Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore

25 Moving from Survival to Sustainability in the Environment

288 Moving from Survival to Sustainability in the Environment KARYN WANG Unruly crowds, buildings teeming with activity, urban filth and infrastructure bursting at the seams are images often associated with the idea of a city. Singapore defies this conventional image. The city-state’s policies, vision, and leadership have combined to resist the challenges of concentrated living. In fact, the island is synonymous with “garden city”, a modern and green metropolis. Singapore’s densely concentrated population has managed to function in tandem with tropical greenery. The garden city ideology continues to cement the place of environmental concerns in the policy-making process of Singapore. From “garden city” in the 1960s to “green plan” in 2002, Singapore’s experience of confronting environmental challenges has undergone a transformation that is at once a reflection of the tempo of economic development, the evolving exigencies of its society, and the change in its leadership. As the reins of political leadership passed from the first generation to the next, Singapore advanced from a fledgling nation, meagerly equipped to address environmental issues, to an avant-garde example of sound environmental management. The transfer of power from Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong marked a major event in the political course of Singapore. The handover was gradual, expected, and smooth. However, the change in leadership prompted a considerable departure from the beliefs underpinning the nation’s approach to the natural environment and in the handling of environmental issues. Established philosophies and the policy-making processes of Singapore’s formative years underwent a metamorphosis. Not only did the environmental agenda look markedly different, modes of thinking that inspired decision-makers and the participants in policy-making also evolved. The influence of Third World, developmentcentred language waned, and the cast responsible for national environmental planning began to involve individuals other than elected officials and bureaucrats. UnderGohChokTong’sleadershipfrom1990to2004,Singapore’sapproachtoenvironmental concerns and its environmental policies assumed a decidedly different tone. Firstly, Singapore shed its predilection for prioritising the developmental concerns of the nation 25 MOVING FROM SURVIVALTO SUSTAINABILITY INTHE ENVIRONMENT 289 above all else. A more comprehensive range of issues emerged on environmental agendas, extending beyond an early preoccupation with“brown” issues such as sewage management and river pollution control. The green agenda emerged perceptibly in the form of mangrove ecosystems conservation at Sungei Buloh and the management of reservoir systems and rainforest areas at Lower Peirce Reservoir. Secondly, towards the end of Goh Chok Tong’s premiership, the approach to policy-making on environmental issues became more inclusive. The primary policy-making engine, the Ministry of the Environment (renamed the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources in 2004), began to incorporate stakeholders drawn from outside the government sector in the formulation of policy. Yet the evolution in approach has been matched by neither an equal evolution in policy mechanisms nor an equally robust public response. The average Singaporean is aloof and reluctant to participate at any stage of policy-making. The repertoire of non-state groups in dealing with environmental challenges has not been considerably enlarged from the roundtable of experts format to include lobbying, testifying, and citizen feedback. Without significant grassroots leadership,policy-making remains highly centralised and independent of real public involvement. Lee KuanYew’s Legacy: Environment and National Survival Environmental challenges in Singapore have consistently been conceptualised against the backdrop of the larger nation-building project. This view of sustaining a healthy environment in order to provide a foundation for a strong economy can be traced back to the early years of nationhood. Narratives of Singapore’s history stress the continued influence of Singapore’s small size, scarcity of resources, and innate vulnerability. Given Singapore’s natural endowment and the rancorous circumstances that led to its independence, all issues—be they political, economic, or social—have been subsumed and understood as part of the larger thrust of national development. The objectives of environmental policy have been seen to serve the economic progress of the nation. When the nation-building project focused on ensuring the survival of Singapore amidst the pull-out of the British and the unavailability of the Malaysian hinterland, the approach of Singapore’s leadership was to place the environment at the service of the nation’s economic endurance. Given the acute challenges facing Singapore upon independence, the language of national survival became widespread. This meant“participating fully in the economic development programs, contributing to the industrialisation of the country”.1 Just like human resources, environmental ones...