Vivian Balakrishnan
Singapore
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The complete record
Every one of 2,437 lines we hold for Vivian Balakrishnan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 25 of 49.
“Mdm Speaker, I really did not want to go into details. But I think since Ms Lim is asking for it, I hope the Clerk of Parliament would be able to distribute the dossier of documents which will provide the details needed [Handouts were distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 1]. I am going to ask one more time. Did Mr Tai Vie Shun ask the hawkers for extra money and did he deny the responsibility of the Town Council to clean the high areas? I just want a "yes" or "no" answer.”
“Madam, the key issue is integrity. I have put forth to this House that Mr Tai Vie Shun, whom you do not deny is your Property Manager, whom I believe is an employee of FM Solutions & Services (FMSS), had on three occasions asked the hawkers to pay more. That is the crux of the issue. We can discuss all the other peripheral issues but this is what Mr Tai had said and done. You have denied that publicly. What is your version today?”
“Ms Sylvia Lim then goes on to ask, "Has any stallholder been approached by the AHPETC staff or its contractors for the extra charges? If so, please make it public. AHPETC has investigated the claim and found the claim published in the press report to be baseless". In the light of the evidence, the meetings, the witnesses, the emails, the consistent account by the hawkers throughout this entire sorry episode, I am afraid it leads to the conclusion that these two public denials by Mr Pritam Singh and Ms Sylvia Lim were therefore false and untruthful.”
“We have notes of these meetings and we have a list of witnesses who can attest to what was said at these meetings. Subsequently, the hawkers repeatedly asked Aljunied Town Council by email to confirm whether they would clean the high areas. Mr Tai Vie Shun refused to give the hawkers a direct answer. Instead, he responded three times. Three times by email with a stock answer. Let me quote his answer: "Spring cleaning is a practice set by the NEA, not the Town Council. As such, we advise the Merchant Association to liaise with the NEA directly on the requirement." Despite repeated entreaties by the hawkers and subsequently by the NEA, this was the cut-and-paste stock answer that was issued on three occasions. In other words, he was telling the poor hawkers that "This is not the Town Council's responsibility. It is NEA that imposed this requirement, go and ask them." These emails would be made available for public viewing. Despite these facts, Ms Sylvia Lim, Chairman of the Town Council and Mr Pritam Singh, Vice-Chairman of the Aljunied Town Council, denied that the Aljunied Town Council ever tried to get the hawkers to pay more. These two denials were issued on 1 and 7 June 2013. On 1 June 2013, Mr Pritam Singh issued a statement which stated and I quote, "We reiterate that no authorised Town Council staff told any hawker or anyone of Page: 24 any additional charges to be imposed for the cleaning." On 7 June 2013, Ms Sylvia Lim issued the statement. I quote the statement, "The whole episode started with a Sunday Times report alluding that the AHPETC is collecting money from stallholders for the cleaning of the market and the hawker centre".”
“Mdm Speaker, as I have explained, the spring cleaning of hawker centres, including the cleaning of high areas, has always been the responsibility of the Town Councils and the costs fully borne by the Town Councils. This is a well-established precedent. Mr Low, in a short discussion with me yesterday, agreed with this principle. Unfortunately, the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council − it is a very long name, can we just call it Aljunied Town Council for short − the Page: 23 Aljunied Town Council saga has been a very long story and, quite honestly, I do not want to impose further details of the dispute on the Members of this House or on members of the public. However, in the minutiae of the to-and-fro, I am afraid the key issue of integrity has been obscured. The problems arose in Blocks 538 and 511 in Bedok North, because the Aljunied Town Council (a) denied its responsibility to clean the high areas of the hawker centres and markets; (b) tried to levy additional charges on the hawkers for doing so; (c) failed to clean Block 538 properly; and (d) prevaricated and made untrue statements to conceal this. Mr Tai Vie Shun – I believe he is the Property Manager of Aljunied Town Council – tried to impose additional charges for the cleaning of high areas on the hawkers on three occasions. Not once, not twice – three occasions. The first occasion was on 8 March 2013 at a meeting attended by representatives from the NEA, the hawkers and the Town Council. The second occasion where this claim was made was on 26 April 2013 at a meeting attended by representatives from NEA, the Town Council and, this time, the Block 511 Hawker Association. The third occasion was on 28 April 2013 in a meeting with the Chairman of the Block 511 Hawker Association.”
“Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, the Minister said that the Town Council is responsible for cleaning the hawker centres, with no extra charges to the hawkers. In that case, what went wrong at the hawker centres in Bedok North?”
“Mdm Speaker, let me begin by reading section 18(1) of the Town Councils Act since it applies to all of us. This section states that the Page: 22 functions of a Town Council are (a) to control, manage, maintain and improve the common property of the residential and commercial property in the housing estates of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) within the Town and to keep them in a state of good and serviceable repair and in a proper and clean condition; and (b) to exercise such powers and perform such duties as may from time to time be conferred or imposed on the Town Council by or under any written law. Commercial property includes any market or food centre developed by the HDB. For more than a decade, this, in fact, goes back to the 2003 SARS epidemic, NEA has directed all Town Councils to conduct quarterly spring cleaning of all markets and food centres under their charge. The quarterly spring cleaning includes all common areas, including drains, columns, floors, fans, roof gutters and the elimination of potential mosquito breeding sites. The ceilings, beams and exhaust ducts are to be cleaned at least once a year and the costs of such cleaning, including the erection of scaffoldings in order to access the high areas, are to be fully borne by the Town Council, without any additional charges levied on hawkers, since the Town Council already collects monthly service and conservancy charges from all the hawkers. The hawkers are only responsible for the erection of scaffoldings for the protective canvas to cover their own individual stalls when the high areas are being cleaned. NEA monitors the outcome of the cleaning exercise in order to ensure that public health and hygiene are safeguarded, pursuant to section 60 of the Environmental Public Health Act.”
