SINGAPORE, Nov. 6 -- The Singapore government plans to gazette 38 Oxley Road - the former home of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew - as a national monument, in what officials call an effort to preserve the site's historical value while respecting the family's privacy.

Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo told Parliament yesterday that the decision covers the entire site, not just the buildings within it, describing the property as "a unique and foundational part of the story of Singapore's independence."

"The thinking is to develop the site into a public space like a heritage park that Singaporeans can access if it is eventually preserved and acquired," he was quoted as saying by The Straits Times.

Neo said th...