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  Straits Times Forum 29 Aug 06
Rising population density needs to be looked at
Letter from Yew Yeong Long

I READ Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech on welcoming foreigners to make Singapore their home and would like to point out that our population density is on the rise.

I agree with PM Lee that we should welcome foreign talents to work in Singapore, and overseas scholars to study here, because we need a significant talent pool in order to attract foreign investments so that Singapore can continue to stay competitive.

On the other hand, there are several issues that need to be resolved. These issues relate to our scarce resources - for example, land. We can try to attract more people, but it is harder to expand our land.

If we try to expand vertically, the sky's the limit. It is difficult not to notice that new Housing Board flats, for example, those in Seng Kang, are getting smaller. A couple can hardly fit a bed and a wardrobe nicely into their bedroom.

It is also difficult not to notice that our modes of public transportation, such as MRT trains and buses, are getting more and more crowded. We are going to face a crisis in personal space!

Has the Government overlooked this issue?

We are already standing shoulder to shoulder in the MRT trains and it is not hard to imagine that we may have to step on one another's feet so that more commuters can be packed into each train carriage. This raises a safety concern. Should the train driver need to jam on the brakes, you can imagine how many commuters would be injured. Terrorists don't need to blow up the trains or the stations. All they have to do is toy with the braking systems.

As our living space becomes smaller, noise from neighbouring HDB units becomes more pronounced and is becoming more unbearable, for example, when there is renovation next door or a few doors away. In new estates like Seng Kang and Punggol, you can hear renovation noise even when it is three blocks away.
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