“During the smoke haze episodes, the main air pollutant of concern is particulate matter. When the outdoor haze situation deteriorates, young children and pregnant women are advised to stay indoors and reduce their activities. Doors and windows should be closed to reduce the entry of outdoor air pollutants. Fans and air-conditioners could be helpful for air circulation. Any activity that generates more particles and particulate matter indoors, such as cigarette/cigar/ pipe-smoking, burning of candles, vacuuming, dry dusting and sweeping, should be avoided. During the periods of haze, air cleaners may be helpful in households, kindergartens and childcare centres. There are three main types of air cleaners which remove particulate matter mechanical air filters, electrostatic precipitators and ionisers. Ozone-generating cleaners should be avoided as ground-level ozone is a harmful pollutant. As soon as the outdoor air quality improves to healthy levels, windows could be opened to enhance natural ventilation. More information is available at the NEA Haze website at www.haze.gov.sg.”
“The National Environment Agency (NEA) has observed that around 20-30% of the recyclables collected under the National Recycling Programme7 are contaminated and that recycling bins located in close proximity to food outlets have more contamination. Recycling bins that are located far away from litter bins and in high traffic areas are also more likely to be misused as common waste bins. To minimise contamination of recycling bins, NEA has undertaken public education efforts to make it clearer what can and cannot be recycled. All new recycling bins in HDB estates are fitted with standard labels that clearly display the specific kinds of materials that should be placed in the recycling bins. NEA also works closely with schools and community groups under the five Community Development Councils (CDCs) to educate the students and households on what can be recycled so as to ensure proper segregation of recyclables from waste. NEA also engages the owners and operators of building premises, such as shopping malls and hotels, to share best practices on waste management and recycling. This is done through public seminars, workshops and the publication of guidebooks. All these educational efforts would serve to maximise usage of recycling bins while at the same time cut down on misuse and contamination of the recyclables by other wastes. Page: 140”
“The National Environment Agency (NEA) conducts epidemiological investigations to trace the movement history of dengue patients so as to pinpoint the likely sources of dengue transmission. NEA classifies an area as a dengue cluster when the workplaces or residences of two or more dengue patients whose fever onset dates are within 14 days of each other are less than 150 metres apart. NEA officers carry out intensive search-and-destroy operations of mosquito breeding habitats at both indoor and outdoor areas within dengue clusters. NEA will also extend vector control operations beyond the identified dengue clusters to MRT stations, markets, food centres and other congregation areas if it suspects that there is dengue transmission at these places.”
“Since January 2013, we have stepped up the cleaning and inspection schedules for areas with reported and suspected dengue cases in view of the current dengue epidemic. Drains in active dengue clusters identified by NEA are checked and flushed twice a week, and PUB and TCs also apply larvicides in Page: 99 situations where there will be water in the drain by design. We have also provided assistance to the TCs by providing technical advice as well as training TC officers in mosquito control knowledge and supervision of pest control operator performance. Nonetheless, choked drains can form quickly after a rainstorm due to shed leaves and litter, and we encourage members of the public to provide feedback to the Department of Public Cleanliness should they spot any choked drains. We also urge the public not to litter, as litter may flow into our public drains after a rainstorm and lead to choked drains.”
“Before I answer Ms Mary Liew's question, I would like to provide an update to the House on the current dengue situation. Singapore is currently in the grip of our worst dengue epidemic, with more than 12,000 cases diagnosed so far. Four persons in Singapore have also passed away after succumbing to dengue shock syndrome. There are currently 77 active dengue clusters, out of which 29 are clusters with 10 or more reported cases. My Ministry and NEA agree with Ms Mary Liew that source reduction, which denies Aedes mosquitoes a place to breed, is key towards breaking the dengue transmission chain and stemming the epidemic. Last month, NEA announced its plan to recruit another 300 more officers to augment the existing 850 full-time officers deployed across Singapore to carry out inspections of private and public premises for possible breeding sites. NEA also coordinates whole-of-Government dengue control efforts across agencies for infrastructure and assets under their purview through the Inter-Agency Dengue Task Force. NEA, together with PUB and the Town Councils (TCs), note that public drains can be a possible mosquito breeding site when pockets of stagnant water form as a result of drains choked from leaves or litter. Currently, our public drains are cleaned and inspected on a regular basis for flood prevention and public hygiene reasons, including source reduction. Drains under PUB's maintenance are checked weekly, and debris, litter and shed leaves are removed promptly during such checks. Drains are also flushed periodically to remove silt, and the frequency of flushing depends on the rate of siltation in the drains. On average, roadside drains in public housing estates are flushed about once every two to three months.”
“Unfortunately, my colleague from Foreign Affairs is not here but certainly, if Members of this House meet your colleagues in DPR, by all means, please persuade them of the wisdom of ratifying that agreement.”
“That means, we are going to look at hotspots, wind, rain and the readings from different parts of Singapore and give you our best estimate of what the ambient pollution level will be tomorrow so that you can plan accordingly. Having said that, we are also monitoring the spot data and if there is any sudden change, we will intervene. We did that twice. On 22 June, Saturday, in the morning, there were huge queues for masks. In Bukit Panjang, I had 400 people in a queue. I had to speak to them. Yet, when I walked out of the Bukit Panjang Plaza that afternoon, the sky miraculously became blue because the wind changed from west to south and blew all the haze, unfortunately, to our friends in Muar in southern Johor. So, we had to issue an update to say, "Things have changed. Conditions have improved." Similarly, last Sunday, the conditions continued to improve and at 12 midnight, after reviewing all the data, we felt confident. We issued a release to say schools would reopen on 1 July. In fact, our air was in the healthy range. This is the way we will operate from now on – continue to provide data which is internationally comparable, which gives you an index of risk and continue to watch short-term trends. The moment that anything changes for the better or for worse we will keep Singaporeans informed. So, I give you that assurance that we will be accurate, we will be transparent and we will be practical. Page: 51”
“And I tell you honestly, I cannot give you a precise estimate of the haze outside your particular window. But that is precisely the reason why reputable agencies like the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) use a 24-hour rolling average to calculate the index of risk which is what the PSI or the AQI is meant to be. It is an index. That means you take a number, you put it into a formula, you come up with a number which is supposed to give you an estimate of risk. The USEPA specifies that a 24-hour ambient exposure of less than 35 micrograms per cubic metre is healthy. As a comparison, today in Singapore, Page: 50 even at the highest point – I cannot remember which part of Singapore this is right now – it is nine micrograms. So, we are well within the healthy range. But during the crisis, I had people taking spot data, putting it into a formula which expects a 24-hour rolling average and then jumping to the wrong conclusions. We also had people pointing out to other websites which ostensibly are providing real-time data. Then I discovered, yes, that website is taking data published hourly by us based on rolling 24-hour averages but people mistakenly believed that they were somehow providing more information than NEA. It cannot be. The information is from NEA. Now, having said all that, I just want to emphasise again that there is no reason for us to give misleading data. We are all in this together. We are all breathing in the same air. But in a crisis, it is important to be consistent. It is important to be accurate. We tried to do that. As Minister Ng said just now, by 20 June, we had switched from just looking at PSI backwards, we said we are going to give you a 24-hour advisory prospectively.”
