wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  The Electric New Paper 14 Feb 07
Should we slow progress to please our neighbours?
SLOW down our pace of development and pacify our neigbours.
By Leong Ching

Business Times 13 Feb 07
Indon sand ban 'will be manageable': Mah
Government to fix price of land sand sold from stockpile to stabilise prices
By Chuang Peck Ming

Today Online 13 Feb 07
Between the sand and a flooded place
Ministers set record straight, call for calm as neighbours blow hot and cold
Derrick A Paulo

Channel NewsAsia 13 Feb 07
Linking Indonesian sand ban to extradition treaty unfortunate: Yeo
By Pearl Forss

SINGAPORE : Indonesia's ban on sand exports to Singapore was one of the key concerns in Parliament on Monday.

Members of Parliament were keen to find out about the impact of the ban on the construction industry and Singapore's relations with Indonesia.

In his reply, Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo said linking the sand ban to the extradition treaty being sought by Indonesia and border talks would be unfortunate and counterproductive.

Singapore will soon fix the price of sand used in its booming construction sector at S$25 per tonne to ensure stable prices, after Indonesia banned all sand exports to the island last month.

Most construction activities are back to normal except for a few cases where the contractors, developers and suppliers cannot agree on the price of concrete. Sand is one of the main raw materials in concrete.

Industry sources have said that the price of ready mixed concrete has increased 50 percent and some are wondering if suppliers are profiteering from the sand ban. The government said it could not fix the price of ready mixed concrete but it would step in to help in negotiations if necessary.

But Members of Parliament were still concerned about whether the ban has wider ramifications.

West Coast GRC MP Ho Geok Choo wondered if the ban was a result of the politics of envy, and Singapore's neighbours becoming insecure as Singapore's economy charges ahead.

Tampines GRC's Irene Ng asked if the Indonesian government was using sand as a pressure point in its negotiations for an extradition treaty.

Indonesia has linked the sand ban to ongoing border talks and an extradition treaty it is seeking with Singapore. This remark came from Vice-Admiral Djoko Sumaryono, the head of the maritime security coordinating board, who was quoted by the Jakarta Post earlier in the month.

But Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo said it was counterproductive to make such a connection. He said, "Our border limitation talks are complicated enough; if there is additional linkage, it will only make the talk more difficult. As for the extradition treaty, Prime Minister Lee and President Yudhoyono had already agreed in a meeting in Bali on 3rd October 2005 that the extradition treaty and the defence cooperation agreement should be linked together and negotiated in parallel as one package.

"The talks have made good progress although there are still a few issues to overcome. Singapore hopes that both agreements as a package could be concluded early."

The extradition treaty has been a sticking point in bilateral relations between Singapore and Indonesia for nearly a decade.

Some quarters in Indonesia allege that corrupt businessmen and politicians are hiding and putting their illegal gains in Singapore, hence the need for an extradition treaty.

But Mr Yeo said many of these comments were connected with Indonesia's domestic politics and Singapore does not want to be involved.

He said, "...One reason why the extradition treaty is not easy to negotiate is because if they make a case for someone to be extradited from Singapore, then a cause of defence will be whether proper procedures were observed in Indonesia, which means that, inevitably, a judge in Singapore will have to examine the conduct of their police and judges. The last thing we want is for the extradition treaty to complicate further all bilateral relations with them."

Mr Yeo also said Singapore's land reclamation works did not affect its existing maritime boundaries with Indonesia.

Singapore's existing maritime boundaries with Indonesia have been settled in a 1973 agreement. With Malaysia, maritime boundaries were settled in a 1995 agreement.

However, there are some waters near the common junctions between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore that have not yet been demarcated and will have to be done through negotiations. - CNA/ms

Today Online 13 Feb 07
Between the sand and a flooded place
Ministers set record straight, call for calm as neighbours blow hot and cold
Derrick A Paulo

AFTER weeks of seeing the Republic caught in the crosshairs of diplomatic snipes by its neighbours, it was time yesterday for some Singapore MPs to let off a little steam of their own.

Indonesia's sand ban, Thailand's tapping allegations and Malaysia's attempt to link its flooding to Singapore were all raised in Parliament.

