Creature of the Month – Peracca’s Land Crab (Geosesarma perracae) from Bugs & Insects of Singapore
Juvenile Collared Kingfishers
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Butterflies Galore! : Indigo Flash
from Butterflies of Singapore
Great Cormorant in Singapore
from Francis' Random Yaks, Articles & Photos
Over a million pangolins slaughtered in the last decade
from Mongabay.com news by Jeremy Hance
Khoo Fang Xuan Channel NewsAsia 28 Jul 14;
SINGAPORE: Bottle Tree Park in Yishun is set to close next month and most businesses there say they will be closing shop too as they were not able to come to an agreement on rent with the new operator. They will have to vacate by August 17.
Kang Weng Sang, who is in-charge of Bottle Tree Prawn Pond, said: "S$30,000 - it's not a fixed rate, you have to pay an extra 10 per cent... For example, if 50 people make a booking for prawning, for an hour, you'll have to pay the operator an extra 10 per cent... This model isn't very reasonable."
Neo Kee Huat ,who is in-charge of Bottle Tree Seafood Restaurant, said: "After painstakingly building up the place with its 'kampung' feel, it's all over. Those who are older say this is their second village because you can't find places like this in Singapore anymore."
It is understood that only the fishing pond business will stay on. The new operator - Chinese company Fullshare Group - had put in a bid of S$169,000 a month for the seven-hectare piece of land. This is more than double the S$68,000 the existing operator had put in for the site. It is understood there are plans to re-develop the place into a recreation centre, to be ready earliest by the end of 2014.
Members of the public, like Timothy Ng, hope the place will retain its rustic and 'kampung' feel. He said: "I just like the atmosphere, it's like very different, and then the people are more friendly as well and they help you."
- CNA/ac
Businesses not staying on at Bottle Tree Park
Today Online 29 Jul 14;
SINGAPORE — Bottle Tree Park in Yishun is set to close next month and most businesses there say they will also be closing as they were unable to come to an agreement on rent with the new operator.
The businesses will have to vacate by Aug 17. It is understood that only the fishing pond business will stay on.
The new operator — Chinese company Fullshare Group — had put in a bid of S$169,000 a month for the 7ha piece of land. It was more than double the S$68,000 the current operator had bid for the site.
It is understood there are plans to redevelop the rustic enclave — which has developed a loyal following since it opened 10 years ago — into a recreation centre, which is estimated to be ready from the end of this year.
Mr Kang Weng Sang, who manages the prawn pond at the park, said of the rents offered by the new operator: “S$30,000 — it’s not a fixed rate. You have to pay an extra 10 per cent. For example, if 50 people make a booking for prawning for an hour, (we would) have to pay the operator an extra 10 per cent. This model isn’t very reasonable.”
Currently, his boss is paying a percentage of their monthly gross turnover to Bottle Tree Park, averaging around S$10,000 to S$12,000 a month.
Lamented Mr Neo Kee Huat, owner of Bottle Tree Seafood Restaurant, in Mandarin: “After painstakingly building up the place with its kampung feel, it’s all over. Those who are older say this is their second village because you can’t find places like this in Singapore any more.”
Members of the public hope the place will retain its rustic feel.
Said Bottle Tree Park patron Timothy Ng: “I just like the atmosphere. It’s very different. Maybe the people are more friendly as well and they help you.”
Added another patron, Mr Albert Seah: “If the change is for the better, it’ll be good. But of course, cost is also a concern. If it maintains a reasonable fee, we’ll come more often.”
Located just opposite Yishun Stadium, Bottle Tree Park was an empty plot of land with old, unused ponds before its current operator transformed it into a much-loved park containing, among other things, bottle trees with interesting shapes, ponds for fishing, a seafood restaurant and paintball facilities.
It had been due to close in 2012, but the authorities extended its lease upon request. KHOO FANG XUAN
Bottle Tree Park to get new features
My Paper AsiaOne 29 Jul 14;
er new management: Fullshare Group, a Chinese company, secured the lease for Bottle Tree Park's site with a bid of $169,000 a month. The firm will invest $5 million in a redevelopment.
Things will never be the same at the iconic Bottle Tree Park.
For one thing, it may have a new name.
