Dear ASS,
Please see this interesting news from a Nan Tah alumni website. It made some interesting speculations as to why Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanted to demolish his home after his passing. This is a brief English translation I wrote.
"One important reason why Lee Kuan Yew wishes to demolish his 38 Oxley road home is because it has a secret tunnel leading direct to the Istana. This is a secret that surfaced many years back and it was used by Lee Kuan Yew to avoid the busy traffic congestion and to ensure his personal safety when he goes to work.
This tunnel is a source of worry for Lee because refilling the tunnel will be costly and it was a matter of time before the tunnel was discovered by others. Once discovered, people are bound to question the existence of the tunnel and how much taxpayers money were spent building it. Why did the building of the tunnel not pass through Parliamentary approval and who authorized the building of such a tunnel?"
The original chinese version is found in the link below.
"李光耀要拆掉房宅的另一个重要原因，已经有人说过，那就是欧思礼路38号有一条地道直通总统府，这个秘密许多年前就有人知晓，那是李光耀用来避开繁忙交通，保障安全到总统府办公的通道。在王鼎昌夫人林秀梅负责翻新总统府竣工后，两人不幸患病离世，李光耀此后就直接搬进总统府居住，而地道立刻形同虚设。但是自此地道成了李光耀的心病，由于地道已经建成，废置后若再填回去需要巨大工程，可是它迟早会被人发现，被发现后必定有人提出质问，这地道的建设动用了多少国家资金？这地道的建设为什么没有经过国会讨论？这地道的建设是谁批准的？
李光耀知道自己会因此背上假公济私的罪名。因此他虽然住在明亮宽敞的总统府，然而这不光彩的地道却是一道压力，此外王鼎昌夫妇之死，林秀梅绘测公司又是总统府的翻新公司，每当夜深人静，不能不浮想联翩。是总统无法住在总统府，不是总统却住在总统府，而总统府又是真总统夫人所修葺，世事之诡异多变，于此可见。挖穿了乌节路。挖穿了欧思礼路38号，挖穿了总统府，这贯穿数百米的地道，真正撼动了总统府和欧思礼路38号，成为日夜思虑的心病。倘若保留欧思礼路38号，或倘若拆除欧思礼路38号，地道都将是人们的话柄，而李光耀将成为一个不诚实之人。因此，摆在李氏兄弟眼前的难题是拆也不是，不拆也不是，李光耀的心病，竟也成为李显龙的心病。至于拆除后不允许建高楼，那已经是拿来当话题的花边新闻了."
Source:
Editor's Note:
Do you have a story to share? Please use our submission form or email us at editorial@allsingaporestuff.com. If not, why not give us a 'Like'?