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NUS Prof Sivasothi calls for policy on replacing green cover lost to development as a measure against climate change

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5 years ago

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Organised by the Singapore Climate Rally to coincide with the global climate change youth movement started by Swedish teen environment activist Greta Thunberg, Singapore’s first climate rally saw over 2,000 participants on Saturday, 21 September.
Despite the haze, youths turned up to make their voices heard on the issue of climate change and call for mitigating actions by the government. There were six speakers from at the event drawing attention to the issue including Professor Sivasothi, senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Department of Biological Science.
In his speech, Prof Sivasothi explained how crucial it is that Singapore’s remaining forests be protected and called for the implementation of policies that would require equal replacement of green cover following development projects.
Prof Sivasothi highlighted that he is part of the Boom generation who grew up learning that the planet supports people and provides important resources like food, medicine and air. However, Singapore has grown a lot in the past few because and is now a booming city, and so Prof Sivasothi said: “we owe a lot to everyone who is protecting the forest ecosystems around the world”.
The same needs to be done in Singapore, he emphasised. Prof Sivasothi noted how Singapore has about 45 % natural green cover, which is “pretty good” but it is slowly disappearing.
“The forest fragments that are left are not going to survive without our help,” he lamented, adding that each new development should endeavour to leave as much forest behind as possible.
“Do not have a scorched-earth policy, plant buildings, and then import landscape to do some gardening.”
The professor then went on to say, “We cannot behave as if we are in a post-independence world”. Instead, he says we have to think about connectivity, specifically how to connect green patches in a city of concrete, glass and steel. He said that Singapore’s forest patches are “too small” and will not survive if left unconnected. As such, the government should be more aware of what they are building in their small patches of land and should be considerate of global factors like the environment and climate change.
Finally, he talked about replacing the green cover that has been lost to development. He said, “We should make it a prerequisite that for the loss I incur, and the loss to land cover today, I must be required to provide compensatory planting,” using ‘we’ to refer to developers.
These three measures, Prof Sivasothi said, would help Singapore preserve what little natural greenery it has while compensating for the loss it has already suffered so far. He noted that currently, development plans aren’t made with the environment in mind right at the beginning. Instead, negotiations are entered into at the eleventh hour as environmentalists wrestle to have mitigation measures be inserted into plans that are already 90% ready.
“This is not the hallmark of excellence,” chided the professor.
This is reminiscent of the recent Cross Island Line (CRL) issue where environmental groups were opposed to the LTA cutting under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) to build a 4km tunnel for the line. Though the first environmental impact assessment (EIA) report said that the impact of the project would be “mainly moderate” if mitigation measures were adopted, environmental advocates were sceptical.
As debates continued, the LTA went ahead with soil investigation works to inform the second phase of the EIA which explored two route options: the first is a direct route tunnelling underneath the CCNR and the other, more expensive and longer route option would skirt around the CCNR.
In a statement, the LTA said that the second report found that environmental impact of both proposed routes is “feasible” and that with the “comprehensive” mitigation and monitoring plants, the residual impacts can be “adequately managed”. A decision has yet to be made.
In his speech, Prof Sivasothi also pointed out the lack of senior ecologists included in development teams and pointed out that junior ecologists who have just graduated will have a tough time chipping in during meetings with heavyweights of the development industry.
The same is seen in the management of current reserves, said Prof Sivasothi. There is a lack of manpower in managing large areas.
“These are clear indications of whether we are serious about the resilience of our forests in order to survive this climate crisis that’s upon us,” he pointed out.
Concluding his speech, Prof Sivasothi agreed that Singapore has to try harder and that the development can and should do better right now. On that note, he added that the public isn’t simply handing over the problem to the government but are instead eager to work together with the administration to do better.

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TJC issued 3rd POFMA order under Minister K Shanmugam for alleged falsehoods

The Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) was issued its third POFMA correction order on 5 October 2024 under the direction of Minister K Shanmugam for alleged falsehoods about death penalty processes. TJC has rejected the government’s claims, describing POFMA as a tool to suppress dissent.

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2 days ago

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6 October 2024

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The Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), an advocacy group opposed to the death penalty, was issued its third Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction direction on 5 October 2024.

The correction was ordered by Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, following TJC’s publication of what the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) alleges to be false information regarding Singapore’s death row procedures and the prosecution of drug trafficking cases.

These statements were made on TJC’s website and across its social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).

In addition to TJC, civil activist Kokila Annamalai was also issued a correction direction by the minister over posts she made on Facebook and X between 4 and 5 October 2024.

According to MHA, these posts echoed similar views on the death penalty and the legal procedures for drug-related offences, and contained statements that the ministry claims are false concerning the treatment of death row prisoners and the state’s legal responsibilities in drug trafficking cases.

MHA stated that the posts suggested the government schedules and stays executions arbitrarily, without due regard to legal processes, and that the state does not bear the burden of proving drug trafficking charges.

However, these alleged falsehoods are contested by MHA, which maintains that the government strictly follows legal procedures, scheduling executions only after all legal avenues have been exhausted, and that the state always carries the burden of proof in such cases.

In its official release, MHA emphasised, “The prosecution always bears the legal burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and this applies to all criminal offences, including drug trafficking.”

It also pointed to an article on the government fact-checking site Factually to provide further clarification on the issues raised.

As a result of these allegations, both TJC and Annamalai are now required to post correction notices. TJC must display these corrections on its website and social media platforms, while Annamalai is required to carry similar notices on her Facebook and X posts.

TikTok has also been issued a targeted correction direction, requiring the platform to communicate the correction to all Singapore-based users who viewed the related TJC post.

In a statement following the issuance of the correction direction, TJC strongly rejected the government’s claims. The group criticised the POFMA law, calling it a “political weapon used to crush dissent,” and argued that the order was more about the exercise of state power than the pursuit of truth. “We have put up the Correction Directions not because we accept any of what the government asserts, but because of the grossly unjust terms of the POFMA law,” TJC stated.

TJC further argued that the government’s control over Singapore’s media landscape enables it to push pro-death penalty views without opposition. The group also stated that it would not engage in prolonged legal battles over the POFMA correction orders, opting to focus on its abolitionist work instead.

This marks the third time TJC has been subject to a POFMA correction direction in recent months.

The group was previously issued two orders in August 2024 for making similar statements concerning death row prisoners.

In its latest statement, MHA noted that despite being corrected previously, TJC had repeated what the ministry views as falsehoods.

MHA also criticised TJC for presenting the perspective of a convicted drug trafficker without acknowledging the harm caused to victims of drug abuse.

Annamalai, a prominent civil rights activist, is also known for her involvement in various social justice campaigns. She was charged in June 2024 for her participation in a pro-Palestinian procession near the Istana. Her posts, now subject to correction, contained information similar to those presented by TJC regarding death penalty procedures and drug-related cases.

POFMA, which was introduced in 2019, allows the government to issue correction directions when it deems falsehoods are being spread online.

Critics of the law argue that it can be used to suppress dissent, while the government asserts that it is a necessary tool for combating misinformation. The law has been frequently invoked against opposition politicians and activists.

As of October 2024, Minister K Shanmugam has issued 17 POFMA directions, more than any other minister. Shanmugam, who was instrumental in introducing POFMA, is followed by National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who has issued 10 POFMA directions.

Major media outlets, including The Straits Times, Channel News Asia, and Mothership, have covered the POFMA directions. However, as of the time of writing, none have included TJC’s response rejecting the government’s allegations.

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Hotel Properties Limited suspends trading ahead of Ong Beng Seng’s court hearing

Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), co-founded by Mr Ong Beng Seng, has halted trading ahead of his court appearance today (4 October). The announcement was made by HPL’s company secretary at about 7.45am, citing a pending release of an announcement. Mr Ong faces one charge of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and another charge of obstruction of justice. He is due in court at 2.30pm.

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4 days ago

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4 October 2024

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SINGAPORE: Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), the property and hotel developer co-founded by Mr Ong Beng Seng, has requested a trading halt ahead of the Singapore tycoon’s scheduled court appearance today (4 October) afternoon.

This announcement was made by HPL’s company secretary at approximately 7.45am, stating that the halt was due to a pending release of an announcement.

Mr Ong, who serves as HPL’s managing director and controlling shareholder, faces one charge under Section 165, accused of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts, as well as one charge of obstruction of justice.

He is set to appear in court at 2.30pm on 4 October.

Ong’s charges stem from his involvement in a high-profile corruption case linked to former Singaporean transport minister S Iswaran.

The 80-year-old businessman was named in Iswaran’s initial graft charges earlier this year.

These charges alleged that Iswaran had corruptly received valuable gifts from Ong, including tickets to the 2022 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, flights, and a hotel stay in Doha.

These gifts were allegedly provided to advance Ong’s business interests, particularly in securing contracts with the Singapore Tourism Board for the Singapore GP and the ABBA Voyage virtual concert.

Although Iswaran no longer faces the original corruption charges, the prosecution amended them to lesser charges under Section 165.

Iswaran pleaded guilty on 24 September, 2024, to four counts under this section, which covered over S$400,000 worth of gifts, including flight tickets, sports event access, and luxury items like whisky and wines.

Additionally, he faced one count of obstructing justice for repaying Ong for a Doha-Singapore flight shortly before the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) became involved.

On 3 October, Iswaran was sentenced to one year in jail by presiding judge Justice Vincent Hoong.

The prosecution had sought a sentence of six to seven months for all charges, while the defence had asked for a significantly reduced sentence of no more than eight weeks.

Ong, a Malaysian national based in Singapore, was arrested by CPIB in July 2023 and released on bail shortly thereafter. Although no charges were initially filed against him, Ong’s involvement in the case intensified following Iswaran’s guilty plea.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had earlier indicated that it would soon make a decision regarding Ong’s legal standing, which has now led to the current charges.

According to the statement of facts read during Iswaran’s conviction, Ong’s case came to light as part of a broader investigation into his associates, which revealed Iswaran’s use of Ong’s private jet for a flight from Singapore to Doha in December 2022.

CPIB investigators uncovered the flight manifest and seized the document.

Upon learning that the flight records had been obtained, Ong contacted Iswaran, advising him to arrange for Singapore GP to bill him for the flight.

Iswaran subsequently paid Singapore GP S$5,700 for the Doha-Singapore business class flight in May 2023, forming the basis of his obstruction of justice charge.

Mr Ong is recognised as the figure who brought Formula One to Singapore in 2008, marking the first night race in the sport’s history.

He holds the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix. Iswaran was the chairman of the F1 steering committee and acted as the chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters concerning the race.

 

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