Jamus Lim: 38 Oxley Road issue is ‘a family dispute best settled privately’

SINGAPORE: Having been one of the Members of Parliament who spoke in a recent session on the Government’s decision to preserve the home of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at 38 Oxley Road as a national monument, Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (WP MP) Jamus Lim (Sengkang) posted about the issue on social media on Monday morning (Nov 17), saying that like his party, he “won’t take sides in what I believe, ultimately, is a family dispute that is best settled privately.”

Since the announcement was made on Nov 3, there has been much written about the issue, as Assoc Prof Lim acknowledged. In his view, however, “the main tension comes from what it means when the government exercises its right to take over private property, and what sort of circumstances would justify doing so.”

While there is a case to be made for the state taking over private property for fair compensation in the name of public interest over individual rights, this principle of eminent domain may not be weighty enough, and there should also be “some overwhelming efficiency case,” he added, as in instances where land is taken for building hospitals, schools, public housing, and the like.

This does not hold for 38 Oxley Road, however, as the property would be preserved for its historical and national significance. Additionally, the owner of the property, Lee Kuan Yew’s younger son Lee Hsien Yang, has been vocal in his stance against the decision to preserve it as a national monument.

Assoc Prof Lim added that his interest “is more in ensuring that the institutions of the state are not inadvertently being corralled to functions they should not be involved in” and that a compromise is found, given that many Singaporeans hope that there will be a way to preserve Mr Lee’s memory and his significance to the country’s heritage.

He brought up a suggestion of this type of compromise in Parliament.

It is evident from Assoc Prof Lim’s post that many people feel strongly about the issue. While some agreed with the points he raised, others questioned whether the issue is purely a family dispute, as the MP had described it.

Read also: Gerald Giam: Should the public know the price for 38 Oxley Road?