Paterson Road oil spill ‘could have been worse

Source link : ST -> Paterson Road oil spill ‘could have been worse’, say experts
By Danson Cheong And Adrian Lim

The oil spill that caused Paterson Road to be closed for 13 hours, and which resulted in widespread congestion for much of Thursday, could have ended a lot worse.

Experts The Straits Times spoke to said it was potentially a very dangerous situation, and it was fortunate that no lives were lost in the incident.

Adjunct Associate Professor Gopinath Menon, from Nanyang Technological University’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said: “The spilt oil could have been corrosive or flammable. People could have been hurt or burnt.”

It was an inconvenience for motorists but no lives were lost, he added.

The spilt oil is believed to have come from a truck, and the driver is now assisting with investigations.

The incident was first reported to the police at around 1.30am on Thursday, after which the Singapore Civil Defence Force and National Environment Agency took turns over six hours to clean the road with water jets, detergent and sawdust.

All five lanes on Paterson Road, heading towards River Valley, were closed to traffic from about 3.50am, which resulted in a massive tailback on roads feeding into the area.

Experts said identifying the type of oil and washing it away are the first things to do when dealing with such situations.

“The type of oil has to be determined so that the right solvent can be used,” said Mr Abdul Gaffor, head of training at safety training firm KAV International.

Some oils could result in irreversible damage.

As tarmac road surfaces are made from oil-based bitumen, spills of lighter oil products will quickly degrade them, said Mr Darren Waterman, regional director for the Asia-Pacific at Oil Spill Response.

“Spilt petrol can penetrate the tarmac surface, making it more malleable, and the aggregate in the tarmac could become loose. The tarmac would then be less capable of supporting loads or movements of vehicles… In many instances, the road surfaces have to be removed and replaced,” he added.

This was what the Land Transport Authority did yesterday at about 10am, after clean-up efforts were exhausted.

Replacing the road surface was unavoidable if the oil had seeped beneath the road surface, said experts.

“When it rains, the oil will float up again and make the road slippery and dangerous,” said Mr Abdul. “It was an extreme measure but it can’t be helped,” he added.

dansonc@sph.com.sg

adrianl@sph.com.sg

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Overheard from TSS :

Glad to be in high-efficiency Singapore.

“this clearly tell me that all $ i paid as tax are working wisely”

“It’s definitely not easy to repave the road in one day”

image source  from TSS

“Five Of The Healthiest Cities In The World” – Singapore is one of them :)

source : Yahoo ->Five Of The Healthiest Cities In The World

These five cities have a history of investing in the behaviours and elements that ensure their citizens live as healthy a life as possible. This makes them well worth a visit.

Singapore Aside from having a healthcare system that ranks among the best and most efficient in the world, Singapore is also one of the cleanest cities. Calling itself the Garden City, there are dozens of parks, gardens and mountain trails around the island. For cyclists, runners and walkers, the Park Connector Network comprises more than 200km of paths linking local parks and green spaces.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !!! Some are making use of your son and daughter for their own political gain

Overheard :

The young punk who was notorious for holding up the placard “Singapore for Singaporeans”, also the admin for “Wake Up, Singapore” page, now declaring. “In solidarity with the five youths”?

Yup. Some are making use of your son and daughter for their own political gain. Suggest they add him as the sixth youth.

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by AK

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !!!

It is the parent’s constant anti-establishments conversation that have also taken as inspiration. If you don;t want your hot blooded children becoming like these, be careful with your daily conversation.

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by the-other-fab admin

I don’t think all 5 kids had a part in spraying “f*** the pap”. One did it and the rest just laughed. They didn’t take turns to spray that phrase on. That would… be retarded.

If you put careful thought to it, politics is the most heated topic on the internet and that’s probably the most eye catching thing to spray paint. So they did it not because they are really some kind of gung-ho oppie, they are just attention seeking.

They are just regular vandals. Nothing idealistic about what they’ve done. No “patriotism” or “trying to express themselves” sort of thing. They are just vandals and should be treated as such.

We are giving too much credit to a bunch of 17 year olds to think that they have the capacity to express their political beliefs in such a radical way. So please…just treat them as vandals. They deserve no glory in the act and definitely have no place in politics.

