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from News from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
New restrictions to some State Land sites – Zone Captains will inform Organisers
from News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore
Ho Ai Li The Sunday Times AsiaOne 5 Aug 14;
Kusu, Sudong and Lazarus. Even if you have never set foot on these outlying islands of Singapore, chances are you would have heard of them. More so Ubin, Tekong and Sentosa.
Children posing amidst a rustic setting during the final days of the kampung at Pulau Seking.
But what about Rabbit Island or Pulau Sakra, Sebarok or Sekudu? They don't even exist "on the margins of our mental landscapes", as organisers of the ongoing Balik Pulau (Return To The Islands) exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore so piquantly put it.
Many of the outer islands didn't exist for me until I visited the exhibition recently. Yet, Singapore once had as many as 77 islands, and still has about 40.
Before Singapore became a key node in Britain's global shipping empire, its identity was anchored in a network of islands in the Riau Archipelago.
A series of heritage activities and a Drama Box play this year have helped Singaporeans to reclaim some of these forgotten isles - dozens of which have been lost to the tides of history - and to reimagine Singapore's identity and position.
One significant island lost to us is Pulau Seking. As big as 10 football fields, it was home to the last southern island kampung community before it gave way to a landfill.
Many islanders were said to be descended from the nomadic Orang Selat, or People of the Straits. For centuries, they fished or built boats, although many later became wage-earners as technicians on nearby Pulau Bukom.
Seking had a Malay primary school that closed in the early 1980s, after which its pupils had to commute by motorised sampan to the main island for classes.
By 1994, the last residents - nearly 200 in all - had been relocated from their sea-facing kampung houses on stilts to high-rises on the main island. On their island, there had been no roads, no cars, just a lot of goats.
Provision shopkeeper Teo Yan Teck, 83, was one of the few Chinese on Seking. Interviewed on camera by organisers of the mu- seum exhibition, he was asked how he felt about leaving the island. His face crumpled, and he could only utter a silent cry.
Seking has since been joined to an adjacent island to form Pulau Semakau, a huge landfill for rubbish.
I knew nothing of Seking until I attended a recent talk at the mu-seum, held as part of the Singapore Heritage Festival.
Temasek Polytechnic lecturer Normala Manap, who did an anthropological study on Seking in 1982, said at the talk: "The fact that we have let Seking become a landfill (means) we have lost a big opportunity to get insights into Singapore's roots and history."
Old and young, the islanders had a deep sense of the history of Seking, which got its name from a fable about its founder Yang Meleking. Goats were released by Chinese devotees as an offering to the benefactress, who is said to have battled pirates to found the isle.
As documented in The Sea Nomads by cultural geographer David Sopher, the Riau Archipelago was home to nomadic seafarers, who lived with their families on boats and sailed from one mangrove coast to another. Some were also pirates.
As Ms Normala put it, Seking's residents looked to a wider Malay world than Singapore.
Anthropologist Vivienne Wee, who studied Seking previously and was a panellist at the same talk, said many of its residents would go by sampan to Pulau Pangkil in Bintan to attend relatives' weddings.
Most younger Singaporeans do not know about Seking, partly because there was hardly any public discussion about whether it should be preserved - unlike in the case of Pulau Ubin, home to Singapore's last surviving village community.
Dr Wee noted that former Nominated Member of Parliament Kanwaljit Soin was the only one to question the move to destroy the settlement in Seking, in Parliament in 1993. Dr Wee said turning the island into a landfill was a "demolition and rubbishing" of its history.
Another significant isle whose history could be better known is Pulau Senang. Now known largely as the location for military live-firing exercises, it was a penal settlement from 1960 to 1963, and the site of a bloody riot that took place in 1963.
Older Singaporeans know the incident well, but most younger people do not. I certainly didn't before May this year, when I watched the Drama Box play Senang, about the experimental prison without bars.
In this dramatic retelling, British warden Daniel Dutton experiments with hard work as a way to reform the detainees on Senang. But he becomes increasingly severe in his demands, forcing them to build a jetty in harsh weather on one occasion. An uprising by the detainees on July 12, 1963, led to the deaths of four officers, including Superintendent Dutton, and brought the shutters down on the experiment.
Senang is a reminder of how the islands were natural sites for imprisonment and exile.
Sentosa the tourist magnet used to be called Pulau Belakang Mati and was once a military base.
In 1970, it was renamed Sentosa, which means "peace and tranquillity", from the Sanskrit word Santosha. Long-time political detainee Chia Thye Poh, arrested in 1966, was confined to Sentosa from 1989 until his release in 1992.
