Singaporeans need to correct public health habits: DPM Wong

Channel NewsAsia 19 Nov 06

By Wong Siew Ying

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans must clean up their public health habits as society progresses, says Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng. Launching a new environment programme, Mr Wong says the young must be allowed to come up with innovative projects as well.

Attitudes must change and habits like littering, spitting and dirtying toilets have to go or Singapore would lose its shine as a clean and modern city. "It doesn't give Singapore a good image. Even though your economy may be first rate, if people's behaviour is third rate, we are not keeping up with the image we have created as a clean and green Singapore that has got a modern economy, which emphasises on science and technology, that people are well-educated and knowledgeable," says DPM Wong.

So, the Central Singapore District will start a new programme next year to groom Youth Environmental Guardians. These volunteers will help to run public health road shows and outreach projects for an estate they adopt. Nithia Veeramani, a student at Mayflower Secondary School, says: "We are planning to do blogging--network blog on the environment, and my school is also planning campaigns and stuff to make our peers aware of the environment."

Goh Chiat Yi, another student at Mayflower Secondary School, says: "Nowadays children are very pampered--everything is relied on the maid. So they think it is ok to throw litter on the floor because the cleaners will pick them up."

The National Environment Agency says the programme will encourage students to be more proactive and put what they have learned into practice. There are over 80 schools in the Central Singapore District.

So far, 20 students from three of them have signed up as Youth Environmental Guardians. The organiser hopes to attract 150 students for the programme and could expand it, if the response is good.

The Community Development Council will tap its S$230,000 Public Health Protection Fund to get residents to play a greater role in the care for the surroundings. Zainudin Nordin, Mayor, Central Singapore District, says: "They can also see it being translated into financial benefits, because if we have a clean environment, we can employ less workers to clean the environment, and probably the workers can be used for other more important issues." Central Singapore District also won the Best Community Award for rolling out the most number of public health activities this year. - CNA/so