As MPs sought answers from the Cabinet, they aired their thoughts on the issues. "Is it true the Indonesians are very concerned over the significant impact to the environment arising from our purchase of sand from them? If so, can we not impress upon Indonesia to be equally concerned about the haze problem?" asked Mr Sin Boon Ann of Tampines GRC.

"What's (the Foreign Minister's) view on the politics of envy in this instance? Does he see the ban on sand arising from a situation of 'I see you little red dot ? tak puas (not satisfied), rather than from border and environmental concerns?" enquired West Coast GRC's Madam Ho Geok Choo.

"In view of the recent suspension of the civil service exchange programme by the Thai government ... shouldn't the Foreign Ministry cancel all such programmes and channel the money to better use, such as expediting the lift upgrading programme in Nee Soon South?" said Ms Lee Bee Wah of Ang Mo Kio GRC.

The latter request, in particular, prompted Foreign Minister George Yeo to caution all involved against aggravating matters by "reacting in an emotional way".

"It's certainly not in our interests," said Mr Yeo, who was reluctant to comment on the domestic politics of Singapore's neighbours.

Nonetheless, as MPs probed about Singapore's bilateral relations in the region, Mr Yeo and National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan parsed the issues in detail.

On the sand ban, Mr Mah said that Indonesia's environmental claims were unjustified. "We were aware that various quarters in Indonesia had been calling on their government to ban land sand exports because of claims of environmental damage and the potential impact on Indonesia's boundaries. These claims are not justified," he said.

Indonesian sand suppliers already plough some proceeds from the sale of sand into environmental reconstruction. "That is built into the price of sand," Mr Mah noted.

Neither is it clear how the mining of land sand--which is used only for construction--or sea sand can affect maritime boundaries, said Mr Yeo. Indonesia banned the export of sea sand in 2003.

Regardless, the reclamation works cannot affect the demarcated boundaries and current agreements between Singapore and its neighbours, he said. Areas not yet demarcated will have to be done so through negotiations.

Referring to Indonesian media reports linking the ban to border talks and extradition treaty negotiations between both countries, he said: "Such a linkage, if true, would be unfortunate and counterproductive. Our border limitation talks are complicated enough. An additional linkage would only make talks more difficult."

On floods in Malaysia, he said this had been "extensively studied", and the effects on Malaysia from Singapore's reclamation works were "not an issue".

Turning to ties with Thailand, he said that while the Thai government had lobbied to cancel former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra's dinner with Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar, the Republic emphasised there would be no publicity.

"It was the Thai side which made public the DPM's meeting with Mr Thaksin, despite our assurance it would be kept private and discreet," said Mr Yeo.

On the eavesdropping allegations, he said there are telecommunications companies under foreign ownership in many countries. For example, a Norwegian company owns a Thai telco.

The Thai authorities and Thai nationals at the Temasek-owned telcos would not allow domestic calls to be routed through Singapore, he said, adding that "it would also have been absurd for Temasek to sully its reputation by doing something like this".

Summing up, Mr Yeo said, "Relations between countries, even close neighbours and partners, sometimes have their ups and downs ... (and) we have to take the current unpleasantness in our stride."

Business Times 13 Feb 07
Indon sand ban 'will be manageable': Mah
Government to fix price of land sand sold from stockpile to stabilise prices
By Chuang Peck Ming

INDONESIA'S ban on the export of land sand will not have a major impact on the building industry in Singapore, where several huge projects including two multi-billion-dollar casinos are under way.

'It will be manageable,' National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told Parliament yesterday. 'Critical projects are going on and we will make sure there is sufficient sand. Most of the construction activities have come back to normal.'

Land sand is on the way from alternative suppliers, Mr Mah said. And while the transport cost is higher, overall development cost will rise just one to 3 per cent. The government will fix the price of land sand sold from its stockpile to stabilise prices, he said.

'The ministry has decided to fix the price of sand at a rate that is slightly below the current market rate.' He did not reveal the price or say how long it will be fixed.

Indonesia imposed a ban on the export of land sand on Jan 23, citing environmental concerns and the need to protect its borders. The ban came four years after Jakarta banned the export of sea sand - used for land reclamation.

'The claims are not justified,' Mr Mah said. 'Our ministers had, on several occasions, offered to discuss this issue with their Indonesian counterparts and expressed Singapore's preparedness to work with Indonesia to address its concerns. We regret that Indonesia did not take up our offer.'

