2015 TeamSeaGrass Monitoring Trips Are Up
from teamseagrass
The last of a line
from The annotated budak
Raining snakes at Pasir Ris
from wild shores of singapore
Unusual feeding behavior of the Long-tailed Parakeets by Shirley Ng
from Singapore Bird Group
Twin-barred Tree Snake (Chrysopelea pelias) @ Rifle Range Road
from Monday Morgue
Cheong Suk-wai The Straits Times AsiaOne 12 Jan 15;
The crash of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 exactly two weeks ago has been blamed on weather so extreme that it tossed the plane about and froze its controls. The search for its ill-fated passengers' remains has been similarly hampered by white-out clouds, whipping winds and a whirling sea.
This tragedy has since put many people off flying. That change of heart towards what has become a way of life is just what Canadian journalist Naomi Klein hopes more people will have now.
That is because, as she canvasses in her new book This Changes Everything, humanity has exacerbated extreme weather and global warming to such an extent with hyper-consumption that civilisation itself may be going the way of the dodo.
The "This" in the title refers to climate change, which comes from the ever-increasing burning of fossil fuels to run everything from factories to cars and, yes, planes.
The burning sends carbon dioxide into the air, which not only traps heat that then warms the earth, but hangs around in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Small wonder, then, that in 2012, Greenland saw its mega ice sheet melting for the first time in history.
As she notes in the book, by 2013, global carbon emissions were 61 per cent higher than in 1990, the year generally considered to be the start of the current wave of globalisation. The trouble is, as she says again and again in her book This Changes Everything, people keep "looking away" from climate change because they either believe it is a Trojan Horse for anti-capitalists or simply because nobody cares to wean themselves off luxuries, recycle stuff and cycle to work just to save the planet, as it were.
In this, she stresses, she is not advocating that everyone goes back to living in caves; it is enough just to live as if one were in the 1970s, when everyone made do with just enough and were into do-it-yourself projects.
You might think her suggestion all too predictable when you learn that she is the daughter of hippies, with their "make love not war" stance and fondness for all things natural. But Klein, an award-winning journalist who has covered environmental tragedies like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, used to be obsessed with designer brands, decking herself out in them in silent protest against her parents' earth-loving ways. She was also, for years, a climate-change sceptic, averting her eyes whenever anyone spoke or wrote about the subject.
What changed her mind and led to her spending five years writing this book was a conversation with a Bolivian ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) who showed her how fighting climate change was also a way to redistribute the world's income, if rich polluters gave money to poor "climate creditors" like Bolivia, to help them buy and use green technologies and grow their economies sustainably.
Klein traces the roots of global warming and climate change to the present model of economic growth, which is largely skewed towards helping the rich get richer quickly by relying on coal-heavy industries that pollute the environment, and by stoking the consumerism that keeps these industries going at full throttle.
Her book is most valuable for its chunks of inconvenient truths about how people are making the planet "hotter, colder, wetter, thirstier, hungrier and angrier", just to satisfy their many, unending desires, be they for fuel, food or x.
Among the most inconvenient truths she has rooted out are that:
Fracking, or using water pressure to break rocks to release gas, has been weakening the earth's faultlines and so triggering small earthquakes. On top of that, fracking releases a lot of heat-trapping methane; Starfish on the Pacific Coast have been melting into distorted globs, likely from seawater made increasingly acidic from dissolved carbon dioxide; Many environmental champions have betrayed everyone by, ironically, enabling oil companies to drill for fuel. For example, the Nature Conservancy in the United States was meant to protect the endangered prairie chicken. But it let oil companies drill in protected lands and, by 2013, the species died out; and
Many respected scientists and entrepreneurs are trying to reverse global warming by pursuing The Pinatubo Option, named after Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, which erupted in 1991 and spewed sun-dimming ash into the region. The Pinatubo Option involves spraying sulfate aerosols into the atmosphere, as the chemical's particles act like mirrors to deflect heat from the earth's surface, thus cooling the planet. Thing is, such cooling will curb rainfall to such an extent that swathes of Africa and Asia will become deserts.
