SINGAPORE, Oct 15 — Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, announced plans to apply for the demolition of the family home at 38 Oxley Road to build a smaller private residence.

In a Facebook post today, Lee, who is also the younger brother of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said the new structure would remain within the family indefinitely.

However, he did not specify to whom he would be filing the demolition request.

The announcement comes after the passing of their sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, on October 9.

Dr Lee and Lee Hsien Yang had served as joint administrators and executors of their late father’s will. Back in 2017, they publicly voiced their disagreements with Lee Hsien Loong over the fate of the Oxley Road property.

The two younger siblings accused Lee Hsien Loong, who was prime minister at the time, of seeking to preserve the pre-war house for political purposes, against their father’s wishes.

Lee Hsien Loong, however, denied the claims in a ministerial statement to Parliament, raising concerns over the circumstances surrounding the preparation of Lee Kuan Yew’s final will.

In 2015, Lee Hsien Loong sold the house to Lee Hsien Yang at market value, with the agreement that they would both donate half the value to charity. Lee Hsien Loong contributed 100 per cent of his share to charity.

In 2018, a ministerial committee tasked with assessing the future of the Oxley Road house proposed three options for a future government to consider: preserving and gazetting it as a conservation site or national monument, preserving only the historically significant basement dining room and demolishing the rest, or allowing the full demolition of the property for redevelopment.

While Lee Hsien Loong accepted the committee’s recommendations, he noted that no immediate decision was required as long as Dr Lee continued to reside there. Her recent passing has now left the house vacant.

On October 15, Lee Hsien Yang reiterated his claim to the property, stating, "I am the sole legal owner of 38 Oxley Road. With my sister’s passing, I am now the only surviving executor of my father’s estate.”

"In his will, my father made it clear that he wanted the house demolished ‘immediately after’ Wei Ling vacated the property. It is my responsibility to ensure his wishes are honoured to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.

Lee Hsien Loong had previously stated in Parliament in 2015 that once Wei Ling passed away, it would be up to the government of the day to decide on the fate of the house.

"It has been nine years since that statement. That day has come,” Lee Hsien Yang concluded.