Furthermore, its management is being taken over by a Chinese company that has offered to pay a far higher rental than any of the other bidders.
It plans to develop a leisure park after Bottle Tree Park is shuttered next month, Lianhe Zaobao reported yesterday.
Apparently, the rustic character of the area will be retained, the report said, but several new features will be added. The redeveloped attraction is to start operation at the end of this year, or the beginning of next.
After the lease was extended many times, the site in Lorong Chencharu was finally put up for redevelopment.
Fullshare Group secured the lease with a bid of S$169,000 a month.
This amount is more than double the guide rent of S$72,200 listed on the tender specifications issued by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and S$47,000 more than the next highest bid of S$122,000 by Sinflora (S).
The tenure is three years, with an option to extend it until April 2020.
The company is planning a leisure park on the 51,500 sq m Bottle Tree Park site, with a variety of food-and-beverage outlets, and activities such as camping, fishing and prawning.
It will invest S$5 million in the redevelopment, but intends to retain the kampung flavour of the site.
However, the park is likely to be renamed.
Fullshare could use one of the current brands under the company, or create a new brand for the park.
According to its website, Fullshare Group is one of the top 500 private enterprises in China, and it has been expanding its overseas market since 2008. Its interests are in "tourism real estate, health care, medical technology and high-end tourism business development".
The website says the firm has investments in China, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore, and it was established here in 2011.
The company intends to set up an overseas headquarters in Singapore, and is investing in several ventures here, it told Lianhe Zaobao.
My Paper reported last month that Bottle Tree Park was going to close. Its last day is Aug 10 and its lease expires on Aug 18.
Bottle Tree managing director Alex Neo told My Paper it had taken part in the tender exercise, but put in a bid of only S$68,000.
Crowds bid Bottle Tree Park farewell
My Paper AsiaOne 12 Aug 14;
Some 2,000 fans turned up during Bottle Tree Park's last weekend to bid a fond farewell to the bucolic attraction.
Chinese company Fullshare Group won the lease to the site in Lorong Chenchuru with a bid of $169,000 a month in July, and will be re-developing the park.
This marked the end of efforts by Bottle Tree's owners to save the rustic enclave which first opened 10 years ago. Apart from its interestingly shaped bottle trees, the place has ponds for fishing, several restaurants, and paintball and other recreational facilities.
On Sunday night, nearly 100 patrons dined at the seafood restaurant, Shin Min Daily News reported.
A regular customer, Mr Luo, who visited the place once a month, said the closure was a pity, as he enjoys the atmosphere there.
Bottle Tree managing director Alex Neo said the park welcomed 2,000 people on Saturday and Sunday, about 20 per cent more than usual.
At 11pm on Sunday, there were still at least a dozen people fishing for prawns.
Retiree Ms Chen, 72, told Shin Min that she spent five to six hours at the pond each day. She arrived at 11am on Sunday, and was reluctant to leave even when it was late in the night.
"I don't know how I will kill time in future," she said.
The prawn-fishing facilities will be moving as the rent has been raised, a supervisor told Shin Min. Rents will be raised from $10,000 to $30,000 a month, the report said. The new location has yet to be confirmed.
The Bottle Tree Seafood restaurant will be moving to Marina Barrage and will re-open in November or December, according to Bottle Tree's website.
Operations manager Neo Siong Hoon, 34, told The Straits Times the restaurant had been in talks with the new management for a space about a quarter of its current size and at more than twice its existing rental. In the end, it decided against it.
Meanwhile, the site in Yishun is likely to be transformed, as Fullshare is expected to invest $5 million to revamp the place.
SHARANPAL SINGH RANDHAWA New Straits Times 28 Jul 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: Hazy conditions caused a drastic drop in air quality with some areas showing Air Pollutant Index (API) readings ranging from moderate, unhealthy and very unhealthy.
Sibu Sarawak recorded very unhealthy reading of 221 at 6pm. The readings at 7pm showed the situation had worsened to 242.
As at 7pm, API readings displayed at the Department of Environment which recorded unhealthy readings were Shah Alam, Selangor (104); Port Klang, Selangor (146); Kuala Selangor, Selangor (105); Banting, Selangor (113).