She is most critical of world leaders and the WTO because the former insist on non-binding targets to reduce carbon emissions while the latter penalises countries which try to live more sustainably. She does not spare even former American vice-president Al Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness of climate change.
The way she tells it, he championed only cosmetic changes and did little to oppose the setting up of the environmentally unfriendly North American Free Trade Agreement.
The main plank of her solution - an Occupy-like global movement against "Big Polluters" - is, alas, weak. She herself admits in the book that it could be "reckless" to rally everyone to protest against - gasp! - economic growth as we know it. But she insists that climate change needs just such a response and that it is gaining ground in Canada, Greece and Romania. In so saying, she points to other great social mass movements in history, such as the abolition of slavery and the move for civil rights in the United States, and making do with less during World War II in Britain, including rationing, growing vegetables and banning driving for pleasure.
Klein is best when she lets the facts speak for themselves, and she has amassed a good many - and as current as April 2014 - with the help of her lead researchers, Rajiv Sicora and Alexandra Tempus. For example, she found out that Exxon Mobil chief Rex Tillerson has quietly sued to stop fracking-related activities near his $5 million home, claiming it will lower property values.
If you believe that knowing is half the battle won, this book will show you how to leave a lighter footprint on nature.
Borneo Post 12 Jan 15;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s environmental laws which were put into place to safeguard the environment is being blatantly disregarded by the project proponents of the Pitas Shrimp Park which is also known as the Pitas Aquaculture Project, according to Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa).
The project is a joint venture between Inno Fisheries Sdn Bhd which is under the Sabah Foundation and Sunlight Seafood (Sabah) Sdn Bhd.
“Environmental laws have been put into place as safeguards for the benefit and protection of all our futures and breaking these laws should be as serious as any other crime and not as something that can be ignored,” said Sepa president Lanash Thanda.
According to him, the law is clear – there should be no development activities until the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is approved.
“As far as we are aware, this project has not had its EIA approved. Is the project proponent above the law?
“This situation raises alarming questions with regards to other development projects. Does this mean that projects that are government linked do not have to follow the law?
“What has happened in this situation makes a mockery of the hard work and legal procedures that have been put in place for Sabah. Does this now mean that the people of Sabah cannot rely on the EIA system to safeguard the environment?” asked Lanash.
It has been reported that the project proponents were clearing land as early as April 2013 with commencement of earthworks for shrimp ponds but the first step of an EIA was only approved in July 2013.
In January 2014, the project received EPD approval for only the development of infrastructure such as putting in water pipes and electricity in consideration for the needs for the local community. However electricity has been available in the area since 1997. Meanwhile the illegal work on the shrimp ponds still continued.
In addition, as the area is classified as mangrove swamp, a riparian zone of 100 meters must be maintained. However upon inspection of areas that have been cleared, Sepa found that they were no riparian buffers.
This project was identified under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Sabah Economic Development & Investment Authority (Sedia) and began clearing mangrove areas months before the EIA review meeting was even held in June 2014. It was understood at the time of the review the project’s EIA, it was rejected due to serious environmental issues that had not been addressed adequately in the EIA.
“This project has been developed unsustainably from the beginning. A state authority such as the Sabah Foundation should have acted in a responsible and accountable manner. It could even be argued that this whole ‘project’ is illegal from the start for not complying with the State Laws,” said Lanash.
The Malaysian transformation agenda is built on a platform of sustainability and inclusiveness to ensure long-term sustainability. Certification is also a large component of this programme and due to the illegal manner which this project has been carried out, no internationally recognised certification scheme will certify this project.
“Mangroves are crucial to our fisheries industry. Wildlife and local community who rely on the sources of income derived from the natural resources available. You cannot rebuild a destroyed ecosystem such as this. And this project is 39 times the size of the Kota Kinabalu Wetlands, so it is a sizeable area that has been destroyed to do an aquaculture project,” stated Lanash.
