Between Malaysia and Singapore is a stretch of water, the sovereignty of which has been a bone of contention not long after the two countries went their separate ways in 1965. Reclamation is taking place on both sides of the straits placing the narrow waterway in between under ecological stress and the submarine life close…

One of Singapore’s major project is the petrochemical complex on Jurong Island. It opened in the late 1970s marked with much fanfare. It was a feather in the cap for a young Singapore as it brought together global brands and billions of investment dollars and provided thousands of jobs. As the complex expand it swallow…

It was an unseasonably warm day when my wife and I called at the office of Minke and Peter van Wingerden. I was pleased to see the Society’s momento which we presented to Peter for his speech in Singapore in August on visible display on top of his cabinet. After coffee, we went down to…

On Nov 8, 2018 “NParks, in collaboration with JTC, installed Singapore’s largest purpose-built reef structures off the waters of Small Sister’s Island. A total of eight structures, including the one that was lowered today, will contribute an additional 1000m² of reef substrate to the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park. In time, (NParks) hope(s) to see the…

Archimedes Principle is the basis for the design of all manner of vessels for the transport of cargoes and people and for work in extracting oil and gas in the oceans of the world. However, its usefulness goes beyond that. Indeed, as sea level rises and the marine bio-diversity of coastal eco-systems is being threaten,…

It will be a boon if we could get our electricity without the attendant pollution and the land needed for the power plants. We can. Our 14 power plants blanket the island with about 25 million tons of greenhouse gas annually, a whopping 5 tons of waste per capita, three times more than all our…

The HDB 99-year lease debate rages, in Parliament, in the streets, in the media and on-line. Do you really own your apartment? Yes, says the Government. No, says tenants faced with an asset whose value diminishes to zero in about thirty years. It is a conundrum that 80% of Singaporeans face as the day of…

There are multiple of troubling issues which this little Red Dot needs to look squarely in the face and do something about. These have to do with challenges about population, land, sand, energy and the sea. In the lifetime of a man in his seventies, Singapore has grown 31% from 550 to 720 sq. km…

In land stressed Singapore, it is not easy if you are a stray dog or cat. There are about 70,000 creatures like you competing for space with about 6 million people. In our urban areas as many as 250 people live in a plot of land about the size of a football field. Up until…

Singapore has expanded its footprint from 567 sq.km when I was a schoolboy in the 1950’s to 720 sq. km now that I am a septuagenarian. For a projected peak population of 10 million (a figure that has been touted by people in high positions) we would need 830 sq.km based on a population density…