“In the case of particulate matter, the science is a bit more complicated because it is not just a matter of spot exposure – that means what have I breathed now. It is really a function of duration, how long am I breathing it; the dosage of exposure, how high is the pollutant? The third factor is my own state of health – do I have lung or cardiac disease? Fourth, my level of activity. There is a big difference between staying indoors and running a marathon under the same conditions. There are four separate factors that determine the impact of particulate matter pollution on health. Now, apart from that, there is another very practical matter which I should highlight. In those satellite pictures which I showed Members a while ago, the way to understand haze is to think about a cigarette. If you stand beside a person who has lit a cigarette, the cigarette smoke does not come to you in one uniform dose. It is a plume of smoke. It comes to you in waves, depending on whether the guy blew in your direction or whether there is a wind blowing in your direction. Now, the same phenomenon is occurring for haze. It arrives in Singapore in waves and according to the wind. Many people said, "Look, the number you are publishing is not what I see out of my window." We have five recording stations: north, south, east, west and in the centre of the island. At any one point in time, the readings are very volatile, depending on whether you got a fresh dose of a plume. The readings between the five places can also be very different – sometimes by the order of a magnitude of hundreds of micrograms. The point is any number that NEA publishes, by definition, will always be an average across space and time.”
“After the crisis is over, when we all have time to look, contemplate, decide, we can do so; but not in the middle of a crisis with the risk of confusion being so high. Hence, my primary consideration was the following. First, were we publishing accurate data? That means, are those machines on the five rooftops of the recording stations that we have in Singapore – are the machines accurate, updated? Do the technicians who are operating them understand those machines? And the answer was "yes" – the readings from those machines were accurate. The second question: is the data that we are getting giving us enough signals to provide practical advice to Singaporeans, meaning, what impact does it have on your work, what impact does it on schools, on health and so on and so forth? Is it accurate? Is it actionable? And the answer to both these questions was "yes". We found that publishing the 24-hour PSI, the 24-hour rolling average PM2.5 and the 3-hour PSI gave us all the signals that we needed. In fact, when we plotted the shape of the graphs – 3-hour and 1-hour – the graphs were virtually identical. It would not have made a difference to our recommendations. Page: 49 Then there was a question about PM2.5 versus PM10. As a doctor, I am fully aware that the more significant pollutant, as far as health is concerned, is PM2.5. There is sufficient medical and health evidence to that effect. But – and this is an important "but" – we need to distinguish between pollution from particulate matter and that from a viral disease like SARS or MERS. Again, it is something which I understand intimately. In the case of a virus, one or a few particles that get into me could potentially kill me.”
“More data, if for no other reason but to prove the point that this is a Government with nothing to hide; this is a Government that is credible; this is a Government that is obsessed with accuracy. As Minister Ng said just now, trust is that intangible crucial Page: 48 ingredient to Singapore's success. Without trust in the Government, anything we say would not be believed; anything we do cannot be implemented. That is my starting point – more information, greater transparency – better. But let me tell you my considerations. Actually, our pollution index system is in a state of transition. The PSI system has been around since the 1990s and it needed to be updated. We were in the process of updating it. That is why Members may recall that NEA started publishing PM2.5 data since August last year. The reason I wanted to publish that data – because it was not currently sufficiently captured in the PSI data – was to prepare us to move to a new system. It is also important to understand that deciding environmental standards is not a purely environmental decision. It has got impact on industry; it has got impact on health; it has got impact on trade. There are many dimensions to it. This is not a decision which you enter into lightly. We were in a state of transition and then this question came up – how about publishing real-time data or raw data instantly? I decided, after carefully thinking through it, not to do so at that point in time. Why? I decided not to do so because the risk of confusion or worse, publishing unverified or inaccurate data was too high. I could not take that risk in the middle of a crisis.”
“The question of why the collaboration in Jambi was not renewed is, I think, a combination of local factors. Change in governorship may have had some role in it. Perhaps, this sense that, well, haze is something that occurs every year in Riau and it is not necessarily at the top of their political agenda. And thirdly, I think we need to appreciate that when you want to go to your neighbour's house, even if it is for collaboration, you need permission. And you need a relationship that is functional, that is based on mutual trust and mutual benefit. So, we cannot presume to go in there and say, "Well, you know, we installed it. Now it is out of order, we are sending people in to go and fix it." That will be wrong. In fact, if we behave that way, that would put paid to any future collaboration. So, I appeal for certain amount of patience and sensitivity in managing these dynamic relationships. We have forgotten how big Indonesia is. From Banda Aceh to Papua, I think it is the distance from London to Baghdad. Indonesia has a population of 240 million. It is the fourth largest country in the world. It has got at least three time zones. With greater political decentralisation, we have to deal with multiple levels of government. I am saying that we will keep trying but I cannot promise you an instant answer. By next week, I will have an answer as to whether they have agreed to renew the collaboration in Jambi. Hopefully, even to offer collaborations with other provinces which we will be keen to do. The question on readings is one which that came up quite often during the crisis and even my mail box was filled with multiple queries on that. So, if you do not mind, let me give you a somewhat detailed answer to it. First, I do believe that we should provide more data.”
“I would like to thank the Minister for taking prompt action, especially since 14 June. But I would say that in order to solve this haze problem, we need the Indonesian government to do more in Indonesia. I have two supplementary questions. Why was the collaboration in Jambi not renewed when it lapsed in 2011. Was it because the Indonesian side was Page: 47 not interested to renew it at all? Was there a change in the local official or they think that this haze problem is not important at all? The second supplementary question is on the PSI readings. There were quite a lot of suggestions from residents to give hourly PSI readings. Will the Ministry consider this request?”