Sentosa as we know it today is an amalgamation of several smaller isles, just as petrochemical hub Jurong Island is made up of islands in the Ayer Chawan archipelago.
A short film shown along with the exhibition sums it up well, noting: "The story of Singapore's islands is one of growth, in size and economic significance, and loss, in numbers and nature, as habitats and homes give way to the needs of a modern city."
In 1998, long after many of Singapore's islands had disappeared, then Indonesian president B.J. Habibie dismissed Singapore as being no more than a little red dot.
Singaporeans have since embraced that nickname, using it to underline how this little island nation has transcended size to take its place on the world stage.
But a red dot doesn't show context. Zooming in on our many islands past and present allows us to see mudflats and porcelain shards, and ways of life long forgotten, yet still part of our history.
Channel NewsAsia 4 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency has conducted nearly 2 million dengue inspections this year, and deployed more than 1,000 Gravitraps in dengue clusters for mosquito-control purposes, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said in Parliament on Monday (Aug 4).
There have been more than 12,000 reported dengue cases so far this year, Dr Balakrishnan said. This dengue epidemic, which has been ongoing since 2013, was driven by three factors:
There was a switch in the predominant dengue serotype to DENV-1 last year. This strain of DENV-1 virus spreads more rapidly than other strains in Singapore and now accounts for about 90 per cent of the current infections.
Singapore's general population lacks immunity to dengue due to cumulatively low incidence over the last two decades.
The mosquito Aedes aegypti is still endemic in Singapore despite efforts over the years.
Dr Balakrishnan said the National Environment Agency (NEA) has increased the frequency of inspections and taken enforcement action against errant contractors, whose sites have seen the breeding of mosquitoes. So far this year, 57 Stop Work Orders have been issued and 14 contractors prosecuted in court, he said.
Penalties have also been levied on homeowners, town councils and other landowners when breeding is found within their premises, he added. This year, the fines levied ranged from S$200 for home owners to S$39,000 for construction contractors.
BIOLOGICAL INTERVENTION
When it comes to developing new tools to tackle dengue, Dr Balakrishnan said NEA's Environmental Health Institute (EHI) is working with local researchers to utilise the Wolbachia bacteria.
"We are currently studying the feasibility of using Wolbachia-carrying male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to suppress the mosquito population in Singapore. A Dengue Expert Advisory Panel consisting of international and local experts has been appointed to provide scientific advice on the safety and effectiveness of this technique in our context. As this is a novel biological intervention, we will not embark on any field trials unless it is clear that safety is totally assured."
Responding to questions from Members of Parliament on whether the Government will approve the Sanofi vaccine, Dr Balakrishnan said more needs to be done to ensure its efficacy. "It showed some promise, but to be honest with you, my frank opinion is that it is not good enough. Why do I say that? It showed reasonable effectiveness, about 75 per cent for Type 3 and Type 4 serotypes of dengue," he said.
"Against Type 1, which is the current problem we are having, it is only about 50 per cent effective. Against Type 2, which is the predominant dengue serotype which circulates in Singapore, it was only about 35 per cent effective. Those rates of efficacy are not, in my opinion, good enough."
Dr Balakrishnan said that Singaporeans must continue to stay vigilant and keep their homes free of breeding habitats. He said since January, more than 4,000 breeding sites have been found in residential premises.
- CNA/ac
Dengue vaccine ineffective against main S’pore strains
Paul Lim Today Online 5 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE — A highly-anticipated vaccine being developed for dengue that is in the advanced stages of clinical trials is not effective against the strain that is dominant in Singapore, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday.
Referring to the drug being developed by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur, the minister said that while it showed some promise for Type 3 and 4 dengue, it is only about 50 per cent effective against Type 1 — the dominant strain here — and 35 per cent effective against the next most common strain here, Type 2.
“Those rates of efficacy are not, in my opinion, good enough,” said Dr Balakrishnan.
However, the authorities are studying the feasibility of using Wolbachia-carrying male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to suppress the dengue virus-carrying mosquito population, he said.
An advisory panel consisting of international and local experts has been appointed to provide scientific advice on the safety and effectiveness of this technique in the Singapore context, said Dr Balakrishan, who stressed that “unless it is clear that safety is totally assured”, there will be no field trials.
More than 12,000 dengue cases have been reported here this year, leading to questions about whether the Sanofi drug will be made available, despite mixed results in the latest study conducted among more than 10,000 children aged between two and 14 in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Noting that efforts have been stepped up to curb the number of breeding sites — more than 1.9 million inspections have been conducted and more than 1,000 Gravitraps deployed this year — Dr Balakrishnan stressed that the community still had to play its part to combat dengue.
