Water is Precious. EVERY DROP COUNTS. Don't waste it!

This should be our concern today.

Currently, water from Johor River helps to meet half of Singapore’s water needs before we become self-sufficient in 2060.

The water plant in Johore cannot treat saltwater.

The Linggiu Reservoir, built in 1994, enables Singapore to reliably draw water from the Johor River by releasing water into the river to prevent saltwater intrusion from the sea into the river.

However, the water level at Linggiu Reservoir in Johor has been rapidly falling to historic lows, raising the possibility that Singapore would be unable to import any water.

At the start of last year, the water level was about 80%. Eight months later it receded to 54.5%. It dropped to 43% in November last year. Last week it was 36.9%. This week it fell to a new historic low of 35%.

While Singapore and Malaysia enjoy good relations and have a treaty in place, Professor Asit Biswas, distinguished visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) noted that the supply of water from Johor can by no means be taken for granted.

Prof Biswas, who won the Stockholm Water Prize — considered the water industry’s Nobel Prize — a decade ago, noted that there is a high probability of the region experiencing a serious drought in the coming decades.

And if that happens, “would the politicians and people (in Malaysia) be willing to send that water to Singapore or say it’s an act of God, they really cannot send water and they need to use it themselves? I don’t know”, he said.

Source: Today

A Poem by Edwin Thumboo on Mrs Lee Kuan Yew

I knew Mrs Lee Kuan Yew slightly, enough to know her genuine deep kindness. She took the trouble to return my mugshot and fingerprints taken by the Criminal Investigation Department in May 1954.

I was on the editorial board of the University of Malaya's University Socialist Club newsletter Fajar ("dawn"). The British colonial authorities charged eight of us with sedition over an article in Fajar.

We were defended by Mr D.N. Pritt, Queen's Counsel, assisted by Mr Lee Kuan Yew. There was absolutely no reason for her to have done so. But that is the measure of the lady.

- Edwin Thumboo

K Shanmugam: No soft approach to drugs

Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam told world leaders at the United Nations that the city state will not soften its drug policies, pushing back against calls from some nations to change its approach to dealing with drugs.

Mr Shanmugam said he was unmoved by the rhetoric he had heard at the meeting. He stressed that Singapore would stick with its approach until there is evidence that a different model works better.
"We are not very impressed with rhetoric alone. Good speeches are one thing. Enjoying safety and security, to the level I have identified - letting your 10-year-old child take public transport alone - that is different."

"I say to anyone with a different view - come forward. I am prepared to compare our experiences with any city that you choose. Show us a model that works better, that delivers a better outcome for citizens, and we will consider changing. If that cannot be done, then don't ask us to change," he added.

Mr Shanmugam rejected the dichotomy presented between human rights and oppression.

"Maybe this rhetoric is based on the experiences in some countries. To us, it sounds like a lot of straw man arguments. Because it's not based on facts."

He stressed that there was a middle road between "locking everyone up, treating them as criminals, and feeding them with drugs".

"It is possible to work with drug abusers to rehabilitate them. This is difficult and resource-intensive. But because every life is important, we do that. Legalising and giving abusers drugs is the easier option. But not the better one," he added.

"You wouldn't knowingly and happily give drugs to your teenage children, would you? You might accept it and deal with it if they abuse drugs. But you wouldn't voluntarily give it. So let's be clear about the harmful effects of drugs," he said.

And while Mr Shanmugam noted the need for a global consensus on how to tackle the drug problem, he also said that every country has the right to choose the approach that works best for it.

"For us, the choice is clear. We want a drug-free Singapore, not a drug-tolerant Singapore," he said.

Source: ST

PM Lee in Jerusaleum: ties between the people of Israel and Singapore

Speaking at the ceremony at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he receives an honorary doctorate, PM Lee noted that ties between the people of Israel and Singapore began long before both became independent.

The earliest Jews in Singapore arrived in the 19th century, mostly from the Middle East, and their descendants have contributed out of proportion to their numbers in the country. Among them Singapore's first chief minister David Marshall.

Mr Lee noted that renowned physicist Albert Einstein visited Singapore in 1922 , met the local Jewish community and urged them to contribute to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which was set up in 1918 and opened its doors in 1925.

The Jewish people in Singapore raised some £750 - worth about S$400,000 today. Israel, he added, reflects a remarkable human talent and "the indomitable spirit to overcome overwhelming odds" - from irrigating the desert to revolutionary advances in technology.

PM Lee expressed the hope that Israel and the Palestinians will take steps to resume direct negotiations and work towards a just and lasting two-state solution.

Speaking at the ceremony at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he receives an honorary doctorate, PM Lee expressed the hope that Israel and the Palestinians will take steps to resume direct negotiations and work towards a just and lasting two-state solution.