In addition, it is understood that shrimp aquaculture had a long history of devastating outbreaks of diseases throughout the nation, including in Sabah since the 1990s.
Sepa also provided photographs taken as recently as August 2014 showing the continued clearing and destruction of the mangrove system against the wishes of some of the community of the area.
“This destruction must stop immediately and the project proponents must be answerable to laws of this State and remedial efforts be carried out immediately by them at their own cost,” concluded Lanash.
'Pitas Shrimp Park needs EIA'
The Star 12 Jan 15;
KOTA KINABALU: Environmentalists are pressing for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before the Pitas Shrimp Park project at a mangrove swamp area in northern Sabah proceeds.
“As far as we are aware, this project has not had its EIA approved,” Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA) president Lanash Thanda claimed.
Previous news reports said park, which is also known as the Pitas Aquaculture project, will be Malaysia’s largest prawn farm.
In a statement yesterday, Thanda said Sabah’s environmental laws, put in place to safeguard the environment, had been disregarded.
The law was clear that there should be no development activities until EIA was approved, she said.
“Mangroves are crucial to our fisheries industry, wildlife and local community who rely on the natural resources available to earn an income,” Thanda said.
Pitas firm gets EIA approval
MUGUNTAN VANAR The Star 15 Jan 15;
KOTA KINABALU: The company carrying out controversial mangrove clearing for a shrimp aquaculture project in Sabah’s northern Pitas has obtained environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval.
“As the EIA report for the project has been approved, any mangrove clearing within the project boundary is considered legal. No action will be taken against them unless they contravene the specified requirements,” said state environmental department director Datuk Yabi Yangkat.
The EIA allows the project proponents to carry out mangrove swamp clearing for the project.
Yabi said this yesterday to clear the air over mangrove swamps clearing in Pitas amid concerns raised by the Sabah Environmental Protection Association that the project had no approved EIA.
Yabi said among the conditions of the EIA was for the project developers to put in place mitigation measures for wildlife corridors, mangrove buffer zones, riparian reserves and rehabilitation of certain disturbed mangrove areas.
The aquaculture project is a joint venture between Sunlight Inno Seafood Sdn Bhd and state-owned Yayasan Sabah subsidiary Inno Fisheries Sdn Bhd. The EIA was prepared by DH Water and Environmental Consultant (M) Sdn Bhd.
The terms and reference for the project were submitted on May 13, 2013, and approved by the state environment department on July 10 that year.
This was followed up with the submission of the EIA report on April 29 last year that was initially rejected by the EIA review committee on June 5 but approved on Dec 19 after issues of concern were resolved.
Yabi said his department was aware of the environmental sensitivity of the project and that the EIA implementation would be monitored closely.
He said the company was fined RM30,000 on Aug 1, 2013 for commencing work on the project without EIA approval.
RAZAK AHMAD The Star 12 Jan 15;
TEMERLOH: The country’s ikan patin (silver catfish) capital here will not be able to live up to its reputation for some time.
The recent floods hit the patin caged fish breeding industry badly, causing an estimated 50% drop in supply, a shortage which breeders said would require them up to six months to recover from.
Despite the floods, retail prices remain fixed at RM15 per kg, meaning the breeders will have to fully absorb their losses.
There are about 200 breeders whose cages line an estimated 20km stretch of Sungai Pahang here, making this town and district famous throughout the country for the fish which many consider a delicacy.
The fish is still available here at food stalls and restaurants but operators say stocks have become limited after the floods.
“The floods this time was so severe that it uprooted trees and swept away cut logs. As these travelled downstream, they hit our cages and either broke them or carried them away altogether,” said Khaidir Ahmad, who has 38 patin cages along the river at Kampung Durian Tikus.
Khaidir, 52, was a TV3 employee who recently accepted the network’s mutual separation scheme to concentrate on his patin business.