“We can have 850 National Environment Agency officers and 1.9 million inspections, but it is not possible for officers to be everywhere all the time. This is where I really require the assistance of home owners, contractors, town council officers and even Members of Parliament. It does make a difference,” he added.
Nevertheless, Dr Balakrishnan said it was worth considering some of the calls that have been made to enhance penalties.
Suggestions mooted in the House yesterday included pegging penalties to the size and scale of the mosquito breeding ground, or publishing the list of pest control companies looking after sites that were found to have mosquitoes breeding.
Minister: Dengue vaccine not good enough
Dr Balakrishnan, a trained medical doctor, explained that the vaccine was not effective enough against the two most common types of dengue virus here, type 1 and type 2.
Grace Chua The Straits Times AsiaOne 5 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE - A new dengue vaccine, to be marketed by French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi next year, is "not good enough" for Singapore, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Parliament yesterday.
He was responding to queries from Members of Parliament on when the vaccine and other new drugs would hit the shelves here.
Dr Balakrishnan, a trained medical doctor, explained that the vaccine was not effective enough against the two most common types of dengue virus here, type 1 and type 2.
The vaccinated group's risk of developing dengue is reduced by 50 and 35 per cent respectively for type 1 and 2, compared with an unvaccinated group.
"Until further clinical data is available for us to be sure that the benefits outweigh the risks, I don't think the Ministry of Health or Health Sciences Authority will rush into approving the vaccine," he said.
Meanwhile, celgosivir, an anti-viral treatment derived from plant seeds, has not been proven to be more effective than a placebo though it is found to be safe, Dr Balakrishnan added.
Members of Parliament also asked if the fines for mosquito breeding could be scaled based on the risks that the breeding poses to the public. For instance, Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad wanted heftier fines for construction firms found to have mosquitoes breeding on worksites.
Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah suggested that pest control firms that fail to control mosquito breeding at worksites be blacklisted.
Dr Balakrishnan said the ministry will study the suggestions on raising penalties but warned that pinning a specific case of dengue on a specific incidence of mosquito breeding would be hard.
To date, 62 stop-work orders have been issued and 14 contractors prosecuted this year for allowing mosquito breeding on their premises.
The number of weekly dengue cases for the last week was 640, down from a record high of 891 cases at the end of June and start of last month.
Channel NewsAsia 4 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE: The inadequate enforcement to deter illegal land land clearing, which is a cause of transboundary haze, is why the Government is tabling the Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill, said the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (Aug 4).
READ: Up to S$100,000 fine for every day of transboundary haze
Dr Balakrishnan, speaking in Parliament, said that transboundary haze pollution has been a perennial problem in the region for the past two decades. "The root of this problem is misaligned commercial interests where companies burn forests and engage in unsustainable degradation of land because of short-term profits," he said.
There is, therefore, an urgent need for governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), responsible companies and local communities, to collaborate more effectively, to insist on transparency and to pursue investigations in order to hold the culprits accountable for their actions, he said.
However, there is inadequate enforcement on the ground to deter such illegal land clearing and Singapore cannot "simply wait and wishfully hope for the situation to resolve on its own".
This legislation will make it an offence for any entity – Singaporean and non-Singaporean - to cause or contribute to transboundary haze pollution in Singapore, he stated.
"The Singapore Government, and this Parliament, wants to send a strong signal that we will not tolerate the actions of errant companies that harm our environment and put at risk the health of our citizens," Dr Balakrishnan said.
"Given the very strong economic incentives today for companies to adopt, quite frankly, the cheapest methods of clearing land for plantations, we need to tilt the playing field in favour of businesses that do the right and responsible thing, and to deter against those who do not."
He added that the Bill is not intended to replace the laws and enforcement actions of other countries, but to complement their efforts to hold companies to account.
The Ministry of The Environment And Water Resources said in a statement on Monday that it will provide additional haze assistance to Indonesia in the form of a helicopter equipped with a heli-bucket to fight fires. This is in addition to the haze assistance package offered to Indonesia in June, the ministry said.
- CNA/kk
Fine imposed if PSI hits 101 under proposed anti-haze law
Neo Chai Chin Today Online 5 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE — The air quality threshold at which parties will be taken to task for causing transboundary haze affecting Singapore was spelled out yesterday, but Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan cautioned that the proposed law would be challenging to implement.