In Sarawak, apart from Sibu which recorded very unhealthy reading, Samarahan recorded 109 (unhealthy) while Sri Aman was at 107 (unhealthy).
Thirty-eight areas in the country recorded moderate readings while seven other areas recorded good readings.
The areas which recorded good readings were Kota Tinggi, Larkin Lama in Johor; Langkawi, Kedah; Jerantut, Pahang; Limbang, Sarawak; Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan in Sabah.
The API readings at noon which surpassed the 100 markwere Samarahan (104), Sibu (188) and Sri Aman (109), Kuala Selangor (118), Port Klang (144) and Shah Alam (102).
HAZE: Unhealthy air quality in nine places
New Straits Times 29 Jul 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: Air quality was at unhealthy level in nine areas in the country as at 7 am, according to the Department of Environment (DOE).
The affected areas are Samarahan (126), Sibu (191) and Sri Aman (114) in Sarawak; Banting (137), Port Klang (135), Petaling Jaya (102); Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur (123), Cheras (121) and Putrajaya (124).
Twenty other places recorded moderate air quality.
An air pollutant index (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
Scaly anteaters are now the most illegally-traded mammal in the world, with all eight species listed as threatened
Adam Vaughan theguardian.com 29 Jul 14;
Pangolins are being "eaten to extinction" due to a demand for their meat at banquets in China and Vietnam and their scales for use in Chinese medicine, conservationists have warned.
In an update last week to the authoritative Red List of endangered animals, all eight species of the scaly anteaters were upgraded to threatened status.
Resembling a pine cone on legs, they are the world's only scaly mammal, using their scales for armour to protect against predators and their long, sticky tongues to catch prey.
According to experts at the Zoological Society of London, the demand for the animals in Asia has been so great that poachers are now turning to Africa, where four of the species are found. Conservationists say there is already evidence of an underground, intercontinental trade in pangolins between Africa and Asia.
More than a million are believed to have been illegally caught in the wild over the last decade globally, giving them the unenviable record of being the most illegally-traded mammal in the world.
Professor Jonathan Baillie, conservation programmes director at ZSL, said: “All eight pangolin species are now listed as threatened with extinction, largely because they are being illegally traded to China and Vietnam. In the 21st century we really should not be eating species to extinction – there is simply no excuse for allowing this illegal trade to continue.”
Over £4m needs to be spent to address the problem, according to the Pangolin Specialist Group at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which on Tuesday published an action plan on saving pangolins.
The plan says that cutting demand is the "single most important activity to address the decline in pangolins", and proposes a £1m campaign to raise awareness of the species' plight and £2m for a strategy to cut demand in China and Vietnam. It also calls for funding to support patrols at pangolin strongholds, and better understanding of their ecology.
The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) are now listed as critically endangered, the worst listing on the Red List before a species is declared extinct, with the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis) upgraded to endangered.
The four African species, which were previously listed as "least concern" or "near threatened" are now all classed as the more serious "vulnerable" listing.
Our first Marine Park on Sisters' Island
from wonderful creation
Prepping at the Sisters' Island Marine Park
from wild shores of singapore
Outing to Chek Jawa Boardwalk - of tent web spiders and rambutans
from Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs
Short Walk At Venus Drive (26 Jul 2014)
from Beetles@SG BLOG
Glossy Swiftlet collects lichen as nesting material
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Common Snakehead @ Sungei Buloh
from Monday Morgue
LAURA ELIZABETH PHILOMIN Today Online 28 Jul 14;
SINGAPORE — The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) has partnered researchers to conduct a study on Singapore’s macaque population — which has long been in conflict with residents living near their habitats — with the findings to be released in due course.
Areas covered in the research included looking at the ranging patterns of the macaques and gaining a better understanding of why the monkeys have been increasingly venturing into urban areas.
“What we’ve found is that it is all human-related. It is not the macaques coming into our property; it is really us who have ventured into their property,” said Mr Louis Ng, executive director of ACRES. The research findings will also be used to back up some of the policy recommendations the society has long called for, such as putting an end to the culling of wildlife, he added.
Mr Ng was speaking at ACRES’ fundraising carnival yesterday, which also aimed to raise awareness on the search for alternative solutions to culling and fighting animal cruelty. He declined to share more details about the research project, saying the report would be published soon.
