By Terence Lee / Youth Editor
27 JANUARY — NO PRIZE for guessing where this is — nope, this is not your typical hawker centre or HDB block, but THE Istana.
Imagine: people littering indiscriminately at the White House. I wonder what would the White House staffers say to that?
It seems like the presidential palace has attracted more than just people during its open house on the second day of Chinese New Year.
For the foreigners out there, the Istana is where the President lives and works in Singapore. And no, the president here mainly serves a ceremonial role with very limited executive powers, quite unlike the American president.
Anyway, I didn’t manage to take a picture of the whole stretch as the queue entering the Istana was moving quite quickly. Trust me, the scene was much worse than it looks.
The rubbish somehow managed to form another line, of all race and religion — you have Starbucks, Coca-cola, green tea, Crysantimum tea — the works. Somebody decided to initiate the whole thing by placing one empty soft drink can, and others followed suit.
And I thought Singapore is the clean and green city. But give credit to us Singaporeans though, for once you enter the wide open grass fields and the walk the long, winding road leading up to the main building, the whole premise is litter-free, guaranteed. The policemen on duty will see to that.
I was rather disappointed when the saw the rubbish lined up outside. What civility displayed by us gracious Singaporeans! I mean, if it’s throwing a sweet wrapper in a discreet stairwell of your HDB block — okay lah, can close one eye. But outside the Istana? That takes the cake.
Well, maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised, after all it was reported in The Straits Times (ST) recently that about 1,000 litter bugs were subjected to Corrective Work Order (CWO) this year, which is almost a ten-fold increase from 2006 (the figure stood at 120)!
A sign that such punitive measures do not work? Perhaps. Lee Bee Wah was quoted saying that education might be a better method of curbing littering tendencies. Of course, this is now being tried on foreign workers, and it remains to be seen whether it will work.
I recall one ST Forum writer who wrote:
I applaud the authorities for displaying signs in foreign languages to warn and remind foreign workers not to litter in the Jurong East MRT Station area.
However, on the other side of the MRT station, where a covered walkway leads to Jurong Entertainment Centre, there is litter near an advertisement board.
There are people distributing various fliers to passers-by at the covered walkway daily, and some of the fliers are thrown away there, landing on the floor.
So far, no one has come to clear the litter.
I wonder what kind of message the authorities are sending to our foreign workers. They are told not to litter at one part of the MRT station, yet the other part is strewn with litter.
Give me a break, Mr Letter Writer. Blame the foreign workers for taking away our jobs if you want, but this is going a mile too far. Maybe it’s not the foreign workers that is the problem, but us Singaporeans. What an absurd letter this is, and even more absurd is the editor who allowed this to get published.
A survey by the National Environmental Agency in 2007 found that a “shocking one in five Singaporeans do not take pride in keeping the nation litter-free,” said a TODAY news report. What abject horror! Perhaps this will serve as a wake-up call to Mr Letter Writer and those in the same vein.
So who is in need of re-education now?
The reason why Singapore is so clean is not because Singaporeans are civil-minded, but because thousands of cleaners sweep our streets every morning, before we wake up. According to a ST report, NEA hires 1,200 road sweepers, while the PAP town councils hire 6,000 men and women to clean up our mess.
For NEA alone, the expenditure for 2007 came up to $34 million. A staggering sum indeed, considering what else they could have done with the money! Sure, we may kid ourselves by saying that littering provides employment. But guess what, the people who clean up after us are old folks and foreign workers. So who are we to preach to them about “appropriate” behaviour?
Hypocritical, if you ask me.
I can attest to the litter problem plaguing Singapore at the moment. Ever walked through HDB estates at 3am in the morning? I have — and it is not a pretty sight. I had to do a double take and pinch myself — I wasn’t sure if I was still in Singapore.
Sure, tourists with cash to spend will certainly sing praises about how clean and green we are as a country — but they will never get to see the other side of Singapore, not unless they drop their luggages and start carrying a broom.
But of course, they’d rather catch the Singapore Airlines flight back home.
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Only litter cans? Why nobody left a pig head or a head of a dead unemployed Singaporean?
Happy holidays.