An offence would be deemed to have occurred if the Pollutant Standards Index in any part of Singapore hits 101 or more — venturing into the unhealthy range and beyond — for a 24-hour period or longer, Dr Balakrishnan said.
The Bill proposes a maximum fine of S$2 million for a party’s conduct that causes haze pollution here, from fines of up to S$100,000 for each day of pollution. Those who do not comply with notices to implement preventive measures could be fined up to S$50,000 a day.
Culprits need not have started the haze-causing fires to be liable — they need only be involved in managing the offending parties.
The Bill also allows notice to be served on firms that do not operate here to assist the National Environment Agency in investigations. Those made ill or who suffer economic loss from the haze may also sue the culprits.
Dr Balakrishnan said he does not anticipate an overwhelming number of prosecutions against companies when the law kicks in. This is because the Bill introduces new legal concepts to the law here. He also assured responsible businesses that they had nothing to fear.
Singapore’s proposed law is to complement other countries’ enforcement efforts and to deter firms from acting irresponsibly, he said. “It is only one of a slate of measures that we must put in place in order to tackle the transboundary haze that has plagued our region for many years.”
The Singapore Government has also told Indonesia that the Republic can provide a helicopter equipped with a heli-bucket to transport and discharge water to help fight fires. This is in addition to the haze assistance package offered in June — consisting of fire-fighting teams, a cloud-seeding aircraft, satellite images and planning assistance — that has not been taken up by Indonesia.
Two Members of Parliament yesterday backed the Bill but questioned if the financial penalties were a sufficient deterrent. Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah said the fines should be doubled or tripled, with higher fines for repeat offenders.
Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher De Souza said economic pressure should be applied on companies with slash-and-burn activities. He questioned how consumers could be made more aware about products made by errant companies. The debate on the Bill continues today.
AsiaOne 4 Aug 14;
SINGAPORE - Singapore has offered to provide additional assistance to Indonesia in the form of a helicopter equipped with a heli-bucket to fight fires, in order to help combat the haze situation.
This information was conveyed to the Indonesian government today, according to a statement to the NEA.
Singapore had earlier offered Indonesia a haze assistance package on June 9 this year, which comprises:
(i) One C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations;
(ii) Up to two C-130 aircraft to ferry fire-fighting assistance teams from Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF);
(iii) A team from SCDF to provide assessment and planning assistance to our Indonesian counterparts in their fire-fighting efforts; and
(iv) High-resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates.
According to the statement, the offer complements Indonesia's fire-fighting capabilities in anticipation of an extended dry season due to the El Nino phenomenon this year.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/singapore-offers-additional-assistance-combat-haze-indonesia#sthash.E26dAftv.dpuf
Judith Tan The New Paper AsiaOne 5 Aug 14;
PEOPLE National Day Discount Booklet offers 0 per cent instalment voucher for puppies
Puppies for sale at zero per cent instalment.
This is what a voucher in this year's National Day Parade (NDP) funpack is offering.
It has drawn flak from animal activists here, especially in light of recent national efforts to promote responsible pet ownership.
The issue has gone viral on Facebook, Twitter and some social media sites.
Dog lovers have also expressed their displeasure on NDPeeps, the NDP Facebook page itself.
The voucher, issued by Pet Arena, is part of the National Day Discount Booklet that is usually distributed during the parade.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has written to both the NDP organisers and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to express its "extreme disappointment" that they had chosen to "close an eye to the predicaments of the shelters which continue to grapple with throw-aways, abandonments and surrenders", SPCA's executive director Corinne Fong said.
She adds that by this, the NDP organisers and, by extension, the MSF have encouraged impulse buying of puppies. "The credit card zero instalment payment is but a marketing gimmick by the card issuer," she says.
Chief executive of Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres) Louis Ng says: "In celebration of our nation's birthday, we should be promoting the adoption of animals rather than treating them as commodities."
Dog rescuer Sharon Oh asks: "I'm all for adopting. I totally do not agree with getting a dog through instalment payment. It is not a car. What if the client defaults? What is going to happen to the dog?"
"I wonder what values we are teaching our kids. You can't buy love in any instalment plan!" dog lover Dhurga Devi Ramasamy writes on her Facebook page.
They believe that this flies in the face of recent efforts such as the Codes of Animal Welfare formulated by the Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Committee for Animal Welfare.
The proposed code is being reviewed by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).
This year, rules to reduce impulse buying by children and abandonment of pets came into force - those under the age of 16 can buy pets only when accompanied by their parents or a legal guardian, and the shop must do a pre-sale screening.
