By Kumaran Pillai – 

In a recent article published in The Star in Malaysia, a local Malaysian company was allegedly smuggling sand into Singapore from the state of Pahang (here).

The company was contracted by the Tanjung  Agas Gas and Oil Logistic Park in Pahang to carry out land reclamation works in Sungei Pahang (Pahang river).

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is currently investigating several Pekan district land officers in relation to this alleged sand smuggling. There may be several high ranking officials involved in this matter.

A senior officer stated that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is also investigating the land office in charge of the area.

“We have opened a file on the case and our investigation will include looking at the possible transactions between some people at the land office and the contractor,” he added.

Sand was illegally ferried in small tug boats into the open sea before being shipped to Singapore.

Land Reclamation Sites in Singapore

There are several land reclamation sites in Singapore and the Singapore government has plans to increase the land mass by another 50sq km within the next 25 years in line with the anticipated population growth.

The seas around Pulau Ubin, Palau Tekong and Serangoon Island will be reclaimed to create a land mass to cater for new housing projects. However, with sand in limited supply and from dubious sources, the viability of these projects is uncertain.

In a recent report from the National Population and Talent Division, it projected that new citizenships need to be given out at 1.4 times faster than the current rate in order to maintain "population stability" (here). 

Currently, there are land reclamation, burial site exhumation and other land reuse programmes in place to cope with Singapore’s rising population and the demand for land and housing. However, incidents such as these may put more pressure on the rising costs of land as the government will fall behind in terms of releasing new plots of land for residential and commercial purposes in the future.

Malaysia & Indonesia have banned the supply of Sand

In an article by the Telegraph in 2010, the banning of sand exporting introduced in Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam “have cut off supplies and opened up a thriving smuggling trade.”

Sand smuggling has also become a major concern for environmental groups as over 80 islands in Indonesia are at the risk of being inundated by the rising sea levels.

This is not the first time Malaysian civil servants have run afoul of the law. In Jan 2010, 34 Malaysian civil servants were arrested for accepting bribes and sexual favours to facilitate sand smuggling to Singapore.

Photo: Dredging Today

You May Also Like

内政部拟修改交通法令 违规驾驶刑罚或加重

在修改公路交通法令的建议中指出,被判罪严重违反交通规矩的驾驶者,可能面对更严重的刑罚。 内政部今天(2月21日)指出,严重的违法行为包括了驾驶者严重违规的驾驶行为,和造成他人蒙受严重伤害,将会被判处更长的监禁和更昂贵的罚款。 糟糕的驾驶行为包括了酒后驾驶,以及没有通行权下超车。 分成危险和粗心驾驶 内政部建议将不负责任的违规驾驶行为区分成危险驾驶和粗心驾驶,,在进一步依据所造成的伤害效果,细分成四个类型。 内政部表示,虽然危险驾驶和粗心驾驶,与刑事法典中的轻率行为和疏忽行为相对应,但是这两种罪行的最高刑罚都会比刑事法典所规定的最高刑期更长,罚款更高。就以危险驾驶来说,一旦定罪,最高刑期可以从5年增加到8年;若导致死亡或严重伤害,最低刑期为期1年。 若被定罪为粗心驾驶,并导致伤者死亡,最高刑期将从原本的2年增加到3年。犯罪者也将面对最低强制性惩罚。 内政部兼国家发展部高级政务次长孙雪玲指出,“尽管我们的执法和教育了,仍然有驾驶者进行危险行为的驾驶或乘坐交通工具,如反方向驾驶、在没有发出警示或讯号灯的情况下转弯” 。 她今早主持在公路安全园举行的“2019提高公路意识,加强交通安全” 活动启动仪式时,作出上述宣布。 重犯处罚加倍…

五岁男童确诊 幼园关闭两周

五岁男童确诊感染武汉冠状病毒,成为我国第160例病人。 卫生部昨日(9日)发文告,该名5岁男童于蔡厝港幼儿园The Orange Tree就读,近期未前往境外感染重灾区,而他最后一次上学时是在上周五(6日)。 他同时也是第145例的家属,即与裕廊SAFRA歌唱班团拜晚宴有关。该名男童目前正在竹脚妇幼医院隔离病房接受治疗。 社会及家庭发展部长李智陞也在脸书上发文表示,男童在3月6日后就未到幼儿园上课,而幼儿园以防万一,将于今日开始关闭至本月20日,完成14天病毒潜伏期的观察。 与此同时,该幼儿园也会进行一次深层消毒与清洁,所有的学童与职员将需暂时休课,幼儿培育署正在密切观察情况,并将跟幼儿园管理层、职员与家长合作。最后也预祝确诊孩童能够早日康复。 截至目前,我国累计确诊病例已多达160例,其中裕廊SAFRA歌唱班团拜晚宴的确诊病例已高达36起,成为迄今为止最大的感染群。

无视马路上野鸡群直驶而过 网友怒批驾驶者冷血

网友看到一辆车子无视在马路上觅食的野鸡一家,直接开过去,几乎导致“家破人亡”,愤而在脸书上帖文怒骂,也引起其他网民的议论纷纷。 在脸书群组All Singapore Stuff昨日(12日)有网民上传了一段视频,写到“怎么能够这样驾车(赶)走鸡群”。 短短只有九秒的视频中,只见一辆黑色轿车自惹兰柏民宾(Jalan Pemimpin)的Mapex大楼驶出,无视马路上正在觅食的野鸡一家,包括一只公鸡和母鸡以及九只小鸡,就直接开过去跑了。野鸡群看到车辆驶来时纷纷逃避,所幸无“鸡”受伤或死亡。车子开走时,一名站在马路中央的老伯目睹整个过程,甚至呼喊了黑车司机,要求对方注意。 大部分网友都炮轰轿车司机没良心、冷血、驾驶技术有问题,因为出路时并没有左右观察就出路了。“若连路上这么多鸡仔都看不到,到底怎么考到驾照的”。 但是也有部分网民敦促他人不要看图说故事,也有可能是老伯在路上喂食,导致鸡群聚集在路中央,危及驾驶者。

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé found to be worst plastic polluters worldwide in global clean-ups and brand audits

The Break Free From Plastic movement announced today (9th October) that Coca-Cola,…