If we wish to reduce littering, we have to provide more rubbish bins. Many times, I have to search for a rubbish bin and could not find it within walking distance.
Many property owners are selfish. If they collect the rubbish, they are responsible to pay for the rubbish collector, based on the weight of the rubbish.
Even the town councils are selfish. If they provide less rubbish bins, they collect less rubbish and pay less collection charges. Why not leave it to somebody else to take care of the problem?
If we wish to have a clean environment, the town council has to provide more rubbish bins and pay for the people to collect them. There should be adequate rubbish bins, easily visible and within walking distance. If not, all the pavements and fences becomes the rubbish collecting center.
This is the Singapore of today. The old Singapore was much better.
actually the old singapore was dirtier. check out the singapore river last time when it was polluted with who knows what.
there are things that we can point our fingers or criticize others for. but i think when it comes to keeping a place clean, the responsibility has to lie more on ourselves.
after all, most of us do make the effort to keep our homes clean. but sometimes we don’t care two hoots about keeping public places clean.
well post number #3…it’s a catch 22 isn’t it? the last time i heard they have to remove bins (proximity) from many sensitive areas..MRT stations..including the Istana i supposed…so that no one will drop any “parcel” into it…if u understand what mean…i frequent little india every weekends…u should check it out if u want to understand what is “rubbish”
This is modern Singapore, every man for himself, at his own convenience.
Do and don’t get caught lah!
I’m Singaporean myself but do not for one moment think that a good lot of us would want to keep the environment clean because we believe in it but more so of the deterrents in place to keep that in check!
Modern society, stone age civic mindedness…sadly.
Although there are less bins around, that is no excuse for littering if we are all considerate people. Our civic mindedness cannot be a function of the inconveniences, I think it is truly telling of what we are truly like inside.
it should NOT be there normally……
but as they said : it is extraordinary tmes, anything to creat jobs…..
TOC and and Terrence Lee don’t have anything better to publish or write about.
janggo
Post #5
If the reduction of bins are due to sensitive areas as per mentioned, perhaps it would be good if we can switch to transparent bins. In that way, any suspicious package can be seen easily.
Hey janggo,
the article isn’t solely about littering at the Istana, but the littering phenomena in Singapore. Now, isn’t that something worth writing about?
Thanks to Terence Lee for this article. Seeing an empty can or two and not at the right place appears trivial. But let me share the following few instances. On Friday 22nd Jan i was at Terminal 1 Kopitiam. Left overs were not cleared. The cleaner was on her mobile. I was at the China Town Food Court on 21 st Jan. Empty beer bottles and left overs covered many of the tables. I was watching the young Chinese cleaner. He cleared one table and took his sweet time to clean and stack the plates and put the fork and spoon at the right holders. On 28 Jan, i was at Bourna Viata MRT Station. Rubbish were all over. We do not seem to have the money to employ the right people nor the means to buy sufficient rubbish bins. And this is compounded by non- policying . And the situation will not improve if we have civil servants who just issue edicts and think that this is sufficient leadership
when my son grows up,
I want him to aim for the president’s job.
I think that is the best job in more ways than 1.
;)
Hello Mr. Tan KL – You are correct. There is hardly enough dustbins/thrash bins around everywhere in Singapore. This is the result of out sourcing. To cut cost, contractors just provide the bare minimum. If you ever walk across overhead bridge, especially those in and around HDB estates, you will notice that the overhead bridges are always very dirty. Reason ?. Hardly any cleaning is done by the contract workers.
Our education system is also a failure. Many students just throw their rubbish anywhere they like. I live near a Primary and secondary school in a HDB estate in Eastern Singapore. Everyday after school hours I can see students littering. They just can’t be bothered (boh chap) . Schools focus on results only. Others, like social responbility takes a back seat. Sad, we have breed a society of (boh chap) people so successfully.
Mr Tan Kin Lian is right. I personally can attest to the fact that
singapore has lost tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of rubbish bins since u-kno-what.
to tourists, this may appear that singapore is very inconvenient causing them to litter.
are more cleaners job still vacant because of this lack of rubbish bins?
There are so many jobs vacant. why unemployed did not take up?
