will is a a legal document prepared by lawyers
under the auspices of the late PM and agreed and signed by him and witnessed by lawyers.
If there is any impropriety or challenge, it should be ironed out in a court of law so that conflict of interests will not come into play.
Robert Ong
ESM Goh dropped a bombshell when he said 38 Oxley Rd was a ruse to topple the PM. I am of the same mind except that I didn’t see the dispute as a ruse, but as a vehicle.
38 Oxley Rd is a building with heritage value so it cannot be knocked down without careful consideration by NHB. This affects the history of SG. This house is historic and Sg will be the poorer for it if it is destroyed.
Late LKY was open to renovating the interior and removing the private space but preserving the basement. Subsequently, LHY objected and, together with LWL, insisted on immediate destruction after demise of LKY, yet she wanted to continue living in it and, as stated in the will, the house to be demolished after she leaves. So why the insistence on the ‘immediate’ demolition of the house?
The fastest way to force a decision on 38 Oxley Rd is for LWL to leave the house. Why does she insist on living there? I also hope the NHB make the decision to gazette the house after renovating (gutting out the private space) it. The future of Sg needs this piece of history and the wish of late LKY was Singapore’s success.
ESM Goh stated that LHY’s attacks over the House in the social media is a ruse to topple the PM. It is a feud between family members over many differences in opinions.
In the many assertions in FACEBOOK, there is little evidence to indicate he has political ambition. He does not even affiliate to any political party.
Goh spent most of his speech in parliament on praising and supporting the PM rather than addressing the issue of family feud.
RO
I do not agree that Sg will be any poorer without the house.
On the contrary, Sg will be richer without the house, literally or otherwise.
Why do we need an object to remember a person? Must we resort to idol- worshipping to show our love?
If that huge piece of land were to use to build HDB flats (why not?), hundreds perhaps thousands of Singapore families would benefit. This is more likely what dear Mr. LKY would like to see.
DC
From the family feud, I have just learnt a new word “parroting” from LHY.
He lamented that during the parliamentary debate on the House, many members were parroting what the PM had said.
Let us examine more closely the significance of the word and what does it imply.
As a demonstration, a group of researchers had conducted an experiment on the ingenuity of birds.
They tied a piece of meat at the end of a long string and hanged it on a bar high above the ground to attract the birds.
To their surprise, only one bird had the ingenuity to stand on the bar and used its beak and feet to retrieve the string and get the meat. The bird was a crow.
A conclusion is derived. Now comparing a crow and a parrot, of course a crow is more ingenious.
I learnt a new metaphor from ESM. He said the dispute was a fig leaf to cover deep cracks. Beautiful metaphor.
I chance upon Shengwu’s Eulogy to Lee Kuan Yew while doing housekeeping of my emails…………
Quote
Once, at the suggestion that a monument might be made for him, my grandfather replied, “Remember Ozymandias”. He was, of course, referring to Shelley’s sonnet about Ramses the Second, the greatest Pharaoh of the Egyptian empire. In the poem, a lone traveller encounters a broken statue in the desert. On the statue, the inscription, “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” Nothing beside remains.
I think his meaning was that, if Singapore does not persist, then a monument will be no help. And if Singapore does persists, then a monument will be unnecessary. And that assessment is accurate: His legacy is not cold stone, but a living nation. We could no more forget him than we could forget the sky.
Unquote
Ozymandias, like conquerors of the past, erected huge sculptures of themselves for self- glorification. The inscription on the pedestal shows his arrogance.
LKY will be remembered through his books, his photos, history books and I hope, through his house.
History will come alive for future generations if the house, especially the basement, is preserved. Most importantly, LKY was prepared for the preservation of his house on condition that no one except his descendants be allowed to enter it.
I really don’t see the furore over the house, kicked up by PM’s siblings.
A haiku from Buson:
This cold winter night,
That old wooden- head Buddha
Would make a nice fire.