SINGAPORE’S deputy prime minister said the government was still considering options on the fate of Lee Kuan Yew’ house, and denied claims that a cabinet committee formed for this purpose did its work in secret, the Straits Times reports.

Teo Chee Hean yesterday said there was nothing secret about the committee, and it was no different from other government-formed panels that studied other matters.

The fate of the home of Singapore’s founding father is at the centre of a bitter public spat between the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is Kuan Yew’s eldest son, and younger brother Lee Hsien Yang and sister Dr Lee Wei Ling.

Hsien Yang and Wei Ling allege that their older brother had abused his position in government to grab the Lee family home for himself and to dishonour their father’s last wish that the house at 38, Oxley Road be demolished.

They say that the wish was contained Kuan Yew’s last will, which had been granted probate.

Hsien Loong denies these charges, claiming that the government committee did its work independently and that he had recused himself from all proceedings.

Hsien Loong had also questioned the circumstances surrounding the drafting and signing of his father’s last will.

In Hsien Loong’s absence, the government committee on the Lee house was chaired by Teo.

Teo said the government had to consider the public interest of any property with heritage and historical significance, and this applied to 38, Oxley Road.

“Many critical decisions on the future of Singapore were made there by Lee and our pioneer leaders. The committee has thus been looking at the options available for 38, Oxley Road while paying particular attention to respecting Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes for his house.”

Teo added: “Lee Hsien Yang now owns the property. As provided for in Lee Kuan Yew’s will, Dr Lee Wei Ling can stay in it for as long as she wishes. The government has already stated on several occasions that it will not do anything to affect Dr Lee’s right to continue living at 38, Oxley Road.”

Teo said even though the no immediate decisions had been made on the house because Wei Ling was still living there, the due process of considering various options on the house’s fate had to done, which would require time.

He said  after Kuan Yew died in 2015, Hsien Yang and Wei Ling, as executors of their father’s will, had wanted the government to commit to demolishing the house.

Teo said the ministerial committee wrote to all three siblings to get a clearer sense of Kuan Yew’s thinking on the house.

The committee sought further clarifications when the siblings provided differing accounts of their father’s wishes, he added.

Teo said he would not support preserving the house as it is, for visitors to enter and see, as that would be totally against the wishes of the late Mr and Mrs Lee Kuan Yew.

But he also was not in favour of demolishing and the property put on the market for new private residences either.

“The committee has also been studying various intermediate options such as demolishing the house but keeping the basement dining room where many important historical meetings took place, with an appropriate heritage centre attached. These studies are ongoing.”

Teo’s approach to the matter was supported by Kuan Yew’s successor as prime minster,  Goh Chok Tong. In a Facebook post last night, Goh said it was right to explore options beyond demolishing or preserving the property.

However, Hsien Yang was not convinced of the integrity of the committee, saying in a Facebook post yesterday evening that it was “fundamentally flawed”  and made up of subordinates “sitting, arbitrating an issue related to their boss”.

He also called Shanmugam’s inclusion in the committee a “clear conflict of interest”, as he had advised the Lee family on the will.

The law minister denied this, saying the suggestion was “ridiculous”.

Hsien Loong, who had been away on leave, returned to Singapore yesterday and will be back at work tomorrow. – June 18, 2017.