Twelve of his cages, each of which contain up to 800kg of patin when the fish reaches maturity after six months, were swept away the floods, causing losses of more than RM100,000.
The floods totally submerged his house along the river bank.
Locals said the water from the river would spill over its banks every year during the November to March northeast monsoon, but the recent episode which started on Dec 25 was the worst since 1971.
Khaidir said the 200 breeders in Temerloh, who each have a minimum of 12 cages of patin as well as tilapia, all suffered losses.
Over the years, the water in the river has also become murkier, possibly due to increasing logging activities upstream, he said.
The post-flood outlook is bleak for many of the smaller operators such retiree Amran Alias, 57, a private sector employee who had used up all his Employees Provident Fund savings to set up four patin cages.
All his cages broke, and he was seen rowing a boat along the banks, poking a stick in the water in a desperate attempt to find his cages, each of which cost RM3,000 excluding the fish stock.
Some breeders had been planning to harvest this month to meet the increased demand for Chinese New year, but their fish are now all gone, said Mohd Taufik Abdullah, an employee working at one of the many stalls selling fresh ikan patin that line the road along the river.
His stall reopened for business on Thursday.
The floods damaged his equipment, including a fish cutting machine, and carried away his industrial refrigerator.
ELVINA FERNANDEZ New Straits Times 11 Jan 15;
TEMERLOH: The Health Ministry estimates more than RM500 million losses due to the recent flood in the east coast.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said rebuilding cost was estimated at about RM900 million.
"This is an estimated figure so it could be more,"
"So far we have got figures for RM300 million," he told reporters after addressing ministry staff at the Sultan Haji Ahmad hospital here.
He added that the ministry was looking at rebuilding and relocating some of the clinics as well as hospitals at the badly affected areas because they can no longer function.
He expressed appreciation to MOH staffs who were involved directly and indirectly during the floods, also those who worked tirelessly during this worst flood in our history.
Seven confirmed leptospirosis cases in Pahang
ELVINA FERNANDEZ New Straits Times 11 Jan 15;
KUALA KRAU: A total of 23 suspected and seven confirmed leptospirosis cases have been recorded in Pahang during the flood.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam said the ministry was taking the necessary measures to conduct early detection and the preparation to conduct clinical test was ready.
"Most important of all is a high index of suspicion by doctors in both government and private facilities, to refer the patients for further medical checks," he said after visiting the Kuala Krau health clinic.
The public, he added should also be aware of the disease and practice cleanliness at all times.
"Always boil drinking water and maintain proper hygiene when preparing meals," he added.
The ministry, he said will also increase public awareness campaigns to educate the public on water borne diseases in affected areas.
Reuters 9 Jan 15;
(Reuters) - Indonesian indigenous communities launched a project on Friday to encourage foreign tourism in ancestral forests to slow the advance of logging operations and palm oil plantations.
The GreenIndonesia non-governmental organization, working with six indigenous groups, said the plan would ease poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and diversify from traditional forest-based incomes such as weaving.
"We're trying to draw tourists to areas of Indonesia where communities are working to preserve their land and ... show how they are helping to prevent forests from being lost," Chandra Kirana, head of GreenIndonesia, said.
The project was inspired by similar initiatives in the Amazon region of Latin America, she said at a tourism exhibition in Oslo.
Raymundus Remang, head of the Sui Utuk community in West Kalimantan, said the villagers, who have preserved 9,000 hectares (22,000 acres) of forest from illegal logging and palm oil expansion, would welcome more visitors. Tourists could stay in the community's vast longhouse, where about 250 people live.
"Everyone in the village has the same feeling of having to protect the forest because it comes from our ancestors," he told Reuters via an interpreter.
Indonesia has lost vast tracts of forests in recent years, threatening the livelihoods of forest peoples as well as endangered creatures such as orangutans and Sumatran tigers.
Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar endorsed the eco-tourism project and said the government of President Joko Widodo, who took office in October, was working on a decree recognising the rights of indigenous groups.
GreenIndonesia's Kirana said she hoped the initiative would draw hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tourists in a first year. She added the communities would seek ways to limit the extra stresses on fragile ecosystems from more visitors.
(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Sam Wilkin)
The Nation 12 Jan 15;
OFFICIALS HAVE agreed to remove microchips from three wild dugongs after fishermen protested over the move, saying cables for the tags make it more difficult for the sea cows to feed on marine grass and increases their risk of getting caught.
"We would like to apologise for what happened," Chonlatid Suraswadi, head of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, said yesterday.
Had Chao Mai National Park officials implanted microchips in the three dugong - which belong to a vulnerable species - in the middle of last month to study their behaviour and demarcate safety zones for them.
The Local Fishermens' Club based in Trang lodged a complaint with the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, describing the tagging as a form of torture.
Chonlatid met with club members to assure them that the tags would be removed as soon as possible.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dapong Ratanasuwan and the chief of the National Parks Department had ordered the tags to be removed, he said.
The National Parks Department wanted the tags to be removed by today, but the Marine Department plans to hold a meeting today with the team in charge of handling the removal to determine the best method.
The team has been set up by the National Parks Department, while the Marine Department will provide support in the form of boats and veterinarians.
"We will invite representatives of Chulalongkorn University to witness the tag-removal operation," he said.
Many foreign countries have tagged rare sea animals such as whales and dugongs for research purposes.
"But as the fishermen in Trang have had concerns about the tagging, we have agreed to remove them," he said. In collaboration with Japanese researchers, the Marine Department had a plan to set up underwater recorders to track dugongs' sounds next month.
"So before we start the installation, we will try to build mutual understanding with the public," he said.
Trang fishers oppose dugong tagging
Methee Muangkaew Bangkok Post 7 Jan 15;
A group Trang province fishermen has called for the scrapping of a project to tag endangered dugongs with satellitetrackable markers, fearing they might harm the animals.
More than 30 fishermen on Wednesday took turns in voicing their disapproval with the Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre research project to attach satellite tags on rare dugongs to monitor the behaviour of the mammals, their seagrass habitat and the animals' migration route in the Trang sea.
So far, the research team, comprised of Thai and Japanese biologists, has tagged only three dugongs.
The fishermen aired their views during a forum held at the Andaman Foundation in Muang district of Trang. Representatives from the Department of the National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation observed.
Issamael Bensaard, a representative of the Trang fishermen's club, said the local anglers wanted the tagging project halted and talks held between locals and nationalpark authorities to find a way to conserve rare dugongs in Trang.
His club will step up pressure to stop the project if authorities ignore their call, he said.
Aren Phrakhong, deputy chairman of the Trang fishermen's club, insisted his group had no ulterior motive. It did not want
to ask for state funding, but merely wanted a role in conserving dugongs.
Members of his club have taken care of marine resources in the Trang sea for a long time and have never received
financial assistance from the state, he said Most local fishermen consider the sea and its marine resources their home, he added.
Manot Wongsureerat, chief of Hat Chao Mai national park in Trang, defended the tagging project, saying more studies
had been conducted on use of tags on dugongs and found this method was accepted by many countries.
About 20 million baht has been allocated for the satellitebased tagging project, he said, adding it was worthwhile and
useful, as it enabled officials to know the life circle of dugongs in a bid to find ways to conserve them.
Butterfly of the Month - January 2015
from Butterflies of Singapore
Night Walk At Yio Chu Kang Road (09 Jan 2015)
from Beetles@SG BLOG
It is time for Singapore to reduce plastic disposables
from Green Future Solutions
Tham Yuen-c The Straits Times AsiaOne 10 Jan 15;
SINGAPORE - Even as they celebrate the nation's jubilee anniversary, Singaporeans will get a chance to visualise what their country might look like over the next 50 years.
