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    He Wanted A Zoo As Successful As Singapore: Remembering

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    Mr. Lee initially had misgivings about the Singapore Zoo due to concerns about animal waste polluting nearby reservoirs. However, he became a frequent visitor and offered strategic advice to ensure the zoo's sustainability and environmental protection. On his suggestion, a storm drainage system was installed to prevent waste from entering water supplies. He also stressed the need for the zoo to be financially viable while keeping admission affordable. Additionally, Mr. Lee recommended planting slow-growing native trees to diversify the landscape for future generations.

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    He Wanted A Zoo As Successful As Singapore: Remembering

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    10e3reading
    32 views1 page
    Mr. Lee initially had misgivings about the Singapore Zoo due to concerns about animal waste polluting nearby reservoirs. However, he became a frequent visitor and offered strategic advice to ensure the zoo's sustainability and environmental protection. On his suggestion, a storm drainage system was installed to prevent waste from entering water supplies. He also stressed the need for the zoo to be financially viable while keeping admission affordable. Additionally, Mr. Lee recommended planting slow-growing native trees to diversify the landscape for future generations.

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    TodayOnline 28 March 2015 Remembering Mr Lee Kuan Yew

    Original Title

    20152803_AP_page_18

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    Mr. Lee initially had misgivings about the Singapore Zoo due to concerns about animal waste polluting nearby reservoirs. However, he became a frequent visitor and offered strategic advice to ensure the zoo's sustainability and environmental protection. On his suggestion, a storm drainage system was installed to prevent waste from entering water supplies. He also stressed the need for the zoo to be financially viable while keeping admission affordable. Additionally, Mr. Lee recommended planting slow-growing native trees to diversify the landscape for future generations.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    32 views1 page

    He Wanted A Zoo As Successful As Singapore: Remembering

    Uploaded by

    10e3reading
    Mr. Lee initially had misgivings about the Singapore Zoo due to concerns about animal waste polluting nearby reservoirs. However, he became a frequent visitor and offered strategic advice to ensure the zoo's sustainability and environmental protection. On his suggestion, a storm drainage system was installed to prevent waste from entering water supplies. He also stressed the need for the zoo to be financially viable while keeping admission affordable. Additionally, Mr. Lee recommended planting slow-growing native trees to diversify the landscape for future generations.

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    18

    Remembering Lee Kuan Yew

    Mr Lee Kuan Yew speaking at the Singapore Zoos 20th anniversary in 1993. With many zoos around the world operating at a loss, Mr Lee stressed to the management that the Singapore Zoo needed to be
    financially viable, while keeping admission fees affordable. Photo: Alagappasamy Chellaiyah, Robin Choo

    He wanted a zoo as successful as Singapore


    Mr Lee became one of the zoos
    most frequent visitors, despite
    his initial misgivings about its
    ability to manage animal waste
    LIN YANQIN

    Deputy News Editor


    [email protected]

    t did not look like an auspicious


    start. First, Mr Lee Kuan Yew,
    then the Prime Minister, was worried that the Singapore Zoos waste
    would run into the surrounding reservoir, polluting the water being supplied
    to households.
    Mr Lee, like other government officials at the time, was worried about
    the zoos animals excreting too much
    waste, which could be washed into the
    reservoir, polluting the water. As he
    said at the zoos 20th anniversary dinner in 1993, I was obsessed with water.

    There were also worries about


    the amount of food large animals
    would consume, eating the zoo out of
    house and home, making operations
    unsustainable.
    Despite these misgivings, the late
    Mr Lee went on to become one of the
    zoos most frequent visitors, dropping
    by almost every year, sometimes with
    his grandchildren, dispensing advice
    that shaped the zoos development.
    For example, to prevent water pollution, the late Dr Ong Swee Lay, who
    was the zoos founder and executive
    chairman, asked the Public Utilities
    Board chief water engineer Khong Kit
    Soon to design a storm-water drainage
    system that ran along the parameter
    of the zoo. The drains would channel
    run-off into the zoos own sewage treatment plant. They remain a feature of
    both the Night Safari and River Safari.
    He only approved it if we had some
    kind of measure in place to prevent effluent from the zoo from going into the

    reservoir, said Mr Vijaya Kumar Pillai,


    director of zoology at Wildlife Reserves
    Singapore (WRS), who began working
    at the Singapore Zoo as a keeper in
    1972, a year before it officially opened.
    With many zoos around the world
    operating at a loss, Mr Lee also stressed
    to the management that the Singapore
    Zoo needed to be financially viable,
    while keeping admission fees affordable.
    Dr Ong ... would go play golf with
    people, ask for sponsorship, adoption
    schemes (for animals) ... Then the Government came in to give us a grant

    (Mr Lee) has


    also been very
    strategic ... He
    suggested
    slow-growing
    jungle trees
    (for the zoo).
    We could only
    conclude he
    was thinking
    of the future
    generations.
    Mr Melvin Tan

    Acting chief
    operating officer
    of Wildlife
    reserves Singapore

    to help with the operations, recalled


    Ms Lok May Kuen, WRS director
    of education.
    Mr Lees passion for greenery also
    led him to suggest that the zoo plant
    more slow-growing, primary forest
    trees to add to the diversity of the area.
    He has also been very strategic,
    said WRS acting chief operating officer
    Melvin Tan, who started his career at
    the zoo in 1988 as an assistant curator.
    ... He suggested slow-growing jungle
    trees. We could only conclude he was
    thinking of the future generations.
    Such trees can take 50 years or
    so to reach maturity. Acting on the
    suggestion, WRS planted 1,000 trees
    over three years. He asked the Commissioner of NParks (National Parks
    Board) to come and help us, even supply
    us the necessary trees ... Before that,
    there was no specific direction, said
    Mr Tan, who noted that Mr Lee was
    knowledgeable about trees and recalled
    even their Latin names.

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