DPM Teo tells why the government had to step in

Singapore

THE government had to get involved in the matter of No 38 Oxley Road because it has the responsibility to consider the public-interest aspects of any property with historical and heritage significance, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Monday.

He told Parliament about the formation and scope of the Ministerial Committee set up to assess the various options for the house.

"The government has the responsibility to consider the public-interest aspects of any property with historical and heritage significance, and has a range of powers to gazette or acquire such property.

"I should emphasise that government not only has the legal powers to act, but indeed the responsibility to decide on what to do."

There is significant public interest relating to the house, he added.

The Committee was formed after a proposal by the Minister for National Development, which was approved at a Cabinet meeting on June 1, 2016. Mr Teo chaired the meeting, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had previously informed Cabinet in April 2015 that he would recuse himself from all government decisions to do with the house.

Setting up a committee would improve "coordination and oversight" on the matter, Mr Teo said, since work on the issue had previously been done at staff level, with inter-agency consultations as needed. Matters were raised with Mr Teo or the Cabinet - without PM Lee - when necessary.

As chair of the committee, Mr Teo included "the relevant Cabinet members" - Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu for heritage, Minister for Law K Shanmugam for land issues, and Minister of National Development Lawrence Wong, for urban planning.

On July 27, 2016, PM Lee, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang were informed separately in writing that the Ministerial Committee had been formed to consider the options for No 38 Oxley Road. The Committee sought views from the three siblings on Mr Lee Kuan Yew's thinking on the matter, as it was paying particular attention to respecting the late statesman's wishes.

The siblings wrote to the Committee with different views, including on the drafting of the last will, Mr Teo said. He added that it was "not for the Committee to decide whose claims are valid, in particular over the validity of the will".

In recent weeks, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee have criticised the formation of what they have described as a secret Ministerial Committee, which they said was being used to bypass the court system.

In Facebook posts ahead of DPM Teo's speech, Mr Lee Hsien Yang questioned whether a Ministerial Committee of the Prime Minister's subordinates should be "opining" on a private dispute between the Prime Minister and his siblings. He also charged that the Committee was not "transparent", and would not list the options under consideration for 38 Oxley Road.

In his speech, Mr Teo clarified that the Ministerial Comittee would not make a decision on the house now. Mr Teo said: "The Ministerial Committee does not decide. It is merely preparing drawer plans of various options and their implications, so that a future government can refer to them and make a considered and informed decision when the time comes to decide on the matter."

He added: "There is no decision required so long as Dr Lee continues living in the house. However, if Dr Lee chooses to leave earlier, say within a few months, then Cabinet will have to decide and it would be useful to have studied the different options."

The basement dining room of the house was where Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore's pioneer leaders had important discussions on the future of Singapore, noted Mr Teo, making it an important historical link to the past. He added that there are few properties from Singapore's independence era.

For the time being, it might be best to avoid "irreversible steps such as demolition and re-development of the site", so that there is the benefit of time to consider the matter and the merits of different options, he suggested.

He said intermediate options are also being studied, such as demolishing the house, but keeping the basement dining room with a heritage centre attached.

"We make decisions and act in the public interest of Singaporeans. We do not bend to the private demands of individuals, no matter who they are, or the family connections they can claim.

"This is the foundation upon which Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his team built our Singapore for all of us. Mr Lee would have expected no less from us."

Highlights of DPM Teo's speech

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