An expo offering a glimpse of Singapore's future, involving several key agencies, will cap SG50 celebrations this year, SG50 steering committee chief Heng Swee Keat told The Straits Times.
To be held near Gardens By the Bay at the end of the year, it will have interactive exhibits that show what life could be like in Singapore in the coming decades, in areas such as education, leisure and the urban landscape.
Some of the ideas will hopefully come from Singaporeans, who will be asked to share their hopes and aspirations for the country's future, in the run-up to this "finale event", Mr Heng said in an interview on Thursday.
Mr Heng, who is also Education Minister, said Singaporeans, together with the Government, would have to make major decisions that could affect the country's survival and success in the years to come.
"We need to get everyone to think about what kind of journey we want to build," he added.
The large-scale exhibition, called "futuretogether.SG", comes at the end of a year that will see well over 100 events to commemorate SG50, many of them organised by individuals and groups tapping a $5 million celebration fund. Already, some $3 million has been disbursed for 100 projects, and another 250 proposals are being evaluated.
The myriad projects have attracted some criticism that too much money and effort are being expended, and that celebration fatigue may set in, with so many events on the horizon.
To this, Mr Heng said SG50 is really about "people coming together to celebrate in ways big and small... and not just about events per se". He added that a whole range of events would cater to more people.
"The more people take part, the more meaningful and successful our celebration will be," he said. "I hope it will engender an even deeper sense of togetherness as a people, a deeper sense of belonging to our nation, and that it will energise us to commit to working together to build a better future for all."
A potluck home-cooked food movement, #SGEatWithUs, is one project that has received a grant. Teacher Lee Li Theng, 35, who started it with two friends, said: "We just wanted to bring together Singaporeans and friends of Singapore to celebrate the identity that we have."
Freelance artist Don Low, 44, who planned Let's Draw! SG, which involves artists sketching their neighbourhoods and then exhibiting the sketches, said: "In a way, we are kind of trying to remember our neighbour with our drawing, trying to build up the sense of belonging to our neighbourhood, and to our country as well. It's more like a celebration among ourselves."
Several SG50 events will also take place overseas, such as a travelling exhibition of Singaporean contemporary art that will be held in Beijing, London and New York before returning to Singapore. Singapore's embassies abroad and several foreign embassies in Singapore, such as the Embassy of Mexico, have also organised events to celebrate SG50.
Mr Heng said: "We have become very globally connected... We want to celebrate with the world, and we want the world to celebrate with us."
AsiaOne 10 jan 15;
SINGAPORE - Soon, residents of Bedok and East Coast will be able to enjoy a new pedestrian and cycling route that takes them from East Coast Park to Bedok Reservoir Park.
The new 4-km route will be ready by the end of next year, reported The Straits Times.
According to the report, there will be directional signs and amenities along the way such as play equipment.
The route runs through Bedok South Ave 1, New Upper Changi Road and Bedok North Ave 1, and also takes users pass Bedok MRT station and Bedok Town Centre.
This is part of a project called Outdoor Play Corridor and the Housing Development Board (HDB) said in a statement that construction will commence second half of this year.
Meanwhile, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is also rolling out a cycling network within East Coast that will connect MRT stations, schools and neighbourhood centres.
In addition, a heritage trail that will highlight the heritage sites in Bedok and East Coast area will also completed by the first half 2016.
These initiatives are part of the second phase of a billion-dollar Remaking Our Heartland programme in which three mature estates East Coast, Jurong Lake and Hougang are being rejuvenated.
Other initiatives include an enhanced pedestrian mall at Bedok Town Centre that will have more ramps and seating areas by next year, and a new Bedok Integrated Complex - slated to be completed by 2017 - that will house Kampong Chai Chee Community Club, Bedok Sports Centre, Bedok Polyclinic, an Eldercare Centre and Bedok Public Library.