Mr Lee noted that the Israeli-Palestinian problem is complex, and a solution remains elusive.
"Progress will require enormous imagination, determination and political leadership on both sides - as well as getting the stars aligned, in the right places in the firmament, with the great powers supporting you," he said. 

This is why he was also visiting the Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah this week "to signal our friendship with both Israel and the Palestinians", he added.

He also noted that the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew once told an Israeli general who helped start the SAF that Singapore learnt two things from Israel: "How to be strong, and how not to use our strength."

PM Lee said he was also moved by former Israeli PM Shimon Peres' vision, in a recent interview, of Israel in 2048 - 100 years after its founding. Mr Peres believes 2048 will be much better for Israel and the Middle East, where borders will become less relevant and science and technology will transform societies, connect peoples and force them to become more open-minded to the world.

"Today, such a Middle East looks a long way off - more distant even than 2048," Mr Lee said. "But I sincerely hope that one day, Mr Peres' vision will be realised. Swords will be turned to ploughshares, Israel and your neighbours will live side by side in peace and prosperity, and your friends in Singapore and around the world will rejoice with you too."

Source: ST

PM Lee called on Israel and Palestine to resume negotiations

"We are friends with both Israel and Palestine. We hope that you will be able to resume negotiations and make progress towards a just and durable solution to a longstanding and complex conflict," PM Lee Hsien Loong said in a short speech.

"We hope to see a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security one day."

He was speaking at an official ceremony at the Israeli Prime Minister's Office where he was welcomed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr Netanyahu,speaking before Mr Lee, said the visit reflected a "coming of age" between the two countries, which he said were "both small nations that leave a very large imprint on the world scene" and anchors of stability in their respective regions.

Mr Netanyahu also said he greatly admired the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, "one of the great statesmen of the 20th century who laid solid foundations for your country, but who also taught many of us the idea of economic vision and enterprise that was put to test, and is now the great success that Singapore is."

Israel and Singapore are working together in areas from water management to biotechnology, he noted, adding that "innovation and technology are key to seizing the future".

PM Lee is the first Prime Minister from Singapore to visit Israel.

He last visited Israel in 1977 when he was a young army officer accompanying then-chief of general staff Winston Choo, who is now Singapore's Ambassador to Israel.

Source:ST

In first visit ever by Singapore PM, leader thanks Israel for defense aid over the years

Lee Hsien Loong calls on Israel and the Palestinians during his speech at Hebrew University to resume direct negotiations. 

Lee Hsien Loong arrived in Israel on Monday for a four-day visit, the first ever visit to Israel by a Singaporean prime minister.

During a speech at the Hebrew University where he received an honorary doctorate, Lee noted with gratitude the defense aid and advice Singapore has received from Israel over the years.

“In August 1965, when Singapore unexpectedly became independent, the Israel Defense Forces helped us to develop the Singapore Armed Forces,” he said. “We asked a number of countries, but only Israel responded to us, and it did so very promptly.

“Without the IDF, the SAF could not have grown its capabilities, deterred threats, defended our island, and reassured Singaporeans and investors that Singapore was secure and had a future,” he said. “We will always be grateful that Israel helped us and stood by us at our time of great need.”

Israel and Singapore established diplomatic ties in 1969 and in recent years the country has emerged as a significant trading partner for the Jewish state.

For instance, in 2015 the countries conducted some $1.35 billion of trade, which was more trade than Israel did that year with all but eight of the 28 EU countries, including Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Portugal.

Lee is accompanied by his wife, Ho Ching, and a 60-member delegation, including his foreign minister and environment and water resources minister. The current prime minister is the son of Singapore’s founder, Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee arrived Monday from Jordan via the Allenby Bridge, received the honorary doctorate at the Hebrew University, and toured the capital’s Old City. He is set to go to the Temple Mount on Wednesday.

The prime minister is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, and on Wednesday spend about three hours of his four-day trip in Ramallah, where he will meet with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

Lee called on Israel and the Palestinians during his speech at the Hebrew University, to resume direct negotiations.

“Progress will require enormous imagination, determination and political leadership on both sides, as well as getting the stars aligned in the right places in the firmament, with the great powers supporting you,” he said.

Lee paid homage during his speech to Singapore’s small Jewish community, which began in the 19th century with Jews who immigrated from Iraq, and today numbers some 2,500. He recalled how Albert Einstein visited Singapore in 1922 to encourage the Jewish community to donate to the establishment of the Hebrew University, and that he won the Nobel Prize in physics a week later.

On Sunday, in advance of the premier’s visit, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding relating to joint training programs they will provide to professionals from developing countries.

The first course was already held in Singapore in November, bringing 20 professionals from the Pacific and the Caribbean for a course on public health. The next seminar will be held in Israel next month, bringing 15 trainees from Africa for a course dealing with the empowerment of women.

 http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/In-first-visit-ever-by-Singapore-PM-leader-thanks-Israel-for-defense-aid-over-the-years-451621