“I am so glad that the Member brought up that point. Let me deal with that point first. First, I am glad that CASE has taken the position that they would like to take action against companies. But you notice that CASE has turned around and asked the Government, "Can you please provide us information so that we can act on it?" Well, unfortunately, here the tables are turned also, and we also have to ask the Indonesians: "Please give us the information on the errant companies." On 21 June, I went to Jakarta and had a private meeting with the Environment Minister. He showed me his file and said, "My investigators have found eight companies, but do not worry, none of them are from Singapore." So I said, "Actually, I just want to know which are the companies, whether they are Singapore-owned, Singapore-based, Singapore-linked or not, we will do our best to take any possible action within our laws against them." But he said, "No, they are not from Singapore." So, this is what I was told on 21 June. Subsequently, some other Ministers came up with another list, ostensibly perhaps naming some companies which may have links with Singapore. Minister Shanmugam has asked officially for the list, "Please tell us who really is a suspect and who you have evidence on, so that we can take action." We are still waiting for that. So, like CASE, we are still waiting for information so that we can take appropriate action against these companies. I cannot speak on behalf of Temasek. However, I have shared a small anecdote just now which I think very clearly illustrates Temasek's attitude to this business of protecting and looking out for the long-term interests of Singaporeans. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: Thank you, Mdm Speaker.”
“Every year, around this time, we write a letter to say hot spots are increasing, we stand ready to help with cloud seeding, perhaps even fire fighting if they need help, and logistics support. We have had a positive collaboration in Jambi and we want to renew it. The sensors that we installed need to be repaired; we are waiting for their signal to be able to go in to do the repairs. Let me be brutally frank with this House – the answers from the Indonesian Ministers, sometimes in their unguarded moments, they just tell us, "Look, Indonesia is 240 million people. Our GDP is multiples of yours." So, that comment is: "If it is a few dollars, keep it, we do not need it." It is not very diplomatic, but Singaporeans should draw the correct lessons from this episode. We are small; we are open; we are vulnerable. We are surrounded by much bigger countries which have their own political agendas and their own priorities. So, I think it is necessary for us to have a realistic and humble sense of where we are in the world and, therefore, what we need to do if we are going to remain special and if we are going to be able to punch above our own weight. The first thing is to know the nature, the character and the dynamics of the other people and other countries that we are negotiating with or that we are hoping to have significant collaborations with.”
“Temasek actually sent executives to go and visit the ground, took photographs of nice, beautiful blue skies to show me, that this was not happening, that there are companies worth investing in, who are doing the right thing and behaving responsibly, and this can work. So, this is a positive example, but we need more positive examples and we need to highlight and ultimately, we need to give these positive companies a commercial advantage. That is where this point about labeling, about transparency and Ms Irene Ng's point about consumer pressure and consumer choice be brought to bear is relevant. If we can get this going in Singapore and, frankly, I think this may be best done through a non-government group, through consumer groups, through NGOs, and this is also the best way to regionalise or internationalise this. There are some of us here who are from NGOs and I hope you will see that this is one way you can make a positive difference for the environment and for Page: 45 the health of our people.”
“Last year, in my reply to the Member, I did mention that we needed both – positive affirmation as well as negative pressure on errant companies. That is why since last year – in fact, since the year before that – I have been pushing for the publication of concession maps, because without those maps, it is very difficult for me to point fingers, and to point fingers authoritatively, bearing in mind that these activities occur in another sovereign land, and we are not down there to see who has paid who to light that particular fire on that particular piece of land. Yes, we have a view from the sky, from the satellite picture which shows the hot spots, but that is not enough evidence for me to point fingers. It is also the reason why in Prime Minister Lee's letter to the President, he said that if there are any Singapore-linked companies, please give us the evidence so that we can consider taking action against them. We are still waiting for that information or evidence, if any. On the positive side, I will share one positive anecdote. Very earlier on in this episode, when I made this statement that we have to hold errant companies responsible, some netizens emailed me to say, "You better watch out! How dare you say that? For all you know, Temasek has invested in some of these companies." Well, Temasek invested in a company called Cargill and I made discreet enquiries. Cargill's plantations are all in south of Sumatra, and there was no satellite hot spot in that area. But that was not enough. I will let you in on a little secret.”
“So, we need more of such actions on the part of governments, NGOs and consumers in order to make these companies behave themselves and act responsibly. One of the sentences that I put in a Facebook post, I think, got a few Indonesian authorities upset. I said, "No country or company has a right to profit at the expense of the well-being and health of Singaporeans." It got some of them irritated and probably contributed to raising the political temperature a bit, but I stand by that statement and I think as Members in this House, regardless of which party we are from, our first and primary duty is to protect the well-being and health of Singaporeans.”
“Madam, just to answer Ms Irene Ng's supplementary question. First, I want to say I totally agree with her. That is why we are pushing and are demanding that official concession maps be published because with those maps, we can overlay with the satellite maps, we can inform these companies, "Look, there is a fire in your area. Did you start it, or have you taken any efforts to put it out? What are your plans to prevent such fires from Page: 43 going on?" I would also add that it is not so straightforward because apart from land which they have a concession on, many of these large plantation companies also buy or source palm oil from small holders on the margins of their larger estates. So, they will fold their arms and say, "No, that's not on my land" but, actually, because they are part of the same supply chain, it is complicit in the irresponsible clearance and of illegal fire setting. So, getting this trail of accountability, joining the dots, is a challenge. Nevertheless, we will make a start by demanding that official concession maps be published; and that companies be held accountable for it. I agree with her that consumers do need to exert pressure through our purchasing decisions as to which companies we want to do business with. I would also highlight the role of NGOs. For instance, during this crisis, World Resources Institute (WRI) published a map, which is available on the Internet, of concession maps according to their own sources of information and overlaid that with satellite hot spots that we had provided. You cannot use these as evidence in court but, nevertheless, prima facie, there is a cause for questions to be asked and for the companies to feel that they have to account for it.”