We shd learn from Japan where you are hard pressed to find a rubbish bin but there is hardly any littering even in the small towns n countryside. Garbage is separated (disposables, recycleable etc). Japanese, I was told, sometimes bring their rubbish homes so that they can sort it out. All this happens straight out of social confirmity and civil responsibility, puts to shame our ever touted first world city tag. More like third world mentality.
First, I really do not see why TOC feel it should publish such an article…WHAT IS YOUR AGENDA????? Beyond the leaving of all these cans and containers was the fact the there was no rubbish bins available within the vicinity and the public were not allowed to bring in such drinks and containers into the Istana ground.
Secondly, I was there too with some foreign friends, and one cannot fail to notice that the majority are foreign workers (you can’t miss them, as they were chattering in groups and in their own local languages). Many of these foreigners even bring along their own food thinking that they can picnic in the Istana ground (but was politely told by the police that they are not supposed to do that). So, why is Terence generalizing all those in the queue as “ungracious Singaporeans” when many are not Singaporeans????
Thirdly, I have been to Hong Kong and Sydney for countdown events at the Victoria Harbour or Sydnet Harbour front, and after the big event, the whole area was also filled with rubbish – all for the same reason, the authorities had decided not to have any rubbish bins there to avoid any possible bombs been planted and left in these bins. So, this is the same phenomenon happening everywhere due to the possibilities of terror attack in events where masses are expected, and it is not just happening Singapore!
By the way, Terence did not mentioned that the rubbish was cleared and cleaned up regularly by the cleaners outside, as during the queuing, I noticed that the cleaners were well prepared and they were very efficient in cleaning up the scene. Kudos to the cleaners, the relevant authorities and the organizers!!
There are many positive things that are happening everywhere and anywhere in Singapore, but unfortunately, it is human nature to always nitpick on certain issues and start generalizing it as negative and making strong negative assumptions out of it.
In this regards, TOC seems to have precisely become a place where people like Terence can conveniently do some Singapore bashing by selectively picking on certain issues and making a mountain out of a molehill!
more counter activities noticed.
Alert! Alert! Guys, brace yourselves, they are in our midst!
Here is a reason why there are less rubbish bins around, not only here but in other cities.
Blame it on Osama and his other Islamic terrorist friends.
Rubbish bins are great places to plant bombs that kill people.
you sure come down to Toa Payoh Central at night say 11 pm and take a look at the piles of rubbish.
Minister Wong is not responsible for the flight of Mas Selamat, he is also not responsible for the cleanliness of his ward.
What is he responsible for?
Any ideas?
A Tan,
just curious, u work under that big umbrella?
just guess guess only.
Nice decorations. Istana is so bare, gotta liven it up.
I do not recall seeing too many dust bins in Tokyo’s streets, actually there were lesser than in most other countries.
Nevertheless the city is known for being impeccably clean.
Could this be a cultural issue?
The common Singaporean is driven by his/her own aspirations of material and social success as well as the well being of his/her family – Although nowadays the former seems to be eating into the latter.
On a side note personal health seems also to receive a disproportionate amount of attention, and most local doctors are always happy to reinforce this sense of fragile health by prescribing 5 different kinds of medicine when all the citizen wanted was an MC to skip a day’s work.
Locals are not so famous for their empathy and respect towards one another, in particular for those with perceived lower social status. The idea of public property is unfortunately pegged to these two and as so, it is not respected. And after all, that’s why we pay the foreign workers their magnificent salary, to clean our sh*t.
Come to think of it, if I was a foreign worker in Singapore often deprived of my own humanity in so many different ways, I would struggle to preserve my work ethic, probably would just simply focus on making sure the monthly remittance reaches my overseas family and leave this ungrateful country as soon as my financial targets had been achieved.
Would I really care about the local’s public property beyond the core scope of my job?
It’s funny though, the thing Singaporeans aim the most, material well being and social respect are exactly those they mostly deny the foreign workers.
I will never forget the national campaign for seat belts on buses carrying school age kids while in the meantime foreign workers (probably some in their teenage years) are openly ferried around like cattle in extremely dangerous conditions without anyone really giving a rat’s ass.
