Muslim - Asean

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Thursday February 1, 8:17 PM

Johor minister says Singapore land reclamation cause of recent floods
JOHOR: The Chief Minister of Malaysia's Johor state has cited land reclamation by neighbouring Singapore as a cause of the recent massive recent flooding.
17 people died and 100,000 were evacuated from their homes during the floods.

According to Malaysian daily, the New Straits Times, Mr Abdul Ghani Othman said the floods were due to the narrowing of the Johor River mouth caused by reclamation on Singapore's Tekong island located opposite the waterway.

He said the river burst its banks after excess rain water could not flow out to the sea fast enough.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, however, said it was too early to tell if the flooding was linked to the reclamation.

"There are all sorts of allegations but we can't come to a conclusion unless a thorough technical study is done on the cause of Johor's floods. The real cause is the exceptionally heavy rainfall," he said. ADVERTISEMENT



A spokesperson from Singapore's Ministry of National Development says these comments are unfounded and this is confirmed by the results from technical studies that were commissioned separately by both Malaysia and Singapore.

The studies were part of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dispute settlement proceedings on Singapore's land reclamation works at Pulau Tekong and Tuas View Extension.

Singapore said a coastal hydraulic study undertaken by Malaysia's Department of Irrigation and Drainage in 2002 found that there were no appreciable changes to water levels within the Straits of Johor under projected worst case flood scenarios which could happen once in 100 years.

The study concluded that there was no increased flooding caused by Singapore's reclamation works.

Separately, an environmental impact assessment report prepared by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and commissioned by the Malaysian government also reported similar findings.

So too, did technical studies commissioned separately by the Singapore government in 2003.

The Ministry added that based on the results of these studies, the Group of Experts, which both governments appointed to study the impact of the reclamation works, had recommended that it would not be necessary for the flood impact to be further assessed by the technical consultant appointed for the Joint Study.

This was accepted by both governments. - CNA /dt

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Muslim country.

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Thursday January 25, 6:17 PM
Indonesia bans sand exports
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SINGAPORE: Indonesia has announced a ban on land sand exports. Land sand is used in the construction industry to produce cement.
Singapore says it is disappointed but it believes the ban is unlikely to have a significant impact on the construction industry.

Indonesia says the ban on the export of sand is due to environmental reasons and to protect Indonesia's borders.

Singapore had earlier said it was prepared to work with Indonesia to address these concerns.

It has conducted regular checks to ensure the sand imported is supplied by licensed firms, which have environmental control measures in place, according to Indonesia's laws.

The Indonesian firms exporting sand have to pay a reclamation tax to the government and this tax is reflected in the price of sand.

Much of the sand mining also takes place on islands further inland, hence it is unlikely to affect outlying islands and Indonesia's borders.

Singapore has recognised Indonesia's border islands neighbouring Singapore, and a maritime boundary between the 2 countries has been fixed in a treaty signed in 1973.

Singapore says it is disappointed with Indonesia's decision but the government believes the ban is unlikely to slow the construction sector. Singapore currently spends $120m to $160m a year importing sand from Indonesia.

Singapore has been diversifying its supply source and is in talks with some regional countries to import sand.

"At the same time, we also have quite a sizeable sand stockpile, and we are prepared to release the stockpile to meet the immediate needs of the industry. It is very important for us to move away from such high dependency on sand import in construction work. We've been discussing with the industry trying to persuade them to move towards a more sustainable form of construction like the use of steel structure, the use of dry construction," said Dr John Keung, Chief Executive Officer, Building and Construction Authority.

Such sustainable construction is likely to cost developers 8 percent more but it also produces better quality construction, with cleaner sites.

Malaysia banned the export of sand in 1997, and since then, all of Singapore's sand supply has been coming from Indonesia.

Currently, 90 percent of construction in Singapore uses concrete as their main material.

0.8 tons of sand is needed for every cubic metre of concrete made.

Therefore, 6 to 8 million tons of sand costing $20 per ton is required every year.

If Singapore switches to sustainable construction, the Building and Construction Authority believes sand consumption can be cut by 60 to 70 percent.

Countries like UK employ sustainable construction in about 70 percent of its building projects. In the US, this figure is 50 percent.

