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38 Oxley Road site different from Founders' Memorial due to 'sense of authenticity': David Neo
"Founders' Memorial is recreated on reclaimed land. It is not the same space where the events took place," said Neo.
November 06, 2025, 04:18 PM
The 38 Oxley Road site, which the Singapore government intends to gazette as a national monument, has unique advantages over the upcoming Founders' Memorial at Marina Bay, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo on Nov. 6.
On the decision, Neo explained in Parliament that the former residence of Lee Kuan Yew "bears witness to the the birth of independent Singapore and to key moments in our history", which gives it historical significance.
Not the same sense of authenticity
In response to questions from Bukit Panjang Member of Parliament (MP) Liang Eng Hwa and Workers' Party (WP) Non-Constituency MP Eileen Chong on whether the same purpose could be fulfilled by the upcoming Founders' Memorial at Marina Bay without having to preserve the 38 Oxley Road site, Neo said,
"Founders' Memorial is recreated on reclaimed land. It is not the same space where the events took place.
It is not the same space where the people came together; it is not the same space where the struggles took place.
There will not be that same sense of authenticity."
The memorial, slated to open its doors in 2028, is envisioned as "an integrated gallery and gardens experience" to commemorate the values and ideals exemplified by Singapore’s first-generation leaders.
It is estimated to cost S$355 million to develop.
Why not just use Founders' Memorial?
Chong asked if a potential heritage park at 38 Oxley Road would be more effective at conveying heritage value and visitor experience than the "purpose-built" Founders' Memorial.
In response, Neo said the 38 Oxley Road property is one of the "very precious few sites" in Singapore where there is a "confluence of people, events and place".
He argued that this "sense of authenticity" is not felt at Founders' Memorial, which is built on reclaimed land.
"This site is unique, behooves us to preserve it, and if the preservation were to go through, this site will augment the Founders' Memorial to give Singaporeans a fuller understanding of what it means to be Singaporean, our sense of national identity and how we can forge forward as one people," said Neo.
When Liang asked if the values of Singapore's founding generation could be encapsulated by the Founders' Memorial without having to preserve 38 Oxley Road, Neo expounded on the unique advantages that the 38 Oxley Road site provides:
"It gives us an opportunity to stand on the same grounds and be in the very same space where pivotal events in national history took place, and we are walking in the same footsteps of those who came before us, and therefore it provides us with a certain frame of reference, a certain sense of place, to appreciate how we have come."
Similarly unique sites that have been preserved include the City Hall at Padang and the former Kandang Kerbau (KK) Hospital, Neo said.
In comparison, Neo noted that the Founder's Memorial, as a site which is newly-constructed, does not share the same "sense of place, that sense of place that housed all the critical events".
Neo explained that NHB and government have always sought to identify sites of national significance which "attest to parts of our national history that have been underrepresented by existing national monuments".
He added that many of Singapore's national monuments originate from before its independence, and such sites that attest to Singapore' founding generation and nation-building are "precious" and "few".
What about Lee Kuan Yew's wishes?
Holland-Bukit Timah MP Christopher de Souza asked Neo for assurance that the Singapore government would make a tactful decision regarding the 38 Oxley Road site, given that "there are many different interpretations of Mr Lee (Kuan Yew's) wishes and preferences".
This came after Neo shared that if the site is to be preserved, the government will protect the Lee family's privacy, such as by removing all trace of their living spaces inside the house and not allow it to be replicated.
Neo answered de Souza in the affirmative:
"It is the government's intention to make sure that if the property...if the site is preserved and if it's eventually acquired, that we will make a decision that is sensitive, one that is tactful, and one that will benefit not just the current but future generations of Singaporeans — one that is keeping and befitting of the site's historic importance and national significance."
"All these things will be taken on board and the government will make an informed and responsible decision for the best of Singapore."
Decision made by independent board of experts: Neo
Workers' Party and Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim declared that WP had “received financial contributions from certain members of the Lee family associated with the Oxley property,” but added that his questions and statements addressed to Neo were entirely the party's own.
He proceeded to ask how the National Heritage Board balances public benefit against private preference in its deliberations, to which Neo said the decision was made by an independent board of experts in the Preservation of Sites and Monuments Advisory Board, which had assessed the merits of the case independently.
Neo reiterated that it is "still premature" for the government to state their course of action as it has not made a decision on the preservation of 38 Oxley Road.
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Top image from MDDI/YouTube