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5 Youths Arrested for Vandalism at Blk 85A Lorong 4 Toa Payoh

Singapore Police Force

Police have arrested five 17-year old youths for suspected involvement in a case of vandalism that had occurred at Blk 85A Lorong 4 Toa Payoh. 

On 7 May 2014 at 6.47am, Police received a report of graffiti being painted on the exterior wall of the roof top of Blk 85A Lorong 4 Toa Payoh. Following the report, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and Tanglin Police Division conducted extensive ground enquiries and managed to establish the identity of the suspects. On 9 May 2014, an operation was mounted which led to the arrest of the five suspects.

The five suspects will be charged in Court on 10 May 2014 for the offense of Vandalism with Common Intention under Sec 3 of the Vandalism Act, Cap 341 read with Sec 34 of the Penal Code. This offence carries a punishment of imprisonment of up to three years or fine up to S$2,000, and shall also, subject to Sec 325(1) and 330(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, be punished with at least three strokes of the cane.

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image : The Straits Times
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Overheard from  the net :

“To those who believe that what they did is right, why not get your own children to do it? And to those who think that it is an art, why not invite them to spray in your home? To hate the govt is ok. To break the law is not ok at all. So to the supporters who are saying craps, do wake up your ideas. Groom your children to do what they did if u must!!”

Sad to see some hailing these as heroes, as if they are egging more to come forward. Just like those hackers, these boys just destroyed their own future.

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Kudos to our men in blue.

For those whose hatred of the PAP has driven them to regard these 5 youths as heroes, ask yourself:

Would you encourage any of your family members to commit the same crime?
Would you allow these youths to vandalise the walls inside your house?

Acts of vandalism, empty talk and hypocrisy are not going to change our lives for the better.

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Those who hail the youths as heroes and defend their actions just because the graffiti was against the PAP are selfish people and unkind to the youths.

There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with the PAP. Instead of guiding the youths in the right direction by encouraging them to express their opposing views in a constructive way with rational thought and reason, they are supporting destructive actions that achieve nothing but are also a potential danger to the youths themselves.

Exactly how much do these youths, at 17 only, understand government policies anyway? They should be encouraged to learn more and find out what is it they don’t like about which policies etc.

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Photo by Today

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Well done!! These fools must be punished!! U hate the govt is ok, but dun go around vandalising and destroying public property! ! Btw, only 17, me wondering what kind of thing PAP had done to them to make them so bitter?!

Is it because they cannot afford the iPhone 5S? ?

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You do the crime, you pay the time. 

If you don’t agree with the government’s policies, come out make your stand. Vandalism is for cowards.

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Sheesh,
17 years old,

How much taxes you all are paying?

How long life Journey you all have been through?
Adolescents, naive, foolish, and ignorant,
Wasted your talents, youth and potential,

How much you all know about current affairs?
How much you all know about politics?

To have such audacity to vandalise public property with your crude, unpolished and sore graffiti.

Your parents should reflect, reflect till the end of day, what have they not done, which they should as parents, to raise such losers kids.

Don’t cry scapegoat. 
Our justice is fair. 

Your tweeters betrayed you.

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Mobile tissue peddlers do not need to pay license fees. Beware of liars

1) Mobile tissue peddlers do not need to pay license fees. NEA does not issue such license.

2) If the tissue peddlers are needy, NEA would help them get assistance from welfare agencies.

This clarification is timely. NEA has always taken a compassionate approach to the tissue paper peddlers.

Beware of liars 

Vivian Balakrishnan

repost from Fabrications About The PAP

The hawker centre cleaning is small issue, The lying is a big issue. Parliamentary debate between Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and WP

Mandatory cleaning of hawker centres by town councils — MEWR Minister Vivian Balakrishnan

Published on Jul 9, 2013

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan addresses the dispute over the cleaning of hawkers centres under the charge of Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council.

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Comments from the net :

• Wow… Dr Vivian delivered a perfect cross-examination. Lawyers can actually learn from it!  First, he closed all the gates with undisputed facts. Then asked a closed ended “Yes” or “No” question to which there is only one logical answer (which the witness repeatedly evaded). Finally, he put it to the witness that she was lying. Epic!