A national lack of self esteem would be a possible explanation for this behaviour. Belittling the other, upgrades our own social status which is a fantastic ego booster in particular for an hierarchical society like Singapore.
maybe nathan can start doing something REALLY useful.
#15:
I’m sorry if you think there’s an “agenda” for writing this article. In fact, there isn’t. It was just an observation I made while in the queue, extrapolated into a written piece. Take it any way you like it, I stand by my views.
This article is basically a reminder for us to take care of of our own backyard, before we start lambasting others for ruining it for us.
I’m not generalising Singaporeans, and of course I am aware of the remaining four out of five who do take pride in keeping Singapore litter-free. I’m just using this example of the Istana to highlight a deeper problem in our society.
What you said about the cleaners cleaning up after them outside the Istana just proves my point doesn’t it?
It just goes to show how much the people disrespect the president.
“24) Tan Tran Pat on January 28th, 2009 2.27 pm
It just goes to show how much the people disrespect the president.”
I agree with you. Also, it might be a good idea for the cleaners to begin work at about 6am? Or any sort of time after people wake up but before the main hellbent morning jams, so that people walking to their carparks or bus stops actually SEE all the crap around them.
Or else it’s more of dump a can on the ground and don’t worry because it will -magically- vanish by the next morning.
The littering attitude is just one half of the whole issue. The bigger whammy is why people even do it at the Istana, the President’s residence? But this is so befitting of our government. You treat people like scum, people become the scum and you see its manifestation.
I agree that the littering situation is really getting out of hand. Going to work each morning, I remember passing by areas with pocket of all kinds of litter. They are not just around eating areas but at car parks, road dividers and pedestrains walkways. I think the only way is to instill in our young the need to keep our environment clean early. I recalled in my school days in the 60s and 70s, our schools took every opportunities to instill this anti-littering habits in us. I remembered we have to go round the school picking up trash every day, sweep and clean our classroom, wiped the tables and emptied the waste baskets in our classroom daily. These activities were done not because of the lack of cleaners in the schools but to instill in us that cleanliness is our responsibility. It worked. Up till today, I am still very conscious about littering. I actually keep my trash till I find a bin. This, I believe, is the only way and that is, to make anti-littering part of our psyche. I am not sure if this is done in schools today but judging from what my children told me, the enforcement is not as vociferous as then. Complaining that there is not dustbin around is just an excuse. I always carry my litter with me, either in my pockets or in my hands till I find one and if you are not too lazy you will always find one not too far away. I do agree that the streets of Tokyo are almost litter free and you hardly see trash bins around. I think this is part of their culture and I belive we can do the same here.
You misspelled Chrysanthemum, I believe.
“4) Ao on January 28th, 2009 8.23 am
after all, most of us do make the effort to keep our homes clean. but sometimes we don’t care two hoots about keeping public places clean.”
Could you venture some reasons for this state of affairs.
Could it be due to some hidden repressed message manifested in a very wrong way ???
Or could it be that we (oh no, some lah) singpaoreans have this beautiful culture of leaving mess around. ??? Maybe some small number of people do have the wonderful skill to create plenty of noticeable mess.
Or could it be due to foreigners around (nah, not the blame game again).
Statistics please please please. I love statistics, it will always give you the right answer.
I think we should convert the Istana into a big park for Singaporeans to picnic etc. There is no more space in the city for leisure activities these days.
The problem with littering I believe further amplifies with different nationalities arriving here to work, live etc. Different people exhibit different habits and some obvious bad habits are introduced to our landscape everyday. You should take a walk to Jurong point or the neighbouring flats on Sat night and you can see what I mean. The open parks are almost like landfills from beer bottles and peanut packets strewn in a careless attitude. A resident once complained to the local RC about litter under the block. A notorious haven for FW to RnR on weekends and simultaneously tarnish the cleaners hardwork. This goes on every week and vomitus as well can be seen near lift landings and near letterboxes. Initially I can see police patrolling and the activity stopped awhile but it gained momentum when the patrolling subsided and a huge dorm erected nearby begins operation. A recreational facilities for them have also been setup for their convenience but it didn’t stop them from invading the void decks and creating a ruckus to the dismay of residents living above.
