'Green consciousness' is important for Singapore: K Shanmugam

Singapore is dependent on carbon for energy, and the country has to make sure it is used efficiently, says Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.
Kenneth Lim Channel NewsAsia 18 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE: Protecting the environment and being "green conscious" is important for a small place like Singapore, especially in the face of high costs of alternative forms of energy, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

"In economic terms, we are very challenged when it comes to alternative forms of energy - hydro-electric - it's not really feasible for us," Mr Shanmugam said, speaking at a Nee Soon GRC grassroots event on Sunday (Oct 18).

"So we are really dependent on carbon. But we have to make sure we use it efficiently, and we have to try and make sure we have a green consciousness. If we tried alternate methods, today that would have a deep economic impact, given the cost of the alternate resources."

More than 600 Nee Soon residents on Sunday planted about 200 trees at the new Khatib Bongsu Park Connector by Yishun Ave 11. The event is the GRC's first mass tree planting, and comes as part of “Clean & Green Singapore”, a national campaign to encourage Singaporeans to adopt greener lifestyles. The trees planted at the event are native to Singapore, with some growing in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest.

Mr Shanmugam, who planted a Malabera Bukit tree alongside the residents and other Nee Soon MPs and grassroots leaders, also told Channel NewsAsia that there are plans to increase the green coverage in Singapore.

While protecting the environment and climate change are arguably the hot topics today, Mr Shanmugam added that these have been significant issues to Singapore for decades.

"Thankfully in Singapore it's something we started much earlier," Mr Shanmugam said. "If you notice, in the 70s, 80s, you went around Asia, many places, you really saw urban jungles. Singapore is the exception, because Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanted to make sure that we paid a lot of attention to the environment, trees, tree planting."

"He treated it as such an important issue, that the parks department came directly under his office," Mr Shanmugam added. "And if he drove anywhere and he saw some plants wilting, or trees not having been maintained, he will call up straight away."

More than 5,000 trees will be planted across Singapore from Aug 1 till the end of the year, as part of the national clean and green campaign, said the National Parks Board (NParks).

The Khatib Bongsu Park Connector was opened to the public in September, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Park Connector Network.

HELP FOR THE FAMILY WHOSE BOY FELL TO HIS DEATH

Separately, Mr Shanmugam said lawyers have come forward to offer help to the family whose four-year-old son fell to his death from their ninth floor Yishun flat.

Speaking at the mass tree-planting event, Mr Shanmugam said regardless of responsibility, the contractor has kept quiet since.

"We have helped them, grilles have been installed," he said. "I don’t want to get into who is responsible, but I did come away feeling upset. I mean regardless of responsibility, you have agreed to put up the grilles, and you haven’t, and you know this tragedy has occurred, after that to keep completely quiet and not even contact the family, that upset me, particularly when the family tried to contact you.

"So I have said, ‘Look, we’ll help you find lawyers’ and some lawyers have come forward, and I have given the names to the family.”

- CNA/xq/ek