• Excellent delivery with humility

• For a robust parliamentary debate, I do want better parliamentarians. =)Now, if only Ms. Sylvia Lim had answered  Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan’s questions with a “Yes or No”  (as the Dr. had requested),  the dossier of contemporaneous file notes would not be distributed in parliament, and I won’t learn a new word!I also learned a new way of defining “Lie” — “A pronouncement which is wrong in fact.“
  

  Respect to Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan too, for withdrawing his parliamentary privileges for the statements he made, this means that he can be sued for defamation when he accused Ms. Sylvia Lim and Mr. Pritam Singh for lying. This 36 min segment is worth watching. =)

• End of the day, I am glad our Minister for MEWR stood up for hawkers under the charge of AHPETC, hawkers who only seek to make a living. And to ensure a standard of cleanliness for consumers like you and me to safeguard public health and hygiene.

• Minister Vivian clearly wins this debate. These are my takeaways : 1)   Will the PAP win over some swing voters because the WP has clearly fumbled here and has lost the parliamentary debate?  2) Is this what people calling for a 2 party system wants? Make no mistake – this is a feature of competitive politics. Just look at the YouTube videos of British parliamentary debates.   It’s just continuous debate by politicians over what may be rather trivial points.   Do not be idealistic and expect that parties will work together for ‘the good of the nation’. This is not what partisan, competitive politics is about.Here the WP and PAP spent 35 minutes debating on Spring Cleaning and Annual Cleaning. If you think it’s inane, try imagining a whole parliamentary session of such debates. For this is what you have to look forward to in a 2 party system.Don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourselves on Australian and British debates on YouTube.
• I’m happy with a two party system in principle. I don’t think it’s the number of parties, it’s the quality and ethics of the parties involved and the policies involved. Imagine if you had two parties of PAP quality and principles just differing in views but both able to run Singapore well and safely. At the moment you don’t have that, nor in my opinion do you have the right second party anyway near ready to step up. I’m not anti opposition. I just don’t see a credible dependable opposition in Singapore. In Britain we’ve had flawed policies, corruption, dirty politics, going back on election pledges a regularity etc. so we swing between the two major parties. The British people have a country improving then crashing so they vote in the other side. Things improve and crash again so they swap teams. Both teams feel entitled to be in power so they sit there slinging mud at each other one to stay in, the other to get back in.

• I was thinking the same thing (i.e. is this really what Singaporeans want?). I fear that our parliament is going to degenerate into another time-wasting forum for political point-scoring, as in too many other countries. Can we afford this? I don’t think so.

• Why is it so difficult for WP to come out and say that their property manager did ask the hawkers for extra money, to admit that it was wrong and to apologise for that mistake? That would have put the matter to rest long ago. Why all the denial even up to today despite all the evidence before them?

• It’s always a big issue if pap cost ‘poor workers’ money but if WP cost poor people 5 days income it’s a small thing. Sad.

•  It was painful watching Sylvia dodge just answering the question. You aren’t calling the pap liars Sylvia, you’re calling the hawkers, voters, liars. I think they would have gotten over an apology, admission and cleaning a lot quicker than being accused of lying non stop.

•  the cleaning is small issue. The lying is a big issue. WP should have known better to close the issue while it was still small.

• now all the WP trolls would say the hawkers of AHPETC are members of PAP or PA or RC. As long as their mighty queen do not admit any faults, these WP soldiers would buy the story of a PAP systematic victimization of WP. Lets buy joss papers and sticks and pray to these WP MPs for they had risen to god-like status! Even facts and truth cannot hold them down!

• Question of the day….
  Will WP attempt (yet again) to paint the perception of being victimised for its internal failings and accuse others of politicisation of issues?
  We’ll see whether LTK is indeed an ‘honourable man‘ (with the party under his control).

