Marsiling trees: Some felled, others spared

Esther Ng, Today Online 20 Jan 10;

SINGAPORE - A rambutan, two soursop and three mango trees have been felled.

Still, residents of Blocks 109 and 116 in Marsiling Rise are relieved that the Sembawang Town Council (SBTC) did not chop down every tree there after placing notices of intent around the estate in November.

As reported by Today last month, a petition to save the trees was then started. It garnered 21 signatures and was sent to the town council.

The neem, drumstick, starfruit, jackfruit, jambu, chiku and another rambutan tree have been spared.

Still, retired doctor Praema Raghavan-Gilbert said: "The neem, the jambu and our bougainvillea have been drastically pruned." The mango tree, said the 60-year-old, had just borne its first fruits. Even the roots of "a beautiful flowering oleander" had been dug up.

One of the petition's signatories, she lives on the second floor of neighbouring Block 117.

Ground floor resident Roslee Hashim, 44, another signatory, said: "I bought this place because of the 'kampung' feel. I could sleep outside, keep an eye on my kids as they played because the trees gave me shade. Now, it's so hot."

But housewife Mardziyah Muhammad Noor, 50, was pleased with the area's new look.

A third-floor resident of Block 116, she said: "It's much brighter now and people can't hide in between the trees." Madam Mardziyah, who has three daughters, said a few households had been plagued by a Peeping Tom.

Others who had spoken out against the removal of the trees were not so much irked by some of them being removed but by the SBTC's top-down process.

"The town council could have consulted the residents' committee but we got to know about it when they placed up notices," said an RC member who declined to be named. "There was only one meeting with the town council and that was only after coverage from the media."

SBTC chairman and MP for Sembawang GRC Hawazi Daipi disagreed. "Our approach has always been to work with the residents' committee. We have always endeavoured to meet the aspirations of the residents as long as they fall within the by-laws of the town council," he said.

Common areas, however, must be kept common and not be converted into private areas, he added.

An SBTC spokesman told MediaCorp it planned to plant starfruit and chiku trees on the cleared plots and landscape the surrounding areas.

The town council is also "actively" looking into collating suggestions from residents on a soon-to-be set up website, Mr Hawazi said.