“Quite frankly, I think it was his apology and his commitment that made a difference on the ground, and helped to reduce or at least prevented people from starting more fires without having to worry about consequences. Of course, we were helped by the rains which have now fallen over Sumatra over the last one week. We will stand ready to work and to do our best with Indonesia as a close neighbour and as a partner in ASEAN. The haze situation today has improved a lot compared with what we faced three weeks ago. But I also want to be honest with Singaporeans and tell you that this beautiful day which we have now could be only a temporary respite. The dry season is not over yet, and we need continued vigilance and decisive action by the Indonesian authorities to prevent another recurrence of the haze over the next two to three months. MEWR and NEA will do our part to detect and give warning of the haze and to mitigate its impact, but we need the support and cooperation of all stakeholders. I also want to end by thanking Singaporeans for their calmness, their patience and the fact that they refused to get rattled by the situation. It is that ability to respond sensibly, rationally, cohesively and collectively as a people that makes the difference, and makes me confident that we will get through this together, whatever happens.”
“The new satellites will also have greater spectral sensitivity, which means you can also see fires in an early stage or maybe even if they are underground. Third, we need more wind sensors, not only in Singapore, but, indeed, in the Straits and in the shores beyond ours. These wind sensors will input into the more complicated computer models which predict weather patterns, whether there will be rain or drought, winds, speed of the wind which determines how fast the haze features are, directions of the wind, which is the difference between why we had a clear Saturday on 22 June while Muar in Johor was completely overcome by haze. These sophisticated computer models are still in a state of development. As Dr Ng Eng Hen said just now, what we need is to be able to predict the haze, the density, not one hour from now, and not 24 hours ago, but the next 24 hours. In the same way, people have gotten used to weather forecasts and we will have to upgrade our capability to be able to give you haze forecasts, because these forecasts are how you will plan your day, what activities businesses need to take, schools, hospitals – everything depends on a forward-looking prediction. I cannot give you the assurance that it can be 100% accurate. It is not possible. Everyone who engages in weather forecasting knows that, but we can improve the precision of our forecasts. That is something which we are going to work very hard on over the next one or two years. I also cannot emphasise enough that, for a lasting and permanent solution, we need the firm commitment and resolute action by the Indonesian Page: 37 government at all levels. We appreciate that the President of Indonesia has acknowledged the severity of the situation and has given his commitment to tackle the issue.”
“That is why we need, not only legislation, but we also need consumer pressure to be applied, otherwise, the temptation to go for the cheapest way or the most unsustainable and irresponsible way, that temptation would be too great. Through our purchasing decisions, we can punish businesses that undertake illegal burning and reward those which adopt sustainable practices. The supply chain also has a role here. I was very encouraged to learn that the Singapore Manufacturers' Federation (SMa) urged its members not to have any business dealings with errant organisations and their subsidiaries involved in Page: 36 these illegal fires. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has also called on five of its members alleged to have been involved in illegal land clearing in Indonesia to submit digital maps of their plantations and aid its investigations. I encourage more of such ground-up, non-governmental approaches to hold people accountable and to ensure that transparency and data are available. Let me conclude by saying that my Ministry's core mission in the haze has been to detect, to warn and to mitigate. In the areas of detection and warning, the Meteorological Service of Singapore (MSS) of NEA is looking to enhance its capabilities for the early warning of haze. This includes making use of more meteorological data, finer resolution satellite imagery, enhanced dispersion modelling capabilities, and installation of more sensors. Let me try to explain what all that means. For instance, by next year, and certainly by 2015, we will be gaining feeds from new satellites which have greater resolution. We need resolution down to the range of about 1 km to 2 km to be able to identify hotspots.”
“For this reason, at the sub-regional level, we have initiated a forum that will enable the MSC countries to reach out to existing and potential stakeholders, to exchange best practices and to form new partnerships. My Ministry organised and hosted the first MSC Forum in 2009. In 2012, the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) supported Brunei in hosting the second MSC Forum. This forum involves NGOs, academics, companies and other relevant stakeholders. So, it is a process that exists in parallel to inter-government processes. My Ministry has also been identifying and will be approaching the companies themselves to encourage them to establish a positive model in the operation and the management of plantations. We want to show that such responsible practices are workable, practical, sustainable and viable, and we hope that this will become the accepted way of doing business and will be replicated across the industry. Thirdly, I would like to respond to Mr Nicholas Fang and Ms Irene Ng who asked about the steps other stakeholders, including Singaporeans, can take to ensure a long-term solution. Every one of us, as a consumer, has the power to influence the behaviour of a company. A key cause of the haze is the clearance of plantation land by burning because this is the cheapest way to do so. Let me give Members an idea of the scale. To pay someone and give that person a jerry can of kerosene to burn one hectare of forest cost about S$6. If you pay a team of contractors to use chain saws to cut forest, tractors and bulldozers to clear the logs and then plough the ground, it would cost you thousands of dollars more. Between $6 and thousands of dollars, that is the profit motive, that is where the source of the haze lies.”
“I should say that a major success factor was the strong support given by the then Governor of Jambi, Pak Zulkifli Nurdin. This illustrates the necessity for political buy-in and commitment at the provincial level and on the ground. Unfortunately, this collaboration was not renewed after 2011. If you look very carefully at this picture, you will see a tall pole, that is the meteorological pole which helps gather meteorological data – wind direction, moisture, rain and so on. If you look even more closely, you will see a little small box in which are analysers for air quality. These were provided to our colleagues in Jambi by the Singapore Government, but all technology requires maintenance and requires repair. Unfortunately, this is now not working and we have not been able to gain access to fix it, but we hope the Indonesian government will renew this agreement and allow us to do more work at a local level on a mutually beneficial basis. We have conveyed to Indonesia that we want to renew this collaboration and we also want to undertake projects which promote sustainable agricultural practices. In fact, President Yudhoyono had already agreed to support this when he met Prime Minister Lee in April this year and we have been awaiting confirmation from our Indonesian counterparts. We stand ready to replicate this project in Jambi in other fire-prone provinces, such as Riau, which was the Page: 35 source of most of the haze that hit us this time round. Secondly, beyond government-to-government engagement, my Ministry has also been engaging stakeholders and interest groups ranging from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and think-tanks to companies. We believe that this is a useful and essential complement to the inter-governmental processes.”