I’m not against foreigners working and living here but some need to really open up their eyes and stop this littering habit. Singaporeans have a fair share of littering but when it comes to Boon Lay district the FW steal the show.
Best Regards
I must point out that this is an article that deserves our attention.
After years of social consciousness, graciousness related campaigns by our schools and government, it must be noted that it is not having its effects on Singaporeans.
If you were to visit Japan on any day, any season, you would realise that this is not even an issue at all. Japanese keep their litters with them before disposing of them at the appropriate spots. They would make it a point to finish up whatever food they brought before embarking on their journey again.
This is the not the first time we are seeing such a problem in Singapore. This latest incident at the Istana is, in my opinion, just the tip of the iceberg. Just take a stroll around all major neighbourhood hubs (Tampines, Toa Payoh etc) after midnight everyday, visit any National Day parades, community events, and you would have the opportunity to witness the “works” of Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans alike.
We may have 1st world infrastructures, but we are nowhere near a 1st world mentality.
We have much to learn. Do we have the courage to admit that?
If you cannot beat them, you join them.
If you cannot advise them to keep clean, then let it be, you join them.
As simple as that, but don’t get caught.
How do we know littering done by foreigners, tourists or PRs or citizens?
afterall, the population has exploded by 1 million or thereabout or more.
Has crime rate increased over the years?
Who knows the above answer , the REAL answer, the TRUTH?
For poor Singaporeans who need to collect soft drink cans for a living….perhaps Istana Open House is now a must place to visit…
Littering by foreigners?…no lah, they’re creating jobs for Singaporeans…cleaner jobs
This one written in 2007:
My neighbourhood … after dark.
When Creative Technology opened their HQ at International Business Park, a rubbish collector were picking up the rubbish left by the staff on the floor of the open-air arena before the opening ceremony.
The rubbish collector then went on stage to put down the black bag of rubbish and spoke to the audience: ” This is our home, if we do not keep in clean, whoelse would?”
The audience were surprised: the “rubbish collector” was their chairman – Sim Wong Hoo.
People don’t keep the place clean because they think it is not their home.
#37.
No wonder Chairman Sim named his company – Creative.
Any volunteers to do likewise at the istana?
Hi Terrance, (#9)
Thanks for your comments.
While it could be something that affects Singaporeans, I would like to make the argument that it isn’t so important to make such a big deal off.
Wouldn’t you agree that the majority are conscious of this problem and that the majority does it part with keeping the city clean.
Thank you for the article.
Please Keep writing.
Janggo
No bin, more litter. Its that simple. No amount of education can replace the necessity of bins.
Perhaps if the author can write about littering even when theres an obvious bin in the proximity, then maybe its a justifyable cause.
At MRT stations where there are no bin, I wasn’t surprised to see starbucks / macdonalds drink containers being left at the corner.
Down at jurong east, leaflets litter the streets. Its no longer a bin problem – its a flyer distributor problem. Get rid of the flyer distributor. Have larger bins so that they take longer to fill up. Put a large bin in the field so that the workers will have a place to put their garbage. Has anyone noticed how fast the bins at jurong interchange fills up during peak hours?
Another simple reason for this social behaviour, lack of love and sense of ownership for this country. For the Japs it’s another matter. They love their country and culture, and want to keep their cities clean. You can hardly find a bin there, and you have to take your litter with you! It’s so effective that when i was there, i was careful not to throw any litter as well, because i won’t want to dirty the clean and proud city.
Most of our kids are brought up by maids so they are served like kings and queens so they don’t even have the opportunity to lift a finger to clear the rubbish they have created coupled with lack of moral education at school, this social littering problem will tend to persist. This problem become more obvious with the influx of foreign workers from underdeveloped countries where rubbishs were thrown onto walk-paths, drains, rivers, natural rubbish dump site instinctively. So litter-free is not in their culture.
This proved that the Singapore system is breaking down. So many years of campaigns, today is still the same.
Please dont boost about singapore system anymore.