With more developments encroaching into wildlife habitats, human-animal conflict has inevitably been on the rise. The biggest human-animal conflict in Singapore has been dealing with macaques, with residents living near wildlife reserves being plagued by monkeys intruding into their homes.
Instead of resorting to culling, ACRES has been pushing for greater tolerance between humans and animals, such as by educating people on how to avoid attracting animals to their properties. For example, they could make food sources in residential areas less readily available to wildlife.
“(Culling) is the easiest solution that doesn’t involve our lifestyle changes. We keep trying to change the animals when the truth of the matter is … it’s always human-related with every single issue,” said Mr Ng.
Adding that people have a moral responsibility to look after animals, he said: “We live on this tiny little island. Animals have nowhere to go and we need to learn to co-exist now.”
There have been encouraging signs that Singaporeans are gaining greater awareness of these issues, with hotline calls to ACRES doubling from last year as more people are actively calling to rescue animals. Mr Ng said this is a very big change in attitude from viewing these animals as pests to seeing them as part of the ecosystem.
About 500 people were present at the fundraising carnival yesterday, one of the many roadshow events ACRES organises as part of its public outreach and education efforts, as well as to raise funds for its wildlife rescue efforts.
ACRES has set a fundraising goal of its S$1.5 million this year, compared to the S$1.2 million it received in donations last year. The money will go towards funding its Macaque Rescue Team and Wildlife Rescue Team.
Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 28 Jul 14;
SINGAPORE is embarking on an ambitious project to develop a technology road map that can help it deal with its rubbish, all the way till 2050.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) recently called for proposals to review how the country collects, sorts, separates, recycles and treats its waste.
The consultancy firm that is selected must also look to other countries to see how those processes can be improved.
The study is expected to produce "a clear and realistic 2030 vision and an ambitious 2050 vision of a sustainable waste management system, given Singapore's constraints and challenges", said the NEA in tender documents.
The NEA received submissions from eight firms by its July 18 deadline and is reviewing them.
The project is expected to start by September and last eight months.
A comprehensive plan will be critical in dealing with Singapore's ballooning waste matter. With the population and economy growing, the country is expected to produce 12.3 million tonnes of rubbish in 2030, up 57 per cent from last year.
The agency noted several areas which can be improved, including in the sorting of waste.
"Most of the local materials recovery facilities are small-scale operations where sorting processes are performed manually," it said in the document, adding that this is both expensive and time-consuming.
It wants the consultant to look for and assess state-of-the-art technologies, including auto-sorting machines, that can dramatically boost the plants' manpower productivity.
There should also be recommendations to help people separate their dry and wet waste more easily, to meet the 2030 target that 70 per cent of all rubbish should be recycled.
The NEA noted that most of the current waste collection equipment and facilities, such as the single steam chute system in most high-rise flats, do not allow different types of waste to be stored and collected separately.
Ms Melissa Tan, chairman of the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore, said its members had been consulted on the targets.
She added that the targets can be met if the Government is prepared to help by investing in technology.
"There are very mature waste sorting and separating technologies in Europe," she said.
"It would be easy to transfer the technology and knowledge to Singapore, but the machines are very costly. Firms here may not have the deep pockets to get them."
One way to solve this, she suggested, would be for the Government to invest in an advanced, centralised sorting facility and charge firms to use it.
"Singapore's waste management has already improved a lot since the 1970s and 1980s and, with technology, it can improve further," she added.
New Straits Times 28 Jul 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: The quality of air was at an unhealthy level in Tanjung Malim, Perak; Sibu, Sarawak; and Kuala Selangor and Port Klang in Selangor as at 7 am today, with the Air Pollutant Index (API) exceeding 100.
According to the portal of the Department of Environment (DoE), the API reading at Tanjung Malim was 102; Sibu, 196; Kuala Selangor, 120; and Port Klang, 137.
The API for other areas in the country was either moderate or good.
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is considered good; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 301 and above, 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
Haze: Air quality unhealthy in Port Klang, Seri Manjung and Sibu as at 9am
New Straits Times 27 Jul 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: The quality of air was at an unhealthy level in Port Klang (Selangor), Seri Manjung (Perak) and Sibu (Sarawak) as at 9 am today, with the Air Pollutant Index (API) exceeding 100.