“To make a stronger push for concrete actions, I would be seeking clear deliverables from next week's MSC meeting. To Singapore, the key outcomes we want for next week are the following. First, that MSC countries submit their concession maps and agree to a date for the public launch of the ASEAN Sub-Regional Haze Monitoring System platform that will enable the identification of errant companies. Second, that MSC countries involve high-level officials from all relevant Ministries and agencies from each country. The reason for this is because this is not a pure environmental problem. We need, in the case of Indonesia, to have Page: 34 the cooperation and full support of other Ministries like the Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Natural Resources, and this requires a whole-of-Government approach, a whole-of-government commitment, and not just one confined to the Ministry of Environment Third, we hope that Indonesia will agree to renew the collaboration that we have successfully had in Jambi and in other provinces, if possible. And fourth, that Indonesia commits to ratify the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Pollution Agreement as soon as possible. Let me now move on to bilateral collaboration which Mr Ang has asked about. I had mentioned briefly our collaboration with the province of Jambi. I would characterise this as one of our more successful efforts and, indeed, we did observe a greater reduction in the number of hotspots in Jambi Province during our years of collaboration, compared to other fire-prone provinces in Sumatra. The action programmes benefited the local authorities and communities by enhancing their capabilities and knowledge in the area of fire prevention, fire suppression and alternative livelihoods.”
“Meanwhile, an ASEAN Coordinating Centre (ACC) facilitates the channelling of regional resources to countries requesting for assistance to combat fires. However, the 2002 ASEAN agreement has yet to be ratified by Indonesia. I hope this agreement will be ratified by the time the ASEAN Environment Ministers meet in October this year. The credibility of ASEAN depends very much on the willingness of its individual members to live up to our international obligations. However, whilst Indonesia's ratification of the treaty will send a strong signal of high-level political commitment, this, in itself, may not be sufficient to prevent the haze if the measures taken on the ground – investigations and enforcement – remain weak. Mr Zaqy Mohamad has asked whether there had been any progress in tackling the haze issue since October 2012. In 2006, Singapore initiated a sub-regional grouping – the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution – which comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The MSC has met 14 times since then, focusing on assisting Indonesia in implementing its Plan of Action to combat haze. At the last meeting, which was held in October 2012, the Ministers agreed to explore sharing concession maps and using satellite and mapping technologies to monitor hotspots in order to hold plantation companies and land owners accountable for their land-clearing practices. A technical task force – currently led by Singapore and comprising experts from other MSC countries – is now studying the implementation details. The technology platform will be ready soon. What we need now is for all the countries to provide official, accurate concession maps and we will push for this urgently at the upcoming MSC meeting next week.”
“From this chronology of events, you will see that the Government has been monitoring the haze situation closely over many years, and more closely over the last one month, and we did our best to get the Indonesian authorities to deal with the source of the problem, even as we geared up to take protective action locally. I said earlier that we have been working with the Indonesian government to try to improve the situation on the ground. Let me give Members some idea of the current state of play at the ground, including at the provincial level. First, at the government-to-government level, we need Indonesia and other like-minded countries to commit more seriously to work together to tackle transboundary haze. Mr Muhamad Faisal Manap and Mr Yee asked about the progress of the regional agreements and the platforms established to address transboundary haze. The ASEAN Regional Haze Action Plan (RHAP) was endorsed by the ASEAN Environment Ministers in December 1997 – a long time ago – arising from the period of intense fire and transboundary haze pollution that year. This has since been superseded by the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution formulated in 2002. The latter built on the ideas from the RHAP, such as monitoring, assessment and prevention, technical cooperation and scientific research, and mechanisms for coordination. Page: 33 Under this framework, Singapore hosts the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) that monitors the regional hotspot situation and provides early warning to all affected countries – it is not just for Singapore; this is a regional centre – when the ASMC observes a significant rise in hotspot counts.”
“This included renewing the environmental collaboration between Singapore and Jambi province or, indeed, expanding that cooperation to other provinces as well. As with previous years, we offered a haze assistance package that included aircraft for cloud seeding, satellite imagery and hotspot coordinates. The Environment Minister of Indonesia received the letter on President Yudhoyono's behalf. Page: 32 President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono replied formally to Prime Minister Lee on 3 July 2013. He acknowledged the seriousness of the situation this year, and informed Prime Minister Lee that the Indonesian authorities would undertake comprehensive investigations so that "those responsible are firmly held to account". He highlighted Indonesia's fire-fighting efforts to reduce the number of hotspots. The President also stated that the government of Indonesia had been in the final stages of resubmitting the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution to Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) for ratification by the House. The President also very graciously reiterated his apologies and reassured us that they would spare no effort to address this problem. On the domestic front, my colleague, the Minister for Defence, has explained the convening and the actions of the Crisis Management Group. As Members are also aware, Prime Minister Lee appointed the Haze Inter-Ministerial Committee led by Dr Ng Eng Hen on 20 June 2013 to coordinate a whole-of-Government response.”
“I also requested him to publish the concession maps – this has been something I have been urging for a very long time – so that we could identify the companies and the persons who were Page: 31 responsible for these fires. Our Foreign Minister Shanmugam separately called the Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa the same day. I followed up with a letter to Minister Kambuaya on 19 June 2013 to reiterate our grave concerns and to re-offer assistance. In response to our calls, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry called for an emergency meeting with Singapore on 20 June 2013 in Jakarta. Despite the short notice, our delegation, led by the CEO of NEA and comprising staff from MEWR, NEA and MFA, attended the meeting. We reiterated our concerns, offered assistance and called on Indonesia to take further actions to address the haze. The Indonesian officials conveyed that they were taking action at the provincial level in tackling the on-going fires. To further underscore the seriousness of the situation, Prime Minister Lee sent me to Jakarta as his Special Envoy on 21 June 2013 to convey his personal letter to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The letter stressed the following: First, this is a recurring problem with regional implications. Second, strong and effective action is needed to be taken against the companies involved in illegal land clearing practices. Third, if any Singapore-linked companies were involved, Indonesia should share with us the evidence so that we could pursue the matter. Fourth, that countries in the region had to work together to overcome the problem, and Fifth, Singapore stood ready to cooperate fully with Indonesia.”