Eight neighbourhood centres within Bedok are also being spruced up with new features such as improved landscaping, more distinctive street furniture and new shelters and mini pavilions. Upgrading works at Chai Chee and Fengshan are already underway and are scheduled to be completed this year.
New cycling, pedestrian paths from Bedok Reservoir to East Coast Park
AMANDA LEE Today Online 10 Jan 15;
SINGAPORE — Bedok residents can look forward to cycling and pedestrian paths as well as a cycling network, under the Government's rejuvenation programme for its estates.
A 4km Outdoor Play Corridor will provide dedicated cycling and pedestrian paths connecting Bedok Town Centre to East Coast Park and Bedok Reservoir Park. Construction will start in the second half of this year.
Also, a cycling network within the East Coast area — connecting to main activity nodes such as the MRT stations, schools, and Neighbourhood Centres (NCs) — will be completed by the first half of 2017.
Giving an update on the developments in the East Coast area — which include the Bedok town centre area and other neighbourhoods within Bedok town — the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said good progress has been made since it announced its Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) plans for the area in 2011. These include the completion of Bedok Mall, the Bedok Integrated Transport Hub, and the Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre and Multi-Storey Car Park, which has 400 parking lots.
In the works are a new Bedok Town Plaza, a heritage corner, and the new Bedok Integrated Complex that will house the Kampong Chai Chee Community Club, Bedok Sports Centre, Bedok Polyclinic, an eldercare centre and Bedok Public Library. The complex is set to be completed by 2017.
To deepen residents’ knowledge on the history of the area, a heritage trail – highlighting the heritage sites in Bedok and East area – will be completed by the first half of next year.
Plans for other NCs in the area are under various stages of implementation and are expected to be completed by next year. New features being installed include entrance markers and community plazas.
The ROH programme was created after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke of the need to help HDB estates keep pace with the changing needs of the community in his National Day Rally in 2007. Punggol, Yishun and Dawson were the first to be selected for the programme. This was followed by East Coast, Hougang and Jurong Lake.
About 250,000 residents live in Bedok. Those TODAY spoke to welcomed the new developments, citing convenience brought to the area.
Housewife Vandita Khanderwar, who has been living in Bedok for four years, said she does not have to go to Parkway Parade at Marine Parade Road to shop anymore. “I can get everything here at Bedok Mall. There’s Uniqlo and Popular too,” added the 41-year-old.
Delivery packer Xin Yong Cheng, 55, felt that the developments were only necessary as the Bedok estate is old. “Last time there is a hawker centre, now they just upgrade, so it’s the same,” added Mr Xin who has been living in Bedok for seven years.
The public can visit the ROH exhibition situated in front of Block 209 New Upper Changi Road for more information. It will be open from tomorrow (Jan 11) to next Sunday from 11am to 9pm.
Outdoor Play Corridor, cycling network in the works for Bedok residents
Channel NewsAsia 10 Jan 15;
SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has announced plans to enhance the Republic's East Coast area as part of the "Remaking Our Heartland" (ROH) programme, following the completion of the Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre, Bedok Integrated Transport Hub and Bedok Mall.
In a media release, HDB said work on an Outdoor Play Corridor, which provides cycling and pedestrian paths connecting Bedok Town Centre to East Coast Park and Bedok Reservoir Park, will commence in the second half of this year.
A cycling network within East Coast, which will connect MRT stations, schools and Neighbourhood Centres (NCs), will be completed by the first half of 2017. In addition, a heritage trail, which will highlight the heritage sites in the Bedok and East Coast areas, will be completed by the first half of 2016, HDB said.
ROH plans for East Coast also include eight NCs within Bedok Town. New features planned for the NCs include entrance markers, community plazas, floor retiling, playgrounds, mini pavilions, as well as street furniture and lighting unique to each NC.
Upgrading works at Chai Chee and Fengshan NCs are underway, while the rest are under various stages of implementation and are on track for completion by next year, the media release stated.