The portal of the Department of Environment (DoE) reported that the API for Port Klang was 117; Seri Manjung, 102; and Sibu, 149.
The API for Shah Alam was 93, at the moderate level but close to the unhealthy level, according to the portal.
The API for other areas in the country were either moderate or good.
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
New 'light touch' rules on bank's $50bn annual lending have been gutted to remove protections, watchdogs claim
John Vidal theguardian.com 25 Jul 14;
Radical plans by the World Bank to relax the conditions on which it lends up to $50bn (£29bn) a year to developing countries have been condemned as potentially disastrous for the environment and likely to weaken protection of indigenous peoples and the poor.
A leaked draft of the bank's proposed new "safeguard policies", seen by the Guardian, suggests that existing environmental and social protection will be gutted to allow logging and mining in even the most ecologically sensitive areas, and that indigenous peoples will not have to be consulted before major projects like palm oil plantations or large dams palm go ahead on land which they traditionally occupy.
Under the proposed new "light touch" rules, the result of a two year consultation within the bank, borrowers will be allowed to opt out of signing up to employment safeguards, existing protection for biodiversity will be shredded, countries will be allowed to assess themselves, and harmful projects are much more likely to occur, according to World Bank watchdog groups including the Bank Information Centre (BIC), the Ulu Foundation and the International Trade Union Confederation.
Stephanie Fried, director of the Ulu Foundation, said the leaked draft undermines World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, who has stated several times that existing safeguards would not be diluted as a result of the review.
"Despite Kim's promise .... this plan reveals a shocking attempt to eviscerate protections for the poor while giving a green light for the destruction of forests and the natural environment," she said.
According to the groups, the bank is proposing to gut most of the usual requirements to assess impacts on people and the environment when a project is being developed, leaving it up to governments and staff to use their own discretion, in a clear attempt to avoid responsibility and accountability.
"The leaked proposal reveals a significant weakening of existing standards. They are not only at odds with the bank's stated goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity, but lowers the bar for the international community," said Nezir Sinani, climate change coordinator at the BIC.
The draft uses stronger language on indigenous peoples' rights but Sinani said it was undermined by a proposed loophole for governments to opt out of applying the bank's policy on indigenous peoples, jeopardising the rights of hunter-gatherer communities such as the pygmies of the Congo rainforest.
"Most shockingly, the draft framework provides an opt-out option for governments who do not wish to provide essential land and natural resource rights protections to indigenous peoples within their states. If this were adopted, it would represent a wink and a nod by the World Bank to governments that they should not feel compelled to respect international human rights law," said BIC.
"[If these proposals are passed] workers in World Bank-funded projects will be devoid of even the most basic protections. The bank risks creating a chaotic mishmash of varying labour standards requirements, with the World Bank's far weaker than others," said Peter Bakvis, director of ITUC in Washington.
A spokesman for the World Bank said the new policies would support sustainable development. "The World Bank’s safeguard policies are at the center of our efforts to protect people and the environment and to achieve our goals to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable manner in our partner countries.
"We are currently in the process of reviewing and updating our safeguard policies to deliver efficiently on the twin goals and to support more sustainable use of resources, promote social inclusion, discourage discrimination, help address new development challenges and be mindful of the economic burdens development can place on future generations," he said.
The World Bank group, which includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International finance corporation (IFC) is the world's largest development institution, with Britain its largest donor.
Strong safeguards and conditions on its loans and guarantees were put in place after a series of environmentally destructive projects in the 1980s and 1990s such as the Narmada dam in India and the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people to make way for palm plantations in Indonesia.
The leaked copy of the new policies will be discussed by the bank's board next week. It is understood that a vote will be taken on whether to send the draft for public comment.
Earlier this month, leaked comments on the draft by 12 of the bank's most senior employees, revealed disquiet that the proposed new safeguards would lead to an increase in "problem projects".
Ana Revenga, the bank's vice-president for poverty reduction, warned in those comments: "It might appear [from the draft policies] that the bank is interested in lending more, hence lowering standards ... [It] would likely entail an increase in the number of problem projects and cancellations."