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Related Article : 

• Don’t take advantage of people, Minister Balakrishnan tells WP. WP accused of being untruthful in hawker centre cleaning saga

• Dossier which accompanied the responses by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, to Supplementary Questioning for PQ1238 on the role of Town Councils in the maintenance and cleaning of hawker centres under their charge  – http://app.mewr.gov.sg/web/contents/contents.aspx?contid=1846

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Fabrications About The PAP

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*Latest*

Secretary-General of The Workers’ Party Low Thia Khiang said he has no intention of conducting any further investigation into the dispute over the cleaning of two hawker centres under the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council.

Source and Video link :  No further investigations into hawker centre cleaning dispute: Low Thia Khiang

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Comments:

• Yesterday Low TK in parliament and on national TV said he would investigate the 来龙去脉 of the quotation for the scaffolding addressed to the Hawkers’ Association.
  Today, he chose to flip-flop, no more investigation, and let the whole event pass. Low TK forgoes the chance the make good the cover-up. I am sure Singaporeans will take a good note of this.

• When you are called a liar publicly, on national TV, on front page of newspaper, your silence means you are guilty as charged.
  And in politics, once you lied to your people, the people who supported you, it is very difficult for them to swallow. Not only the lost of income, but now your denial means these hawkers lied. People would feel betrayed. And this bad feeling will be manifested, slowly but surely.

• “Mr Low said he stood by the party’s earlier investigation , which showed that the claims that the WP town council had asked for additional money to clean the high areas of two hawker centres in Bedok North were “baseless”.
  He added that no further investigations would be carried out, despite calls from the Minister for them.”–
  As of yesterday, Mr Low had not spoken to Tai Vie Shun ..nor seen the evidences presented in dossier.
  Anyway, he doesn’t need to talk to Tai Vie Shun ..nor read the dossier. He is “the Chief”, he KNEW what happened.

• So I gather most people think its ok for wp to lie? Neutrals are quick to say both are at fault. Really? I really wonder if this row is with a pap ward, what would the same people say? And it’s the most dumb mistake to cover up by the way, as it can be easily discovered. And most people would easily have forgiven and forgotten a young boy who didn’t know his job well. So Dr vivi is very nice to say they are untruthful Liao, if I m him, I will say they are dumb too! Ego trip gone to Mars, come back to earth please.

• Some people have asked what the fuss is about regarding the town council hawker cleaning. The fuss is about this
  1) Are the WP MPs capable first world parliamentarians (their own benchmark)? One basic criteria is the ability to fact-check and being prepared for parliamentary debates
  2) Are the WP MPs capable of managing a town council?
  These are important questions. It’s not a fuss over nothing.

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Fabrications About The PAP

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Don’t take advantage of people, Minister Balakrishnan tells WP. WP accused of being untruthful in hawker centre cleaning saga

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  Vivian Balakrishnan

The core issue is integrity – Hawkers vs AHPETC 

Many well-intended people advised me not to pursue this saga. It was too mundane, and people wanted to move on.

But I felt duty bound to resolve this matter, because it goes far beyond clean ceilings.

The core issue is integrity.

The Property Manager of AHPETC, Mr Tai Vie Shun, demanded extra money from hawkers for cleaning the high areas of hawker centres. He did so on three occasions – 8 March 2013, 26 April 2013 and 28 April 2013. The hawkers have confirmed this consistently, and their account is backed up by notes of meetings.

When this scandal came to light, instead of putting things right, the Town Council Chairman, Ms Sylvia Lim, and the Vice-Chairman, Mr Pritam Singh, publicly denied that the Town Council had ever asked hawkers for more money.

That was why I said in Parliament that these denials by Ms Lim and Mr Singh were false and untruthful. And I say it again here.

Ms Sylvia Lim acknowledged that this was a very grave charge, but then she beat around the bush, and claimed confusion between spring and annual cleaning.

But how can she, on the one hand, claim that the Town Council never asked for more money; and then, on the other hand, maintain that this was spring and not annual cleaning, i.e. the Town Council was justified to ask for more money?

Mr Pritam Singh sat conspicuously silent throughout the proceedings.

Mr Low Thia Kiang argued that it was all ‘a misunderstanding’. But interestingly he did not strongly defend the Town Council’s actions, or Ms Lim and Ms Singh’s public denials.

Politics is a contest for power, but people with power must never take advantage of those in their charge. Equally important, we must always be honest with everyone, including ourselves, especially if a mistake has been made. I therefore urged Mr Low to conduct a full investigation and clean up his Town Council.