“However, the full extent of hotspot activities could not be determined fully from the satellite images due to the cloudy conditions, as I showed Members earlier on. The PSI readings had moved from Good to Moderate by 1.00 pm on 14 June 2013. That same day, NEA issued a public haze advisory. NEA also updated its website. NEA contacted the Head of the Forest Fires Division of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment to seek an urgent update of the ground situation and to request that urgent measures be taken to mitigate the haze. Unfortunately, the situation worsened on 17 June 2013. Satellite pictures now showed 113 hotspots in Sumatra, of which 106 were in Riau, and the 24-hour PSI at 3.00 pm on 17 June 2013 had increased to between 67 and 80, that is, in the moderate range. At this point, NEA issued another public haze advisory. The CEO of NEA sent an official note to the Deputy Minister of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment on 17 June 2013 to warn of an alarming increase in the number of hotspots in Sumatra and sought Indonesia's assistance to enforce the appropriate legislation on plantation companies to prohibit slash-and-burn. The CEO of NEA also wrote to the Malaysian Department of Environment because the Malaysians are currently the host of the next Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze and he requested the Malaysians to advance the meeting. On 18 June 2013, the next day, the satellite pictures showed 187 hotspots in Sumatra. The PSI was now 115 to 127, in the unhealthy range. That same day, I telephoned my counterpart, the Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya to express my grave concern. I requested Indonesia to take action to put out the fires and offered our assistance.”
“My Ministry and the other agencies have been working with Indonesia over the years to press for solutions. But let me also tell you very frankly the improvements have been incremental at best. I will say more about this later. The recent haze spell was particularly bad three weeks ago because there was a dry spell in Sumatra. Members will also recall there was a dry spell in Singapore as well at that same point in time. And there was also an unfavourable wind. Basically, the wind was blowing from the west, conveying all these smoke plumes across the Straits to Singapore. We were actually gearing up for the onset of the haze season. In fact, this is somewhat earlier than the usual haze season in other years. But the situation deteriorated sharply within a short period. Nonetheless, given the circumstances, our officers acted swiftly and worked very hard to detect, give warning and put in place mitigation measures. Let me go through a chronology of events with Members. Page: 30 This slide plots the number of visible hotspots over the course of time from 12 June until 7 July 2013 [Please refer to Annex 1]. It is annotated by key events. The Inter-Agency Haze Task Force (HTF), which comprises 23 public agencies, was set up in 1994 to coordinate our national action plans to ensure accurate information flow and put in place plans to ensure service continuity. This Task Force met on 29 May 2013, before the haze unfolded, in order to update its plans. Er Dr Lee asked when my Ministry first alerted the Indonesian Government on the haze. On 14 June 2013, the hotspot count was 46 in Sumatra. Forty-one of these hotspots were in Riau.”
“Similarly, when we wake up in the morning and look out of the window, whether it is a blue or a hazy sky depends very much on the location and number of the fires, the density of the smoke and the direction of the wind. We must not forget that while the fires are beyond our immediate sight, actually the haze only takes a few hours to reach us. This Page: 29 makes early warning very challenging, even with perfect knowledge of the ground situation and winds. Under ideal conditions, the longest warning that we can have from the time the smoke emerges from the fire to the time the haze hits us, is around six to 10 hours. This helps frame how difficult early warning is. Ms Irene Ng asked me to share my assessment of the haze situation. Frankly, the haze is not a problem that will go away easily or quickly. This is a complex problem and not least because it originates from the fires on land in another sovereign country. Let me show you the second slide [A slide was shown to hon Members]. This was the situation on 19 June 2013. This slide shows you quite dramatically the extent of the burning that quite often takes place in Sumatra. You can see many more red spots now. Those are the hotspots. What is most obvious in this picture are the yellow plumes, the haze that is emanating from Sumatra and flowing across the Straits to Singapore. The problem transcends an environmental solution because the root cause of this is really commercial. Some big-time plantation companies and paper mills have a total disregard for their social and environmental responsibilities and, indeed, of the local Indonesian laws themselves. Their actions have severely affected millions of people in Indonesia itself, in Malaysia and, of course, the five million of us resident in Singapore.”
“A major component of my Ministry and that of the NEA's mission is to protect the public health of Singaporeans. What that means is public hygiene, food safety and the quality of air and the water that we all breathe and drink. This is ultimate democracy: the air we all breathe and the water that we all drink. This commitment also extends to the haze, although, quite frankly, where the haze is concerned, our hands are somewhat more tied than in other areas. With the haze, we have no direct sight of the source at all – it is hundreds of kilometres away and is spread over an area that is many times the size of Singapore. In fact, various estimates have shown that every year, the area of forest that is burned is probably about seven times the size of Singapore. So, this is on a scale that probably most of us cannot even imagine. Our objectives, therefore, are to detect the fires early to warn if it is imminent and to mitigate the effects of the haze if it does arrive. Let me get the first slide up [A slide was shown to hon Members]. To detect fires, we use satellite pictures like these. This was the situation on 14 June 2013. You will notice the white clouds: that is not the haze. Those are clouds. And if you look carefully, you will see a few red spots. These are the hotspots. The point I wanted to make with this slide is that even with a satellite picture, if there is local cloud cover, you will not be able to see every hotspot that is burning in there. You will not be able to assess the ferocity of the fires or the density of the plumes. There is also the subsequent question of wind. As every sailor knows, wind can be both a blessing and a bane.”
“Mdm Speaker, what a difference three weeks make. I would like to reassure you, you would not need your Haze Action Plan today. In fact, today, just for the sake of informing the House, our 24-hour rolling average PM 2.5 is Page: 28 as low as between 6 and 9 micrograms per metre cube. In fact, if this is the level which we can achieve on a long-term basis, this is our long-term aspirational target. I say this so that Members will understand how much and how quickly things change in a short space of time. Mdm Speaker, let me address Question Nos 15 to 20 collectively, with your permission.”