In response to The New Paper on Sunday's queries, Colonel Teo Cheng Leong, deputy chairman of the NDP 2014 executive committee and chairman of the parade's sponsorship committee, says they worked through "a vendor which has a set of internal guidelines for compliance by its partners".
"These guidelines include ensuring that NDP-related publications do not carry religious, obscene or offensive materials. The NDP 2014 exco supports responsible pet ownership and believes that the coupon does not dilute such support."
Also responding to queries, Mr K C Wong of Pet Arena says the shop has previously received "countless requests" for the 0 per cent instalment plans from customers who wished to make their payments by credit cards.
"We adopted the plan to ease payment and absorb the interest imposed by the bank, for our customers," he says, adding that his business was started "out of love for animals".
"Our objective is to provide healthy pets for lifetime companionship. We take great effort in educating our customers - particularly walk-ins - on the vital need to be responsible pet owners. We do not advocate impulse buying."
I totally do not agree with getting a dog through instalment payment. It is not a car. What if the client defaults? What is going to happen to the dog? - Dog rescuer Sharon Oh
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/dog-lovers-riled-over-voucher#sthash.DYe3xXf2.dpuf
Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 4 Aug 14;
Free parking, power charging and entry through Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries would make electric cars more attractive to Singaporeans.
A conference yesterday on the future of transportation heard how similar measures boosted the take-up of "greener" vehicles in other countries.
Mr Tormod Endresen, Norway's ambassador to Singapore, said financial and other incentives resulted in a flood of drivers choosing electric cars in his home country.
Electric cars are better for the environment than conventional cars that use fossil fuels, partly because electric cars cause less pollution.
However, The Straits Times' senior transport correspondent Christopher Tan, who was one of the panellists, said: "If the power generated for the electric car is clean, then the car is clean. But if the power (used to charge the car) is generated by fossil fuels, then the argument becomes a lot weaker."
Other experts also said that beyond cost considerations, electric cars may need to be desirable in other ways, and it is essential to have reliable and accessible infrastructure to support them.
Mr Khoo Lin Zhuang, senior vice-president of Singapore-based firm Greenlots, which installs charging points for vehicles, said: "In California, electric car drivers are allowed to use high-occupancy lanes to beat traffic congestion, which makes the vehicles more attractive.
"For Singapore, most of the population live in high-rise buildings, so one challenge would be who pays for the charging infrastructure."
Mr Tan pointed to another hurdle for Singapore: "From the policy point of view, it's difficult for the Government to offer any kind of subsidy to private cars. Whether they are electric or powered by gas or diesel, they're seen as luxury items, so to subsidise cars in any way is going to be contentious."
Most experts agreed that electric vehicles could be a key plank in the fight against climate change.
Nanyang Technological University president Bertil Andersson said: "It's pressing for the world to reduce carbon emissions and use renewable energy. Electric cars running on batteries have less emissions and the development of electric mobility can also create new industries."
The Land Transport Authority has said that it plans to develop a technology road map to assess the advantages and challenges of using electric vehicles, as well as how to encourage their adoption if there are significant benefits to Singapore.
Yesterday's Future of Mobility International Conference was held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre and organised by NTU and carmaker BMW Asia. It drew industry, government and university representatives from seven countries, including South Korea and Germany.f
New Straits Times 5 Aug 14;
KUCHING: The state government will carry out cloud seeding throughout Sarawak tomorrow, regardless of the cost of the operation.
State Public Utilities Minister Datuk Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said even though rainfall over the past few days had overcome water shortage in the affected areas, this might only be temporary as the hot and dry weather was expected to end only in September.
Speaking after chairing a meeting at Wisma Sumber Alam, he said the cost of cloud seeding and water delivery was not discussed in the meeting.
“The cost is not an issue as the government must ensure the people have sufficient supply to carry on with their daily routine.
“We will carry out whatever operations we need to and the cost will be submitted to the chief minister’s office later.”
Awang Tengah said water production in most areas had returned to normal due to the heavy downpours over the past few days. The only area still facing water shortage is Simunjan.
“We are sending 15 lorries of water to Simunjan every day until the water crisis is over,” he said, adding that the water shortage there had begun during Ramadan last month but the situation was manageable.
Awang Tengah said the water level of Sungai Sarawak Kiri at the Batu Kintang treatment plant had risen until the top of the weir and there was now full storage.
“Water production has returned to normal and water distribution to the city and its surrounding areas has been restored.”
However, the relevant agencies are still on standby in case of an emergency.