As a major public sector, the government has taken the lead to share part of the increase in the cost of sand for existing projects, he said. 'We have had several dialogues with the industry associations, and they have agreed to adopt the principle of cost sharing for existing projects and are working together to work out arrangements for their ongoing projects.'

Mr Mah also urged the building industry to use other materials like steel, dry walls, glass and metal cladding.

'Based on the experience of advanced countries like the UK, US and Japan, the use of concreting sand could be reduced by as much as 60 to 70 per cent through the adoption of non-concrete based construction,' he said.

He also commented on the current jump in Singapore's private home prices, which have posted their biggest gain in seven years. The increase reflects economic expansion and is not just speculative buying, he said.

Mr Mah said the sub-sale market - properties sold before transactions are completed - made up only 5.4 per cent of all homes sold in Singapore last year. It accounted for 9.7 per cent of all homes sold, against 28 per cent during the 1996 peak.

'Is a property bubble forming? Well, if you look at just the number of sub-sales, there's no cause for concern,' Mr Mah said. 'The government is monitoring the situation and making sure the property market stays healthy.'

The Electric New Paper 14 Feb 07
Should we slow progress to please our neighbours?
SLOW down our pace of development and pacify our neigbours.
By Leong Ching

SLOW down our pace of development and pacify our neigbours. This suggestion came from Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) after a spate of questions concerning Singapore's rocky relations with Indonesia and Malaysia.

She said that our neighbours may not be happy with the pace of our development. 'If that were so, would Singapore be reviewing itself to be more measured in its pace so as to pacify our neighbours?' she asked.

Madam Ho noted that Singapore's success and fast growth may be creating tension with its neighbours, who may feel threatened and stressed.

'Our neighbours could be feeling low and a loss of face when so often we talk about offering help.

SLOW DOWN

'My question, therefore, is that perhaps we should slow down,' she asked.

Objecting, Miss Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) said we should not do so as we answer to Singaporeans. Miss Ng was one of five MPs in yesterday's session who asked about Singapore's spat with its neigbours.

This included Indonesia's decision to ban the export of sand, as well as Thailand's accusation of 'eavesdropping'.

In his reply, Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo said he agreed with Miss Ng's view that Singapore should not slow down. 'We should do what is in the interest of Singapore.

'Of course, where we can, we should help our neighbours with their economic development and indeed we are,' he said.

Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan, replying on the issue of sand, assured the House that Singapore was coping well with the ban and that overall costs of development would increase by only about 1 per cent.

In fact, he noted, Singapore had stopped importing sea sand from Indonesia since 2003. What it had imported since then was sand from the interior of the country.

Picking up the cue, MP Sin Boon Ann (Tampines GRC), a lawyer, asked pointedly: 'Is it true that the Indonesians are very concerned over the significant impact to the environment arising from our purchase of sand from them?

'And if it is so, can we not impress upon the Indonesians to be equally concerned about the haze problem, which is also an issue of the environment?' asked Mr Sin pointedly.

Mr Mah said that the Minister for Foreign Affairs would be able to answer that question better.

Mr Yeo explained that as land sand did not come from the coastline of Indonesia, it was not possible for its export to change Indonesia's borders. On the Thai accusation of Singapore eavesdropping through its ownership of Shin Corp, he replied that this was not only economically unfeasible, it was also 'absurd for Temasek to sully its reputation in this way'.

Another MP, Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC), put a practical twist to the whole issue. She noted that the Thais had wanted to suspend some government-to-goverment programmes. How much did Singapore spend on such programmes? And if the Thais did not want them, 'why don't we spend the money on lift-upgrading in Nee Soon South?' she asked.

GOODWILL

Mr Yeo said with a laugh: 'While I am all for giving sufficient funds to the lift-upgrading programme, it is important for us to be very rational in our response.'

He also added that when considering such bilateral programmes, it was not just about dollars and cents but the effort needed and the goodwill generated. Thailand was going through a 'rough patch' now, he said, adding that he hoped that the country would return to constitutional law soon.
links
Sandy Situation a huge pile of articles about sand, reclamation and Singapore on the leafmonkey blog; also on the environmental news blog

Related articles on Singapore: general environmental issues and wild shores
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com