Look at our primary education, many feedback but only today they realised that the teaching methods are not going right? In fact we should learn from China, communist but they are doing better than us.Listening to their primary school students speak, I tell you they really impressed me. Very well thought, very expressive, very clear message, very knowledgeable, very protective of their country…etc. Look at what we produced after so many years??
there is a littering phenomenom?
one has to kid himself/herself if there really isn’t litter in Singapore.
As for the article, I’m not sure whether the americans would mind litter on Lincoln’s lap.
and what do you propose with the 34 million if it wasn’t spent on clearing up the roads?
The most shocking litter I’ve seen below my HDB flat is a used sanitary pad. Not a pretty sight at all after a bread & rasberry jam breakfast. GROSS!
Perhaps suggest to increase the penalties for littering, like $100 per gram of litter which is within a 200m radius of a rubbish bin.
Putting that aside, our education system is a tad too geared towards ‘climbing ladders’ rather than to develop one’s social belonging and morals. NE and SS are kind of inclined towards content-stuffing of children, while the way current NS liabilities are imposed just breeds more disgruntled male workers. There is much to be improved if we want to compare with countries like Japan. Do note that todays’ people are much more fast paced and stressed than before.
How come so many highly paid talents and we are still producing so much rubbish?
“It has happened ….. what to do?” so says our Prima Matta.
This is what to do, I hope so:
Firstly, find out the root causes, which are likely to be:
1. Something is seriously wrong with our education system – mainly emphasizing the passing of exams and scoring as many A’s as possible and so students become mere “Asses”, instead of giving more weight on imparting values such as ethics, moral, courage, respect, and most important of all is “loving your environment” so as to make students become better human being and better citizens.
2. Something is wrong with our so-called leaders (presently I do not believe that we have good leaders but excellent administrators and managers) – failing to lead by setting personal examples for others to follow (e.g. their salaries, bonuses, perks and preferential/priority treatments), failing to take proactive actions and show initiatives (in the the last few years, they seemed to be reacting to issues rather that taking measures to prevent/avoid issues ripening e.g. the NKF fiasco, the Mas Selamat debacle, the rising of prices across the board, the toxic financial products, and last but not least, the present economic crisis), and failing to properly and respectfully communicate with the people (communication has always been top-down driven, one-way traffic shoving down people’s throats, instead of having public consensus, e.g. always in the habit of telling citizens “to take bitter medicine”) .
3. Parents failing to inculcate into their children good habits and behaviour at home and in the society; most probably because both parents have to work in order to support the family and therefore have very little time left, or too tired to care about the finer things in life for their children and themselves.
4. There are too many laws, rules and regulations and their strict enforcements with very heavy penalties and harsh punishments. Moreover, more and more new laws and regulations are forth-coming and to be implement. Living under such an environment, people become sick of being controlled too much and therefore subconsciously, or unconscious to themselves, develop an “Anti” behaviour resulting in creating mischief, committing minor crimes and going against rules and regulations deliberately.
Secondly, we gave to verify whether the above are true/correct. If so, we must have the courage to take the necessary actions and make the necessary changes – i.e. both system change and behavioral change are necessary. And such changes must be deliberate and sustainable for at least one generation.
In the last four decades, it seems to me that the political leadership have been interested in only two main areas, i.e. economic progress and political stability, all other factors are secondary – good to have but can do without if they challenge the two main criteria.
In real terms, economic progress means that every ministry, organisation, institution must make money/profit and cannot anyhow use up their allocated annual budget.
Political stability means that the power-that-be must always stay in power; therefore, it has to ensure that all possible threats to its power must be squashed at all costs.
The truth usually hurts but if we do not wish to face the truth, there will be no changes in behaviour, ethics, moral and civic consciousness, as well as in the system. As a result, there will be no progress in the non-economic aspects of life in our society. If despite having so many brilliant scholars and yet we still cannot make the necessary changes, then that will be sad, very very sad.
D Copperfield.
There is 1 foreigner in every 4 Singapore residents. There is a possibility that the litter-bugs are known to observe SIngaproe norms. Do you know why the number of people caught for littering and sent to CWO jumped so much from 2006 to 2009? Did Singaporeans really change their habits in three years?
Or do we have in our midst, people who do not share our social norms.?