“We expect the dry spell to hit the state again so we are ready to deliver water by lorry, tanker and boat to the rural areas and settlements which are not accessible by road.”
Awang Tengah denied that the delay in the operations of the Bengoh Dam was the main cause of the water shortage.
Awang Tengah said the dam was built to cater to the increasing
demand for water supply in the future.
“It is meant for the greater Kuching area in the future and has nothing to do with the current water crisis.
“It will play an important role in the next few years, but, sadly, the opposition is trying to instigate the community.
“If they are as concerned about the needs of the people as the government, they should stop instigating the people,” he said.
Construction work on the dam, located about 40km from here, began in July 2007. It was completed three years ago but has yet to become operational.
Awang Tengah said one of the reasons for the delay was the resettlement process, while some minor construction work had yet to complete.
Sungai Selangor dam reaches critical level
New Straits Times 5 Aug 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: The Sungai Selangor dam, which is a source of raw water for 60 per cent of the Klang Valley and Putrajaya, stood at a precarious level of 32.74 per cent yesterday, just shy of the 30 per cent critical mark.
This is believed to be its lowest ever mark after the dam, which supplies water to 1.9 million users in Kuala Lumpur, Gombak, Petaling, Shah Alam and Klang, had recorded a 36.74 per cent level in March this year. This is also well below the 55 per cent minimum level.
Water reserves at other dams in the state, however, showed healthier figures. Checks at the Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (Luas) website yesterday showed that other dams, namely at Semenyih and Batu, were at 75.9 per cent and 82.3 per cent, respectively.
There has yet to be any indication that the Selangor government will introduce another round of water rationing, as it did in February.
National Water Services Commission (SPAN) and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) officials told the New Straits Times that, as of yesterday, they had yet to be informed of any rationing plans.
SPAN corporate communication director Carol Pelly said there had been no developments yet on the issue.
Syabas corporate communications and public affairs general manager Priscilla Alfred, meanwhile, said should water rationing be implemented, the company would conduct the necessary preparations, including readying water tankers.
“However, Syabas has not been informed of anything so far. I am not allowed to say anything more,” she said in a text message.
On Aug 1, NST had quoted Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as saying that there were no plans for another round of water rationing.
The state had undergone a rationing exercise between Feb 27 and April 30 this year, after water levels at its dams plummeted.
In Shah Alam, Selangor police have set up a task force to investigate allegations of sabotage involving six water pumps at the Hang Tuah ponds in Bestari Jaya near here last Friday.
Selangor CID chief Datuk Mohd Adnan Abdullah told Bernama police had received two reports on the incidents and were scrutinising details for further action.
“We are trying to determine if the alleged sabotage was carried out by individuals or groups,” he said yesterday.
Last Saturday, state Youth and Sports, Infrastructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi, in a statement, said six water pumps at the Hang Tuah ponds were sabotaged by irresponsible parties and asked the authorities to take stern action.
According to him, the sabotage occurred twice at the ponds. However, it did not affect treated water supply to consumers.
In Kota Baru, about 1,500 residents in the two villages of Kampung Pulau Panjang and Kampung Pauh, Pengkalan Chepa claimed they have been without water supply for the past month.
A resident, in his 50s, said complaints had been made to Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd but the utility had only sent its water tankers to the affected areas yesterday.
Residents, who had been surviving on water from wells and gathered from rain, claimed that the water pressure had been low before their taps completely dried up last month.
Palanivel: 150 hot spots detected in Kalimantan, 15 in Sumatra
Borneo Post 5 Aug 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) detected 150 hot spots in Kalimantan and another 15 in Sumatra on Sunday when Malaysia was hit by haze.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G Palanivel said the centre detected 18 hot spots in the country, including 11 in Sarawak and seven in Sabah.
“All these hot spots (in the country) will be investigated and appropriate enforcement action will be taken,” he said in a statement.
Palanivel also sought public cooperation in putting out small fires and report any cases of open burning to the Fire and Rescue Department and Department of Environment (DOE).
Meanwhile, two areas recorded an unhealthy air pollutant index (API) as of 4pm yesterday.
According to DOE portal, Bakar Arang in Sungai Petani recorded an unhealthy API reading of 106 and Sri Aman (117).
The portal also reported that 23 other areas recorded a moderate API reading, including Batu Muda, Kuala Lumpur (100), Tanjung Malim (80) and Alor Star (78).
An API reading of between zero and 50 indicates good air quality, between 51 and 100 (moderate), between 101 and 200 (unhealthy), between 201 and 300 (very unhealthy) and over 301 (hazardous).