Rambutans at Chek Jawa with the Naked Hermit Crabs
from wild shores of singapore
Checking up on dead fishes at Sungei Buloh
from wild shores of singapore
Long Walk At Central Catchment Park Connectors (25 Jul 2014)
from Beetles@SG BLOG
Butterfly of the Month - July 2014
from Butterflies of Singapore
Helping a dull bird shine – Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
from Francis' Random Yaks, Articles & Photos
Cheryl Faith Wee The Straits Times AsiaOne 27 Jul 14;
Dead fish found on the banks of Sungei Buloh Besar yesterday. In a similar incident in April, thousands of dead grey mullet were washed up in the wetland reserve.
Dead fish were spotted in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve earlier this week, with parts of Sungei Buloh Besar turning black.
There was also a strong stench - not unlike the smell of rotten eggs - along the main bridge in the reserve when The Straits Times visited yesterday.
Despite several decomposing fish carcasses on the banks of Sungei Buloh Besar, halfbeaks, a native breed of fish, were still seen swimming in the river.
Housewife Sharon Choy, 50, a frequent visitor to the reserve, said: "On Tuesday, when I looked out from the main bridge, I could see the dead fish lining the banks of the river. I told my husband, even if 100 people came to help, they would not be able to clean everything up."
The water, however, was still clean and had its "usual colour" when she visited.
Nature enthusiast Ria Tan, who runs wildsingapore.com, a wildlife website, said she saw about 40 dead fish along the river yesterday morning.
Most of them looked like the sort of large market-size farmed grey mullets, she added.
National University of Singapore biology lecturer N. Sivasothi said mass fish deaths are usually due to two factors - low oxygen levels and poisoning.
Low oxygen levels could be a result of increased algae growth, with algae competing with fish for oxygen. If there are large amounts of fertiliser or sewage upstream, the fish could have been poisoned and flowed into Sungei Buloh.
It was important to monitor the water quality of the Johor Strait, and ensure that offshore fish farms have proper waste disposal facilities, he added.
A spokesman from the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said there has been no report of abnormal fish deaths from our coastal fish farms so far. "We are investigating the fish deaths in Sungei Buloh with the National Parks Board," he added.
The National Parks Board yesterday said it is removing the dead fish from the reserve.
In a similar incident in April, thousands of dead grey mullet were washed up in the wetland reserve.
The AVA said then that Singapore's coastal fish farms in the western Johor Strait had not been hit by die-offs and that there had been no plankton blooms or any abnormalities detected.
The agency had also cautioned that it would take enforcement action against farms found to be illegally dumping waste in the water.
Additional reporting by Priscilla Goy
Related links
Dead fishes at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve again on the wild shores of singapore blog.
Melissa Lin and Linette Lai The Straits Times AsiaOne 26 Jul 14;
SINGAPORE - Towkay Tan Chee Kiang runs a busy restaurant and a shop in a prime location, serving up fried squid and sambal kangkong to visitors hailing from South Korea to Germany.
But the 66-year-old is no boss of businesses in Orchard Road, or even an HDB town centre.
Instead, he owns a provision shop and one of the largest eateries on Pulau Ubin, an isle the size of Tampines.
Born and bred on Ubin, Mr Tan is one of the popular island's last 30-odd residents.
Home for Mr Tan is a single room at the back of the provision shop that has been in his family for nearly 100 years, back when Singapore was a British colony and when policemen wore shorts.
The shop is a short walk from the main jetty, where bumboats drop off visitors, past a dusty road lined with bicycle rental shops and weathered old men whiling their time away.
Here, there are no traffic lights, no shopping malls, no clinics even, but residents are all the happier for that.
"It's quieter, more peaceful and the air is definitely better," Mr Tan said in Mandarin.
"We don't need to close the doors in our homes. There are no thieves here."
A queen-size bed sits in the corner of the room he shares with his wife. The wall is bare save for a framed photograph of his youngest daughter as a toddler.
The corridor that links to the shop is lined with stacks of cartons of canned drinks. A cool, salty breeze blows in from a single window facing the sea.
Mr Tan, the middle child of a family with five children, took over the shop from his father.
His father, who died three years ago at the age of 103, was in his 20s when he moved to the island with his younger brother.
