From: kc@franklin.ee.umr.edu (Kok Ching Ong)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean
Subject: Singapore Newsbriefs : April 3
Date: 6 Apr 92 16:49:06 GMT
Organization: University of Missouri - Rolla
Originator: kc@ee.umr.edu

Reply-To: Southeast Asia Discussion List <SEASIA-L%MSU.BitNet@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU>
From: "Indonesia Publications/Task Force" <apakabar@IGC.ORG>
Subject:      Goodbye, Pulau Ubin
X-To:         seasia-l@msu.edu
To: Multiple recipients of list SEASIA-L <SEASIA-L@MSU>
Status: OR

    Reuter, Pulau Ubin, Singapore, Ajoy Sen, April 3 - The last traditional
village in ultra-modern Singapore will become a faceless adjunct to the
gleaming chrome-and-glass metropolis, under a government development
plan which has sparked protests from environmentalists.
    The move to bring the modern world to this forested island involves
land reclamation, a causeway and a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train link
to the main island.
    Tiny Singapore, facing shortages of land to meet a growing demand
for commerce and homes, plans to build a new town and bring light
industries to Pulau Ubin.
    But environmental groups say it should be preserved as Singapore's
only surviving Kampong Melayu (Malay Village). They also want to protect
many rare species of birds and other fauna that find its swamps,
mangroves and disused stone quarries a safe haven.
    Only a 15-minute ferry ride from the main island, 800 villagers live
in ageing zinc and wooden houses, relying on wells for water and diesel
generators for electricity.
    There is no clinic, post office or school. A police post symbolises
the main island's authority. The only sign of modernity is a
communications satellite dish.
    Pulau Ubin, the third largest of Singapore's 59 islands, is cut off
from the world at dusk when the boats stop.
    Dusty mountain bikes and motorcycles hired by weekend picnickers and
students race along dirt tracks and steep mountain paths, passing duck
and prawn farms.
    A causeway and a subway linking Pulau Ubin to the main island are
proposed in the development plan due to be implemented by 2010. The
government has said work will start early to let reclaimed land
consolidate naturally.
    Government Outward Bound programmes on the island will be expanded
into an adventure-cum-holiday resort by 1993.
    "We are not opposed to improving basic amenities and hygiene. But
development must harmonise with the rural landscape and not destroy it,"
said Evelyn Lim-Eng, secretary of the Nature Society of Singapore.
    In a report to the government last month the society said extensive
mangrove swamps provide a sanctuary for many rare flora and fauna,
including 141 varieties of birds.
    The 23-page report said the island should not be reclaimed and the
MRT link should not be built. Instead, it suggests Pulau Ubin should be
developed as an adventure island with a wildlife sanctuary and
nature-cum-cultural park.
    "We do not want another Sentosa. It is too artificial, tame and
crowded," Lim-Eng said. Sentosa Island is among Singapore's tourist
attractions with a war museum, a butterfly park and an aquarium.
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