The opening ceremony for the Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre will be held on Sunday (Jan 11). At the same time, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held for the upcoming Bedok Town Plaza and Heritage Corner - which will be built on the site of the previous hawker centre located at Block 207 Upper Changi Road.
- CNA/dl
HALIM SAID New Straits Times 9 Jan 15;
JOHOR BARU: A total of 115 flood victims from 31 families in Gemereh and Labis in Segamat district were evacuated to flood relief centres as at 4.30pm today.
The evacuation was carried out after heavy rain since noon which led to floodings in the area, forcing two relief centres, one in Kg Batu Badak and another one in Kg Segamat Kecil to be activated.
According to a National Security Council press updates, a total of 27 victims from seven families were evacuated in Gemereh while 88 victims from 24 families were evacuated from Labis.
Floods: Slight increase in johor evacuees
BEN TAN New Straits Times 10 Jan 15;
JOHOR BARU: The state saw a slight hike in the number of flood evacuees registered with 152 victims from 38 families in temporary flood relief centres as of noon today.
This latest figure was a small increase compared to 145 victims from 36 families as at 8am.
The Johor National Security Council (NSC) said all the flood victims came from the Segamat district, which is the only district in the state that is affected by the floods.
The state has five operational flood relief centres that are currently sheltering the victims.
The flood relief centres are in Balairaya Kampung Batu Badak in Gemereh, Balairaya Kampung Segamat Kecil in Labis, Kompleks Penghulu in Pagoh, Balairaya Kampung Spang Loi and Balairaya Kampung Mensudut Lama, both in Buloh Kasap.
A Johor NSC spokesperson said that as of noon today, no flood victims have returned home pending the weather situation and water levels in the respective areas.
"For motorists heading towards the Segamat district, the Jalan Jabi to Bukit Tempurung roads are temporarily closed to traffic," she said.
New Straits Times 10 Jan 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: The category two strong wind and rough sea occurring in the waters of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor Timur, Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan currently are expected to persist until tomorrow.
According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department, the North-easterly wind with a speed of 50 to 60 kilometres per hour (kph) and waves of up to 4.5 metres high would be dangerous for all shipping and coastal activities including fishing and ferry services.
“In addition, coastal areas in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor Timur are also exposed to a higher sea level today,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, third category strong wind and rough sea in the waters of Condore, Reef North, Layang-layang and Palawan were also expected to continue until tomorrow.
The north-easterly winds with a speed of 60 kph and waves of up to 4.5 metres high would also be dangerous to all coastal activities and shipping including workers on the oil rigs. – BERNAMA
Last year’s cold weather might not repeat
MASRIWANIE MUHAMADING New Straits Times 9 Jan 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET) has forecasted that the country would receive lesser rainfall and experience a rise in temperature beginning February.
MET's National Weather Centre senior meteorologist Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said there is a strong possibility that the extreme cold weather that hit our country in January last year may not occur again this year based on a number of factors.
"The Northeast monsoon season which brings heavy rainfalls is ending in February and March, thus it is expected that beginning February, there will be lesser rainfall and cloud, the cold surge from China will no longer hit our states and during that period of time the sun will move closer to our region and as a result we would experience a rise in temperature.
"Our country is expected to experience its highest average temperature in April and May with the states located in the north Peninsular to record the hottest average temperature of about 35 to 38 degrees Celsius," said Mohd Hisham.
Kosmo! In their report state that expert geographer and urban climate research of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Professor Datuk Dr Shaharuddin Ahmad claimed that our country would experience cold temperature before the monsoon season ends as the world is experiencing a global climate change.
The Malay tabloid quoted him that high pressure winds from Siberia (which currently experiencing extreme cold temperatures) will bring the cold temperatures to our country as it moves to China and South China Sea and across Southeast Asia throughout the Northeast monsoon season.
A similar phenomenon occurred in January last year caused the temperatures in several parts of the country especially the eastern and northern areas of the Peninsula to drop to as low as 17.2 degrees Celsius.
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