“NEA is the regulatory agency responsible for standards of public hygiene. It, therefore, conducts regular inspections of all hawker centres and takes enforcement action where necessary. There are currently two kinds of hawker centres – 25 owned by MEWR and 82 owned by HDB. For the MEWR-owned hawker centres, NEA manages both general cleaning and table cleaning directly, whereas for the HDB-owned hawker centres, the Town Councils manage general cleaning while the Hawker Associations manage table cleaning. NEA has no plans to change the current arrangement where the cleaning of hawker centres is a shared responsibility between the various stakeholders, including the Town Councils, the Hawker Associations and the cleaning companies who employ the cleaners. With the Enhanced Accreditation Scheme (EAS) and the eventual licensing of all cleaning companies, we expect higher standards of cleanliness at all hawker centres, regardless of the model employed.”
“I thank Er Lee for her suggestions. I think we will have to look at this carefully. It would involve legislative changes. As far as DNA testing is concerned, the answer is, technically, it is possible. But even if I do DNA analysis on the sanitary napkin, in order to pin it to the culprit, it means I have got to have a DNA database on everyone living in the block. So, technically possible, but I think this really takes – how shall I put it – intrusive surveillance to new heights.”
“I am sorry I do not have the breakdown of the 12 cases on nationality and whether they are rental or owner-occupied. If the Member wants to, I can check on that. But I do not have the data here. The larger question the Member has raised is the range of penalties available. Just now, Ms Phua asked what happens if it is killer-litter? In fact, if you go through our regulatory regime, in extremis, HDB can even acquire your flat so that you are not ever in a position to be able to throw any killer-litter. But this is a very extreme position. Sometimes, we, in fact, need a spectrum of penalties which makes it easier or less restrictive when the agencies need to take action against them. So, this all-or-nothing approach is not ideal as far as enforcement is concerned. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister, besides using CCTV, is there any other technology that can be used? Very often, we see very unsightly sanitary pads being thrown down, diapers being thrown down; if other technologies like DNA testing and so on can be utilised. The next question is: I also understand that catching the culprit is not easy because you need to identify him and a witness must be sure of the face or the hand which threw the litter. Can we change the regulation in such a way that so long as the litter comes from that unit, you can take action; similar to how we penalise speeding traffic offenders?”
“We need more effective assumption of personal responsibilities and we need local action, on the ground by people who are living there and who know who the culprits are. Having said that, there is also a very small minority who, frankly, have mental problems. Even their family members are aware of it, and have sometimes reached the end of their limits. In those cases, what they really need is psychiatric help and treatment, and it is not a matter of penalties and photographing them on camera.”
“Usually, the local Member of Parliament is the person who is first aware or is kept informed of the situation. Members of the House would also agree with me, that we usually try at the Town Council level, at the Member of Parliament level, to visit the blocks. We know which column it originates from, and we would knock on every door. If that does not work, they get NEA involved, then NEA would do at least two rounds of knocking on doors and trying to persuade and educate people on the need to be responsible. Only after that is done and if the problem continues, do we then resort to high-rise surveillance cameras. Even then, our current SOP is that we will send a letter to all the households to say we are putting up a camera; so we are not trying to invade your privacy. We even go so far as to tell people exactly when we are doing that. In quite a significant number of cases, once the cameras are up, everything is fine. Then when the cameras are down, some cases resume − the bad habits − and in which case, NEA would have to go back and put it on again. We are reviewing the SOP. For second and third deployments, we will probably not have to reveal exactly when it is up, in order to have a greater deterrent effect. Right now, we see irate emails from complainants. They say, "This is ridiculous! You put up the cameras and you tell everybody exactly where and when you are putting it up. The person will naturally make sure he does not litter at that point, and then he resumes after that." So, yes, we will make some changes, but I still want to emphasise that this cat-and-mouse game cannot be the real solution.”
“Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for that question. The answer is, "No, I am not satisfied with the situation". Just to give Members an idea of scale – we received more than 8,000 complaints of high-rise littering a year. Over the years, the number of cases that have been brought to the Courts would only be single-digit numbers. Ten to 12 a year, maximum. We introduced high-rise surveillance in fact recently, just a year and a half ago, in order to try to improve the probability of being caught. To be honest, I do not think it is high enough. On the other hand, I cannot imagine us having cameras trained on every single HDB block in the island. I do not think that is something that we want. What else can we do? I think, given the fact that most recent cases were only fined between $800 and $1,500, Members of the House would agree with me that we probably need to review the penalties. The penalties need to be significantly raised. The other aspect – which is something I am sure Members of the House can identify with – is when we do our block visits, many of us will receive complaints. Most times, people roughly know who the culprits are. But in our traditional Asian way, we do not want to be the finger-pointer. We will have to find a more effective and local way of identifying the culprits and of resolving it at source. I do not think installing cameras is going to be the final solution, or indeed, should it be the primary solution for this problem.”
“High-rise littering is a dangerous anti-social act. Since 2011, we have installed surveillance cameras in certain hot spots and we have identified 12 suspects who were caught in the act of high-rise littering. So far, five of them have been prosecuted in court, and the courts have imposed fines ranging from $800 to $1,500. I want to emphasise, however, that surveillance cameras should only be used as a last resort. Our primary line of defence must remain the adoption of personal responsibility and the cultivation of appropriate social norms within our neighbourhoods. NEA will continue to work closely with residents and the Town Councils to deal with this scourge of high-rise littering.”
“There are four Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Plants in Singapore, namely, Senoko, Tuas, Tuas South and Keppel Seghers Tuas WTE Plants. Today, the operating hours of these plants have already been extended as much as possible to optimise the operational efficiency for the waste collectors. Tuas South and Keppel Seghers Tuas WTE Plants operate round the clock. Senoko WTE Plant is open to receive waste from 8 am to 12 pm and Tuas WTE Plant from 6 am to 12.30 pm. The PWCs, however, are allowed extended hours up to 6 pm to dispose of their waste at Senoko WTE, subject to a daily tonnage cap. Given their locations, the latter two plants will usually reach their full capacity fairly quickly and, hence, their opening hours cannot be further extended. The two plants are already working round the clock to incinerate the waste received during their opening hours. Nevertheless, NEA will continue to monitor the situation and make changes where necessary. We are in the process of developing the next WTE plant to replace Tuas WTE Plant as well as to cater for growth. When it is ready, we will review the operating hours for all our plants.”
“I am just trying to recall the last time I walked there. I guess it was the eve of the election. I could not find any space but I will look at it again.”