Mr Tan's uncle ferried people to and from the island as a bumboat pilot; Mr Tan's father started the provision shop.
"Nine or 10 years ago, I started this seafood restaurant," Mr Tan said, gesturing at the business adjacent to the shop, now one of the island's largest eateries.
The village of his childhood in the 1950s and 1960s is very different from today's Pulau Ubin, or Granite Island in Malay.
Back then, thousands of people called the island home, working at its granite quarries, fish farms and in agriculture.
"We used to grow some vegetables for ourselves," Mr Tan recalled.
"Neighbours would also grow them, and we would buy some from them."
The wooden "wayang" stage in the town centre, where Chinese opera performances were put up, held fond memories for him.
"They used to have shows here, and there would be a lot of people. Nowadays only a few people watch such shows."
The "theatre" sometimes doubled up as a classroom, when the nearby Bin Kiang School ran out of space.
Mr Tan, who attended primary school there, said the island had many children in those early days.
"The school had six classrooms but sometimes those weren't enough and we had our classes on the stage," he recalled.
There were no cars and villagers went around on bicycles.
The roads were wide enough for only one cyclist to pass at a time; the bridges were so rickety you had to get off your bike and push it across, he said.
But the Ubin quarries started closing down - the last one shut in 1999 - and the islanders begin to move out in search of other livelihoods.
The number of residents on the island has since whittled down to fewer than 40.
The wayang stage now stands silent in the village square and some of the houses scattered across the island are abandoned.
Bin Kiang School closed in 1985 and was demolished in 2000.
Mr Tan's two daughters and a son, now aged between 26 and 38, went to schools on the mainland. They would wake up at 5am to catch the 6am boat to school.
The house he grew up in, opposite the provision shop, was turned into a storeroom.
His children moved into an HDB flat in Tampines, and he and his wife moved into the room in his shop.
Although he bought the flat more than 20 years ago, it was only after his father died that Mr Tan could spend nights at the flat, relieved of the responsibility of taking care of the old man.
But he still prefers his home on idyllic Ubin, where he spends most of his days.
"Living on Ubin is not so hectic, not like on the mainland," he said.
Here, life operates at a different pace.
Crates of beer and other heavy goods are delivered a few times a month, depending not on the traffic on the roads but on the tides.
"If the tides are too low, the boats can't come," he said.
These days, his rest days, Tuesdays, are spent meeting his group of old friends from the island for coffee near his Tampines flat.
He said wistfully of the past: "I had friends everywhere, no matter where I walked to (on Ubin). I grew up here, played here and went to work here.
"But everyone has gone his own way."
In the neighbourhood: In search of a simple life
Mr Sim Kim Seng, 50, did not grow up on Pulau Ubin but rents a room from his good friend, Mr Tan Chee Kiang. Mr Sim tells The Straits Times about the home he has adopted.
WHO HE IS
I am a contractor on Ubin who does repair jobs. I live in a rented room on Ubin four to five days a week, and have been doing so for the past eight to nine years.
I have a daughter, who works as a teacher, and a son studying in university, who live on the mainland.
WHY HE LIKES THE ISLAND
Singapore is very "cramped". On Ubin, there are fewer rules and no traffic lights, zebra crossings, and ERP (Electronic Road Pricing).
I like the air and sunshine here. When I take walks in the morning, there are many surprises. I get to see different animals and birds. It is never boring.
The road is the same but every time you take a walk, it is a different experience.
When you say "hi" to people here, they respond. But if you do that on Orchard Road, people will wonder what you are doing.
WHAT HAS CHANGED
Pulau Ubin used to be like an "orphan" last time, nobody cared about it. Now, more people are interested in it and there are tourists of all nationalities who visit.
Schools also hold their camping trips here. But most of the young people who lived here have left.
WHAT HASN'T CHANGED
The nature here. On the mainland, the floors are made of concrete.
The people who live here, if their feet do not touch the soil, they are not used to it.
Is it inconvenient to live here? No, as long as you get used to it and live a simple life, it is okay.
MELISSA LIN
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/we-dont-close-doors-there-are-no-thieves-here?page=0%2C2#sthash.ESueGOfS.dpuf
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