Archived Pressident’s Messages

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…

Dear Members, In the first message in this series dated 15 April 2018, I promised to update you on the events that has been organised and held since our inception on 14th Dec 2018. I am pleased to do so in this message.   Floating Nuclear Power Plant Our first and perhaps our most important…

Dear Members, Dr Sabet, our Second VP and I had the opportunity to address some very senior members of the marine engineering community, Monday, 7th May. The talk was titled “Finding 56 sq km of land for another million people before 2030” We had a warm reception and many interesting questions during the Q &…

Finding space to accommodate an additional one million people by 2030 should be a piece of cake for many countries. However, for Singapore it is Herculean task. Only four countries in the world have a population density greater than 5000 people per sq km: Macau, Monaco, Singapore and Hong Kong. Singapore is unique among them,…