To my surprise, at this point Mr Low, Ms Lim and Mr Singh all chose to remain silent, and raised no further questions or objections, and so the debate in Parliament ended.

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Spat with Workers’ Party not about clean hawker centres but clean politics, MEWR Minister says

SINGAPORE — The crux of the spat between the Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan with the Workers’ Party was not over the cleaning of the hawker centres in Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council, but rather, clean politics, said Dr Balakrishnan in Parliament this afternoon.

In a protracted debate between the Minister and AHPETC Chairman Sylvia Lim, Dr Balakrishnan charged that the issue of integrity has been obscured the whole episode, while accusing both Ms Lim and Mr Pritam Singh — AHPETC’s Vice-Chairman — of being untruthful and lying that their contractor had included separate payment for both the scaffolding and cleaning of the high areas in the hawker centres located in Blocks 511 and 538 in Bedok North.

In response, Ms Lim said that Dr Balakrishnan “made very serious allegations” against herself and Mr Pritam. She pointed out that the misunderstanding arose over confusion whether the cleaning of high areas is supposed to be conducted once or four times a year.

She also said that the issue started through a series of misleading emails exchanged between AHPETC staff and an National Environment Agency official over who was in charge of the erection and dismantling of scaffolding used during the cleaning.

In reply to Dr Balakrishnan’s repeated questions on whether the property manager of AHPETC, Mr Tai Vie Shun, had asked hawkers to pay extra for annual cleaning, Ms Lim said: “As far as our investigations go, Mr Tai, at no point of time, asked for extra money to be paid to the town council for high area cleaning.”

Dr Balakrishan then distributed a dossier containing evidence, before specifically pointing out documents showing that Ms Lim had been untruthful.

Speaking to WP Chief Low Thia Kiang, he said:

“Politics is a contest for power, but the key principle when you have power is, don’t take advantage of people under your charge, and always be honest and upfront with them.

All of us will make mistakes. When a mistake is made, just come clean and say so, but don’t cover up. That’s why I have not let this go, because it is not about cleanliness of the ceiling, it is about clean politics, and I appeal to you because I know you to be an honourable man.

I appeal to you, go back, do a thorough investigation of what’s gone wrong in your TC and put it right, set it right. I have confidence that you will do so, Mr Low.”

The heated debate also led to Mr Low rising at one point to seek clarifications. Mr Low explained that it was the contractor — and not AHPETC — who issued the quotation to the hawkers, while adding that the whole episode arose from a misunderstanding over the terms spring cleaning and annual cleaning.

He said: “From my understanding, the Town Council is well aware of their obligations to clean the high areas … What I gather from the whole episode is arising from a misunderstanding between annual cleaning and spring cleaning.”

Source : todayonline : Don’t take advantage of people, Minister Balakrishnan tells WP

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“DON’T COVER UP” :  BALAKRISHNAN

WATCH the exchange in Parliament today between Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Workers’ Party Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang over the hawker centre cleaning saga involving the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council  – CNA

Video link : “DON’T COVER UP “:  BALAKRISHNAN

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Related Article :

• WP accused of being untruthful in hawker centre cleaning saga

• Dossier which accompanied the responses by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, to Supplementary Questioning for PQ1238 on the role of Town Councils in the maintenance and cleaning of hawker centres under their charge  – http://app.mewr.gov.sg/web/contents/contents.aspx?contid=1846

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by Fabrications About The PAP

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Knowing our Neighbours – Mr Tan Chuan Jin

One of the things that we have been emphasizing to our grassroots and volunteers in our outreach efforts is to really talk to our residents. An effort to give out masks or our ‘We Care’ packs isn’t just a logistic distribution effort but an opportunity to know our people better.

Asking to be allowed to come in and chat helps because it allows us to also better sense their living conditions. We don’t always see them because they may not be in when we come by on other occasions.

On Sunday, we distributed the first batch of the ‘We Care’ packs. We gave out to public assistance recipients. In the coming week, we will be receiving the rest and handing it out to ComCare and CHAS residents.