Examples of projects built using the sustainable construction method in Singapore include the National Library, Capitol Tower, Ang Mo Kio Hub Mall, the New Supreme Court and Fusionpolis.

The Building and Construction Authority says projects currently at a design stage may need to think of using this method in construction.

The ban on exporting sand takes effect from the 23rd of February and the Indonesian government has given exporters up to 5 February 2007 to honour its existing sand export contracts. - CNA /dt

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Muslim country again.

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Jan 16, 2007, 14:00 GMT


Bangkok - Thailand on Tuesday cancelled a visit by Singapore's foreign minister later this month in retaliation against the city-state's 'inappropriate' stance towards ousted former premier, Thaksin Shinawtara.


The announcement was made after the Thai Foreign Ministry summoned Singaporean Ambassador Peter Chan Tuesday morning to express the government's concerns over a meeting last week between Thaksin and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister, S Jayakumar.

The meeting took place while the ousted premier was visiting the city-state.

The government's decision to retract an invitation for Singaporean Foreign Minister Georges Yeo to visit Thailand, and to cancel civil aviation cooperation talks, was made before the meeting with Chan, foreign ministry officials said.

'At first we thought our friends would be understanding, but they insisted the meeting between Thaksin and Jayakumar was a private matter,' said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh.

'The meeting, even though it was low-key affair, sends the wrong signal to the Thai public,' said Kitti.

Thai-Singaporean relations have been strained since January last year when Temasek Holdings, an investment arm of the Singapore government, bought the Shinawatra's 49 per cent holding in Shin Corp, Thaksin's business empire, for 1.9 billion dollars in a tax free deal.

The purchase, which many Thais saw as selling off national assets to a foreign company, arguably sparked an anti-Thaksin that eventually led to his downfall via a military coup staged on September 19.

Thaksin, who was in New York at the time of the coup, has been in exile since andis currently in Singapore where on Monday conducted an interview with CNN that was blocked in Thailand.

Thailand's military-appointed government has expressed fears that Thaksin's return would spark further unrest in the country, that was arguably sharply divided by the populist premier.

'There are still some people who love ex-premier Thaksin, so we are worried about his movements and messages from abroad,' said Thaksin's successor, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont.

'We have asked the Singaporeans to consider our concerns,' said Surayud, explaining that although Thaksin has been abroad, he is considered an 'internal affair.'

Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon who was prime minister between 2001 to 2006, has been living in exile since, travelling between London, where his daughter is studying, and various Asian cities, such as Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Thaksin is reportedly planning to leave Singapore for Japan soon, said Kitti.

Thailand's military-appointed government last week revoked Thaksin's diplomatic passport, making it impossible for him to travel without visas.

The government also last week asked Thai television and radio stations to practise self-censorship on Thaksin-related news for the sake of national security.

As most Thai television and radio stations are government- or military-owned, such requests are normally obeyed.

The self-censorship has extended to local broadcasts of CNN, which Monday night carried an interview with Thaksin that was conducted in Singapore. UBC, the local provider of CNN, blocked the airing of the interview for the Thai audience, industry sources said.

In the interview, Thaksin vowed he would stay away from Thai politics in the future and also denied any involvement in the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok that killed three people and injured 40.

Political observers said Thaksin's use of the international media and his contacts abroad have left the government looking flat-footed.

'He has outfoxed them,' said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

'There is a domestic media gag, so Thaksin took the initiative and went on CNN, and now all the local media have to report on the CNN interview, so the gag is irrelevant,' Thitinan said. 'He's outmanoeuvred the military.'

Like many Thai academics, Thitinan was staunchly anti-Thaksin and welcomed the coup as a means of disposing him, but he faulted the junta for not acting more decisively in seizing Thaksin's assets and bringing corruption cases against him and his family.

Thkasin has yet to be brought to court for corruption, which the junta cited as one of the main reasons for the coup.

'They didn't disgrace him but gave him room to manoeuvre and he's been manoeuvring, and now they are trying to close the channels to him, but they are have having a difficult time,' Thitinan said.

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Muslim again. -.-

And they call themselves ASEAN. Will elaborate more next time.