TR EMERITUS

Changes are being proposed for Johor’s Forest City to cushion the impact of reclamation project on it surrounding environment. (11 Jul) - SEVERAL major amendments to the original plan for the controversial Forest City project along the Johor Straits are expected as pressure mounts from environmental non-governmental organisations and concerns from Singapore. The changes were proposed by Kuala Lumpur-based Asian Environmental Solutions Sdn Bhd (AES), which was appointed by project developer Country Garden Sdn Bhd to prepare a preliminary environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the mammoth project. The proposed changes are aimed at cushioning the impact of the reclamation project on the surrounding environment. In the preliminary report, one of the major changes proposed was to build two parallel water channels cutting across the island, created by reclamation work, almost in the shape of a right angle isosceles triangle.   Read more: http://www.nst.com.my/node/7883    Read More →

Defects, such as the wall skirting falling off (above) and uneven tiles, have been reported for about three in 10 units in Tampines GreenLeaf BTO flats (Photo ST) About 3 weeks ago (27 Jun), TRE published an article highlighting that new residents moving into HDB BTO flats in Anchorvale Horizon at Seng Kang were complaining about the defects and poor workmanship found in their newly completed flats (‘Complaints against poor workmanship in new HDB flats‘). It was so bad that the grassroots leaders at Anchorvale Horizon were themselves complaining about the problem too. The grassroots leaders even roped in Seng Kang West MP Lam Pin Min to visit Anchorvale Horizon just to show him how terrible the defects are. As it turned out, the construction company responsible for the Anchorvale Horizon BTO project was China Jingye Engineering Corporation Limited. Yesterday (14 Jul), the media reported that defects and poor workmanship were again found in newly completed HDB BTO flats. This time, it's Tampines GreenLeaf. The Tampines GreenLeaf residents were so upset with the workmanship that they have also approached their MP, Baey Yam Keng, to address the issue. They also set up a Facebook support group to exchange information with each other facing the defect problems in their flats. They also want to meet Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, the MP for Tampines GRC, to get him to help. "I was shocked at the number of defects. I felt very upset and short-changed," said Ms Teo, a new resident at Tampines GreenLeaf. When she entered her new 4-room flat last month, she was shocked by the plain brown of its timber skirting. "It was quite an eyesore. That kind of brown is not even like normal wood," she said. The sample they saw when selecting their flat had visible wood grain. That sort of skirting is in place for the first two Tampines GreenLeaf blocks, 522A and 522B but not hers. Another resident, Mr Simon Ng, complained about the widening gaps between the skirting and the wall. "The defects will definitely delay my plans for moving into the new house," said Mr Ng. "The worst is that during this period, I have to pay for two houses, which is tough." Other reported problems by the residents include uneven tiles, chipped walls and rust stains. HDB acknowledged that out of about half (430) of the flats handed over so far, 30% have reported problems. MP Baey tried to downplay the problems by saying, "When you have a concentration of interest and views, it just reinforces or heightens feelings." He said he has received just five to 10 e-mail messages. Nevertheless, Mr Baey and Minister Heng are arranging to be briefed by the HDB and then to meet residents. HDB said they are doing their best to address the feedback. Contractor is Soildbuild Construction Group Ltd Tampines GreenLeaf is situated at the junction of Tampines Avenue 6 and Tampines Avenue 9. The BTO project consists of 960 flats in total [Link]: 96 units of 2-room flats 160 units of 3-room flats 384 units of 4-room flats 320 units of 5-room flats According to HDB [Link], the successful tenderer for this 960 unit BTO project was Soilbuild. The building works were awarded to Soilbuild on 26 Sep 2011, 3 years ago, at value of $131 million: Hence, the average cost of constructing each HDB BTO flat in Tampines GreenLeaf works out to be $136,458. Soilbuild Executive Chairman Lim Chap Huat BBM (Photo: Soilbuild Annual Report 2013) Soilbuild's Annual Report 2013 filed with SGX [Link] also confirmed that Soilbuild was the contractor behind Tampines GreenLeaf flats. In his message to the shareholders, Executive Chairman of Soilbuild, Lim Chap Huat, said: "We benefit from the ability to tender for public sector projects in Singapore of unlimited contract value as our subsidiary, Soil-Build (Pte.) Ltd., has an 'A1' grading issued by BCA. While engaging in public housing contracts such as our Tampines Greenleaf project forms part of our drive to support national development, this contract award also serve as testimony to our commitment to construction activities of a higher standard. We are pleased to have secured two new public housing contracts during the year under review and will strive to undertake more national construction projects in future." Soilbuild made news in May last year when it welcomed the Govt’s 6.9 million Population White Paper. Ho Toon Bah, executive director of Soilbuild, said, “The 6.9 million population figure is good news to us. It means that there are more houses to build and more jobs for us!” Lim Chap Huat then added, “We intend to further develop our position in the public housing sector as HDB ramps up the construction of public housing in the coming years. We believe that our track record in public sector projects puts us in good stead to compete in future tenders from the HDB and other public agencies.” Who is Lim Chap Huat? It turns out that Mr Lim Chap Huat is a PAP grassroots leader in Nee Soon GRC. He is the vice-chairman of the Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) in Chong Pang. On top of that, he is Assistant Treasurer of PAP’s Chong Pang branch (http://pap.chongpang.org/content/branch-organisation) [Link]. Mr Lim is also a recipient of the PBM (Public Service Medal) and BBM (Public Service Star). His company website says of him (http://www.soilbuild.com/abt_our_ppl.html): “A strong believer in community service, Mr Lim is the vice-chairman of the Citizens’ Consultative Committee in Chong Pang. His many contributions were recognised in 2009 when he was conferred the Public Service Star.”  Read More →