We asked if it was ok to take some photos. These pictures here show the living conditions of one lady whom I visited. She cooks with charcoal all these years. We have been trying to convince her to let us clean and clear her flat. She doesn’t really hoard but the conditions, as you can see, reveal years of grime and layers of soot from the charcoal fires. It is a health and safety hazard. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a major concern. And she almost started a fire once.

She doesn’t want to use gas. And she is reluctant for us to help. She is independent and manages on her own with public assistance help. We will have to follow up and try again and I’d try and convince her to let us assist her.

Not always easy.

Also met a lady who had just lost her husband. She didn’t have the most positive of relationships but she depended on him to sort most things out. She is quite distraught and at a loss at what to do with even basic administration at home.

Another lady is wheel-chair bound. She has a friend who pushes her downstairs. But will depend on neighbours to push her back up in the evening. There was a day where no one helped her and she was stuck below for the evening.

But there are also bright spots when you meet residents whose flats we cleaned up and they have kept it that way…it is very encouraging to see them beaming at their new living conditions. Or when you meet some who are managing well, staying healthy and active.

There are more flats like this near where you stay. There are neighbours like these with seemingly ‘small’ problems. While not always easy to solve, often, with some help, we can make things a little better for them. Some will be by linking up to Government assistance. Some will be by the local community. Or both.

Reach out. Talk to them. Know them. A difference can be made.

by   

Tan Chuan-Jin

School Continuity Plan for Haze Situation

1    The Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced its school continuity plan for the haze situation. Schools will take appropriate mitigation measures based on the health advisory for the day to ensure the well-being of our students and staff. The Ministry is also working closely with the Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) on appropriate measures to be put in place.

Mitigation Measures for Primary and Secondary Schools

2    Schools will re-open on 1 July 2013 after the June school holidays. For as long as schools remain open, MOE and schools will take the following mitigation measures, which are based on the health advisory for the day:

Mitigation measures taken while in schools

School activities will be guided by the daily health advisory. For example, should the health advisory correspond to the ‘unhealthy’ level or above, there will be no outdoor activities. To better enclose classrooms should the haze situation deteriorate, classroom windows and doors will be closed as far as possible while allowing adequate ventilation. Schools will also maximise the use of existing air-conditioned spaces for teaching and learning. Schools could scale down lessons if necessary. All schools have at least one air-conditioned room with an air purifier to temporarily accommodate students or staff who develop respiratory symptoms and / or are not feeling well, before they are taken to seek medical attention if necessary.

Response to transient rise in health advisory forecast to ‘hazardous’ level

All classroom windows and doors will be closed. Schools will scale down lessons. Students will be moved from classrooms to other enclosed indoor spaces, such as the library and school hall. The distribution of students across all enclosed indoor spaces will allow better thermal comfort and ventilation. Students and staff who are unwell or have a medical history of chronic heart and lung disease will be taken to the air-conditioned room with an air purifier before they are taken to seek medical attention.

Closure of Primary and Secondary Schools

3    MOE will consider closing all primary and secondary schools to students when the health advisory for the next day indicates that the air quality will be at the hazardous level. School-based student care centres will not operate during periods of closure. On days when there are oral examinations for GCE ‘O’ and ‘N’ levels, candidates affected by school closure will have their oral examinations rescheduled. Should closure be prolonged, schools will activate home-based learning for their students.

4    Should the health advisory for the next day correspond to the ‘hazardous’ level, MOE will announce the closure of schools at around the same time that the health advisory is released. This will be at around 6.00 pm on the day before the schools are to be closed. Schools will also contact parents to inform them of the closure of schools for students via phone or SMS.

5    We would like to seek parents’ and employers’ understanding that relatively short notice for any announcement of school closure can be given, as the health advisory for the next day is only available in the late afternoon each day. We also wish to encourage parents to make advance care arrangements for their children if necessary for such an eventuality. Under those circumstances, we urge employers to exercise greater workplace flexibility in enabling their employees to care for their children.

Kindergartens and Child Care Centres

6    The Early Childhood Development Agency will align the closure of kindergartens and child care centres to the closure of schools.

