Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his brother Lee Hsien Yang announced on 4 December 2015 that they would each donate half the value of the Oxley Road house of their father, the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, to eight charities named in the obituary notice. In response to this announcement, YouGov polled 1,000 Singaporean from 9th to 11th December 2015 to investigate how Singaporean feel about the use of Mr. Lee’s house.
According to YouGov’s survey, majority of the Singaporean (61%) feel that it is great for PM Lee Hsien Loong and his brother to do this charity act, however, there are 17% of respondents think that they should donate all the proceeds to charity. On the other hand, 7% of respondents think it is not necessary for them to donate the house to charity, while 10% don’t care about it, and 5% don’t know anything about the matter.
The brothers and Dr. Lee Wei Ling also reiterated their wish as Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s children to allow the house to be demolished in accordance with Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s wish, after Dr. Lee ceases to live in it.
According to YouGov’s survey, almost 80% of the Singaporean (77%) support the family’s decision, among that, 61% think they should honor the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and family’s wish and 39% think they should respect the late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his family’s privacy. On the other hand, there are 15% Singaporean do not support the decision to demolish Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s house, among that, 75% think the house has high historical and cultural value that Mr. Lee’s family should open the house for public visit, and 25% think the house belongs to all Singaporean and they should have a say regarding what happens to the house.
A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth, to explore and gather views from the public on a memorial for the founding fathers in Singapore.
According to YouGov’s survey, 56% of Singaporean feel that such a memorial is necessary, among that, 82% think the memorial can remind them of the people who built modern Singapore, while 18% think such memorial can tie Singaporean together. On the other hand, 34% Singaporean do not think the memorial is necessary, among that, 54% say it is because they already have monuments/buildings dedicated for memorial purposes, 27% think building a memorial is just a vanity project, and 19% suspect it is just a way for the government to gain more votes.
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Main image source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg
