Mr Gan Thiam Poh, MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC COS MEWR Monday, 11 March 2014 Public Cleanliness Mr Chairman, Last month, during the debate on the Environmental Public Health (Amendment) Bill, the Minister shared with this House that between 2010 and 2013, the number of complaints received for littering had increased by almost 50%. This is a staggering increase, and a very disappointing trend. Singapore has long had a reputation for being a clean and green city and yet, maintaining public cleanliness is becoming more difficult, despite measures over the decades to motivate and enable residents to keep our environment clean and penalize those who do not. I face similar problems in my constituency. I agree with the Minister that we are more of a “cleaned”, rather than “clean” city. Would the Minister share with us what progress has been made in the Ministry’s efforts to get more people to keep our environment clean? May I also ask if the Ministry has statistics of the offenders such as their gender, level of education, income and nationality? I am sure with detailed information, we can formulate more targeted measures to address this problem at its roots. May I also suggest that we take a leaf from schools in Japan and Taiwan where students have to clean their schools as part of their routine. Not only will they learn lifeskills, it will also ingrain in them the importance and challenges of taking care of one’s environment. I understand that Marsiling Primary School will be doing this. The school’s effort is highly commendable and timely as we strive towards building citizens of good character and values. If all schools practise this, we will nurture a whole new generation of civic-minded Singaporeans who respect the environment and the work of cleaners. I would also like to ask how surveillance can be stepped up to deter the minority who persist in littering, particularly killer litter, vandalizing and other ways of dirtying and polluting the environment. What plans does the Ministry have to strengthen enforcement and penalties? Thank you.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 16:10:02 +0000