Members of the public can refer to the DOE portal at http://www.doe.gov.my to find out the API reading for their areas. — Bernama
Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/08/05/palanivel-150-hot-spots-detected-in-kalimantan-15-in-sumatra/#ixzz39TwJ2d9T
Who to call when you find bees in your home in Singapore
from The Tender Gardener
equatorial spitting cobra - hunting @ SBWR - August 2014
from sgbeachbum
Chestnut Nature Park
from Bugs & Insects of Singapore
Blue-throated Bee-eater caught a bee
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa vittatus) @ Mandai
from Monday Morgue
Cheryl Faith Wee The Straits Times AsiaOne 3 Aug 14;
Electronics giant Panasonic has set up an indoor farm here to supply local restaurants and retailers with vegetables such as lettuce and radishes.
The farm occupies 248 sq m of its factory building in Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim in Jurong - equivalent to two five-room HDB flats.
Its crops are grown without pesticides and are not genetically modified. They are housed within an enclosed space where conditions such as light, temperature and humidity are created artificially and controlled. It was set up last September and began supplying Japanese restaurant chain Ootoya with lettuce, potherb mustard and radishes in April.
Today three Ootoya restaurants will add four items made mainly with these ingredients to the menu. Ootoya pays Panasonic up to 50 per cent less than it would to a Japanese supplier to get about 300kg of vegetables.
Its senior executive director Hiroaki Hamada said they are more "crunchy and fresh", adding: "The biggest benefits would be stability of supply and quality. Getting produce locally also helps reduce the impact of food scares abroad."
By the first quarter of 2016, Panasonic aims to supply supermarkets here with local produce. Certain vegetable varieties such as mizuna and mitsuba may also be available at up to half the price of Japanese imports.
At Japanese supermarket Medi-ya, a packet of mizuna weighing about 100g costs $7.90.
Mr Hideki Baba, managing director of Panasonic Factory Solutions Asia Pacific, said: "We want to contribute to Singapore's self- sufficiency in leafy vegetables and can utilise our automation systems to do so. We foresee potential growth in agribusiness for our portfolio here."
Mr Baba added that agribusiness is likely to make up a big part of company revenue here by 2017.
In Japan, the potential revenue has reportedly also drawn other electronics firms such as Fujitsu and Sharp into agribusiness.
According to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), 8 per cent of leafy vegetables eaten here are grown locally. Some 10,308 tonnes were produced by farms here last year.
Panasonic's farm - the only indoor soil-based vegetable farm licensed here - has a production capacity of 3.6 tonnes per year but this will rise to 1,000 per year by 2017 through methods such as vertical farming and reducing the cultivation time of crops. It will also expand its variety of vegetables from 10 to more than 30.
Another high-tech farm here, Sky Greens, also hopes to supply vegetables like spinach to supermarkets by the end of this year.
Local produce has got the thumbs up from consumers. Pastry sales executive Lee Si Han, 28, said: "It will help reduce carbon footprint... Imported vegetables suffer a lot on their way here - they get bruised. Local ones will be fresher."
Electronics giant Panasonic wants Singaporeans to eat its veg
Aradhana Aravindan Reuters 3 Aug 14;
(Reuters) - Japan's Panasonic Corp, best known for its television sets and home theater systems, wants to feed Singaporeans its radishes and lettuce.
A unit of the electronics conglomerate last week started selling to a chain of Japanese restaurants in Singapore fresh produce grown in what it says is the first licensed indoor vegetable farm in the island state.
The move ties Panasonic's deeper push into farming technology with land-scarce Singapore's ambition to reduce its near-total reliance on food imports.
"We foresee agriculture to be a potential growth portfolio, given the global shortage of arable land, climate change and increasing demand for quality food as well as stable food supply," Hideki Baba, managing director of Panasonic Factory Solutions Asia Pacific, told reporters.
The facility, which presently has a small production capacity of 3.6 tonnes annually, produces 10 types of vegetables such as mini red radishes and baby spinach.
Indoor farming has found favor with other hi-tech Japanese companies as well. Fujitsu Ltd is growing lettuce at its Fukushima province plant, while Sharp Corp is testing growing strawberries indoors in Dubai.
In Singapore, Panasonic's 248 square meter farm is located inside a factory building on the outskirts of the city, where standard fluorescent lighting gives way to a pinkish-purple glow from LED lights brought in to nurture the plants. The company restricts visitors to maintain the controlled levels of temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide.
It aims to grow more than 30 crop varieties by March 2017 and account for around 5 percent of local vegetable production. It said the vegetables grown at its facility could be half the price of those flown in from Japan.