S. Rajaratnam, former DPM of Singapore Everyone who cares about Singapore’s peace and harmony should read this letter written by one of Singapore’s finest leaders S Rajaratnam who was our Deputy Prime Minister in the early 80s.  He had warned back in 1988 of the dangers of giving in to religious hysteria and of religious conflicts that could tear this country apart. He was spot on. The rising religious fundamentalism in this country is worrying and it is even more so as our government appears to be supporting and “placating” religious hysteria. The recent appalling actions by the National Library Board in withdrawing three children’s books just because they did not fit “community norms” and the even more shocking official support given by the Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim have raised alarm bells. Like many fellow Singaporeans I am worried for my country. Worried that the angry debate, the growing intolerance of people who do not fit the state-sanctioned “norm” and the rising militancy of religious fundamentalists will tear our social fabric and our harmony to shreds if the Govt continues placating and feeding the religious hysteria. If only we have the likes of the wise Rajaratnam in government now to restore sanity to the state.   Jentrified Citizen * The writer blogs at http://jentrifiedcitizen.wordpress.com/   Why Religious Hysteria Must Not Be Placated  A letter by S Rajaratnam published in ST Forum 23 Nov 1988 Why, it may be asked, am I persisting in what is turning out to be a spirited monologue between me and the censors responsible for banning Nikos Kazantzakis’ The Last Temptation? The banning of a memorable book which the vast majority of Singaporeans have ignored for some 30 years without serious damage to their health and mind is unlikely to bring Singapore crashing down. The worst that can happen, from the censor’s point of view, is that, should the ban be ever lifted, there would be a stampeded to borrow or buy the book. The best that can then happen is that, in diligently searching through the novel for the dirty bits that do not exist, many Singaporeans would have, for the first time in their lives, read from cover to cover a masterpiece of modern literature. So my persistence is not over the banning of one book but concern over the cast of mind and motive that led to the banning. This anxiety has been reinforced by Mr Koo Tsai Kee’s response on Nov 12 to my first letter. I find Mr Koo’s reply far more disturbing than that of Mr John Lee (ST, Nov 12). In the latter case, I was broadcasting FM while Mr Lee was radiating on a wave length beyond the range of earthly intelligence. Mr Koo, on the other hand, is a highly intelligent man, not least of all because of his description of my first letter on the ban “as a brilliant piece of expose which makes for compelling reading”. Circuitry haywire My inflated ego soared higher still when he tried to shame our censors by stating that the fact that “the movie and book were not banned in the West in spite of a hue and cry from predominantly Christian societies bears witness to the triumph of sanity over hysteria”. He then goes on: “If anything the misrepresentations should be exposed. I sincerely believe we are intellectually the poorer because of it (the ban).” So far so good. We were both operating on FM. Then suddenly I lost Mr Koo. He was inexplicably operating on a wave length well beyond the reach of known human intelligence. His circuitry suddenly went haywire. He says that nevertheless “I empathise with the sentiments of my Christian friends” in the interests of what he calls “racial and religious cohesiveness” — race and religion unspecified. He, therefore, “grants our censors… the privilege” of ensuring that, out of regard for the sensitivities of the hysterical, other thinking Christians and non-Christians should “suffer some intellectual deprivation”. In other words, “racial and religious cohesiveness” can best be ensured in Singapore by enforcing, as a matter of law, what on the basis of Mr Koo’s own analysis is the triumph of the hysterical over the sane — Christian and non-Christian. I would have thought the best way of ensuring racial and religious harmony would be by compelling the hysterical minority to “empathise” with the sane majority. This is what Western Christian and even non-Christian countries with also a multiplicity of religions and races have had the courage to do in the face of the baying of the hysterical over this book. And as far as I know, no religious wars have erupted as a result of the courageous stand. On the contrary, placating religious hysteria is the surest way of encouraging religious intolerance and, therefore, of religious civil wars. Yet a non-Christian and Asian Singapore applies the opposite remedy. I do not propose in this letter to back my statement by adducing a wealth of evidence, except to point that, today, there are so many racial and religious wars on a global scale as to justify regarding this phenomena as the rule rather than the exception. That is why when on the day of my retirement from official politics I was asked by the reporters what my future concerns for Singapore were, I unhesitatingly said: “The danger of racial and religious conflicts”. Personal encounter The reason why Singapore has so far been an exception to what is becoming a world-wide rule is that this Government had the courage always to be on the side of sanity against the intolerance of the hysterical. Singaporeans would be foolish to think for one moment that they have some divine immunity against religious shootouts. I would like to back this statement with a personal encounter. I was recently on a holiday in an Asean country. I was visited by a niece of mine on her way to a girl guide campfire sing-song. I remarked that during my boy scout days I enjoyed such campfires. “Not any more uncle”, she said, with a wry smile. “Why not?” “Nowadays we have sing-songs but without campfires”, she said wistfully. “Why?” “Because”, she said, “some minor religious sect considers singing around a campfire fire-worshipping and therefore offensive.” The girl guide officials were advised in the interests of racial harmony and in the interests of “empathy” for the intolerant to dispense with the bonfire. A triumph of hysteria over sanity, right? As my niece walked away, I wished with all my heart that, for her sake, sanity had won over hysteria instead.   Transcribed from: http://bit.ly/1nrJful Note: This letter was transcribed by Kenneth Tan and it had first appeared on his Facebook page Kenneth Shanghalist Tan.  He is looking for volunteers to help transcribe more archived reports that are of interest to Singaporeans. Those interested can contact him at [email protected]  Read More →