Post-Secondary Education Institutions and Junior Colleges

7     The considerations for closure of PSEIs, namely the Autonomous Universities, Polytechnics and ITE, as well as Junior Colleges/Centralised Institute are different. This is because most of the teaching and learning takes place in enclosed indoor spaces, such as lecture theatres, and the students are older. MOE will work closely with these institutions to ensure the well-being of their students and be guided by the health advisory.

Link : MOE – School Continuity Plan for Haze Situation

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Video A.  Appropriate measures in place to protect students from haze – MOE

Video B  Ensuring well-being of students with appropriate precautions — MOE

Insight: The transboundary haze and the international law – by Mr Tommy Koh and Mr Michael Ewing-Chow

The fires in Sumatra have choked Malaysia and Singapore, causing the air to be hazardous to the health of their citizens.

The increase in hotspots and the ineffectiveness of the efforts by Indonesia to reduce them has frustrated these ASEAN neighbors. The fundamental principle of sovereignty in international law means that they, without the consent of Indonesia, cannot attempt to put out the fires in Sumatra.

However, the law does not leave them without recourse. If the perpetrators of the fires can be identified, they could be subject to legal action. In domestic law, if the owner of a house were to start a fire, whether on purpose or negligently, the owner would be liable for any damage caused to his neighbors.

A similar doctrine has also been developed in international law. The 1941 Trail Smelter dispute involved a smelter in Canada whose smoke spread over the border causing air pollution in the US. An international tribunal found that Canada was responsible for environmental damage caused by the transboundary pollution. This is a fundamental principle of international environmental law — that activities in a state’s territory should not cause transboundary harm.

The main culprits in the present case are the plantation owners, who have chosen to clear land on the cheap by burning. They are the ones starting the fires without regard for the damage caused to their own citizens and their neighbors.

While a civil lawsuit against them may be an option, a more immediate alternative would be a citizens’ boycott of products made by plantations that clear land by burning.

As this would not be a governmental measure, it would not affect trade obligations. The owners of the
plantations would then have to prove to the public that they do not engage in such practices. This has in the past been effective in hitting corporations where it hurts — their bottom line.

Governments could also take action against the plantation owners. They could ban the import of their products by using the “necessary to protect […] health” exception found in trade agreements. It would have to be proven that the products were linked to the fires and that this was the “least trade restrictive” solution. Governments could also enact criminal laws against such acts of pollution.

Most laws are territorial. However, international law has also recognized the effects doctrine allowing for extraterritorial jurisdiction if the actions affect the state asserting such a jurisdiction. If such laws were passed, governments could prosecute the plantation owners for activities carried out outside their territory.

A contributing factor to the haze was the slow response of officials. Several Indonesian ministers appeared to be in denial and made unhelpful remarks. Eventually, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stepped in, ordered immediate water bombing of the fires and apologized to his ASEAN neighbors. His actions were commendable and we thank him for his statesmanship.

The 2002 ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution has been signed and ratified by nine ASEAN countries. The Agreement came into force in 2003. Indonesia has signed but not ratified it. Under international law, a state is obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat the purpose of a treaty it has signed. The purpose of the Haze Agreement is “to prevent and monitor transboundary haze pollution […] through concerted national efforts and intensified regional and international cooperation”.

Indonesia played a leadership role in the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. Principle number two of the Rio Declaration of Principles states that “states have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, […] the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other states”.

We hope Indonesia will use the current crisis as an opportunity to ratify the Haze Agreement. We also hope Indonesia will investigate and prosecute those responsible for the fires, irrespective of their nationality. We should remember that the Indonesians are the first victims of the fire-setters. This is, therefore, our common problem and we should solve it together in the spirit of ASEAN solidarity.

Tommy Koh is chairman and Michael Ewing-Chow is head of the trade law and investment
program of The Centre for International Law at NUS.

Link : The transboundary haze and the international law – by  Mr Tommy Koh and Mr Michael Ewing-Chow

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The National Environment Agency says at this point, there are no plans for schools to remain shut when term starts next week.
Singapore had slightly hazier conditions today because of a shift in wind directions http://cna.asia/19EJmtH The PSI for tomorrow should be in the moderate band, but 24-hr PM2.5 levels may rise.  – CNA