Panasonic said Singapore was ideal for its indoor farm due to the country's low food self-sufficiency and limited land.
Singapore, ranked by the World Bank as the second most densely populated country, imports more than 90 percent of its food.
Singapore produced nearly 22,000 tonnes of vegetables in 2013, compared with a little more than 17,000 tonnes in 2004, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. Last year it imported 514,574 tonnes of vegetables.
While Singapore ranks fifth out of 109 countries in the Economist Intelligence Unit's global food security index, the government wants to diversify its food sources and become more self reliant in producing eggs, fish and leafy vegetables.
As part of its efforts, it has provided some funding and research support to local vertical farming company Sky Greens, which grows leafy vegetables at its farm in three-storey high frames inside greenhouses.
The farm currently has 600 such towers and intends to expand to 2,000 by next year. It can produce up to one tonne of vegetables a day, which it sells to local supermarket FairPrice. Some farms in Singapore are also using aeroponics or hydroponics - growing plants without soil.
Agro-technology expert Lee Sing Kong said Singapore can improve its food security for perishable items like vegetables, which cannot be stored for long periods unlike grains, by using new techniques of cultivation to increase productivity.
"We must grow some of our own in order to provide a kind of buffer during the period when supply has been disrupted," said Lee, a professor of biological sciences at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.
Still, some locally grown produce comes at a premium. At FairPrice, Sky Greens' nai bai vegetable retails at more than double the price of an import from China.
(1 US dollar = 1.2470 Singapore dollar)
(Additional reporting by Sophie Knight in TOKYO; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Emily Kaiser)
THARANYA ARUMUGAM New Straits Times 3 Aug 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: Air quality in the country saw an improvement today, with 15 areas having the Air Pollutant Index (API) at moderate level, as compared to 22 areas on Saturday.
Kg. Air Putih, Taiping had the highest API reading of 79 on Saturday, whereas as of 3pm today, Port Klang and Batu Muda recorded the highest API reading of 66.
This is followed by Seberang Jaya 2, Perai (63), Jalan Tasek (61), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang (61), Perai (60), Alor Setar (59), Kuala Terengganu (58), Kuching (57), SK Jalan Pegoh, Ipoh (56), Labuan (55), Kuala Selangor (53) and Petaling Jaya (52).
An API reading of between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; between 51 and 100, moderate; between 101 and 200, unhealthy; between 201 and 300, very unhealthy and over 301, hazardous.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said a total of 4,417 cases of open burning have been detected since January to Aug 2 this year.
He said most of the cases involved agricultural lands, totaling to 1,436 cases, followed by forest (899 cases), construction sites (137 cases), landfills (77 cases), industrial areas (34 cases), and other open burning (819 cases).
“A total of 315 cases of open burning were fined, while 101 cases were issued warning notices, as per the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2012,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page, today.
Palanivel added that DOE had opened investigation papers on 45 cases of open burning, of which 14 cases had been submitted to the deputy public prosecutor and five cases filed at the Sessions Court.
He also said the satellite image by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) detected 46 hotspots in Sumatra and 231 in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, which contributed to the hazy environment in Malaysia.
Sixteen hotspots were detected in Malaysia (11 in Sarawak and five in Sabah).
Public can refer to the DOE portal at http://www.doe.gov.my to find out the API reading for their areas.
Jakarta Globe 3 Aug 14;
Pekanbaru. A total of 90 hot spots was detected by the Modis Terra and Aqua satellites in the Sumatran province of Riau on Sunday, the local disaster agency said, according to a media report, and that is a lesser amount compared to the 208 hot spots reported last week.
“Mostly the spots are located in the Rokan Hilir district [where there are] 70 spots,” Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Said Saqlul Amri said on Sunday, as quoted by state-run Antara news agency.
The satellite images also reportedly showed seven hot spots in the city of Dumai and three spots in the Bengkali and Kampar districts respectively.
Six more hot spots are said to be spread across Rokan Hulu, Siak and Indragiri, while another one was found in the Pelalawan district.
The number of hot spots detected by the two satellites, however, differed from that detected by the NOAA 18 satellite, which showed only four hot spots in Riau out of a total of 46 hot spots throughout the Sumatran island. Two are said to be found in the Rokan Hulu district, one in Bengkali and another one in the Indragiri Hilir district.
Some 25,000 hectares of land have been damaged by forest fires since the beginning of this year, the Antara report says, with the smoke interfering with not only the daily activities of local residents but also those of neighboring neighbors such as Singapore and Malaysia.
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