Dear Dr. Yaacob,
I'm writing to you as you're both MP for Jalan Besar GRC (Kolam Ayer Division) and Minister for Environment. I thank you for your efforts in keeping an aging estate maintained well with regular UP and HIP among other programmes. I particularly would like to congratulate you for work well done at the ABC Waterfront that even MM Lee Kuan Yew visited with praise a few months ago.
However, there's a chronic problem with the ever increasing population of stray cats, crows and pigeons. They ravage and scavenge rubbish bins and dumps thereby creating hygiene and health problems for residents and especially children. They go for leftover foods at hawker centres and coffeeshops and scattered their own leftovers all over the place anywhere after their raids and fills.
I've even seen birds directly raiding for freshly cooked foods at the stalls. The stallholders would just shoo the birds away. They won't throw the whole tray away as that's too costly to them. Seeing that, of course I won't eat from that stall, at least not for that day. However, what if the other stall that I ate from also got raided by birds earlier that I didn't see? What about all the other residents and customers?
What's the root of the problem? I think that for the birds, it's overplanting of trees that create natural habitat to attract them and breed them. I believe most of us like a green garden environment, yes, but not a jungle! I've even had my kitchen raided by crows flying sorties launched from trees 6 or 7 storeys high through the kitchen window. Many of my neighbourhood folks have the same experience too.
Another cause of the problem is well-meaning but misguided folks feeding them in the sense of "accumulating merit by doing good." NEA has to take strict action to stop them, with penalty if necessary, because they're doing more harm than good. NEA also has to step up stray cat catching and stray bird shooting in this area. I hope you'll look into this with serious concern and not let whatever record of good work you've done for this community be marred and stained by overlooking and neglecting this problem for too long.
Yours sincerely,
XXXXXXXXXXX
Kolam Ayer Resident
Singapore Citizen
CC:
- Dr. Lily Neo (MP Jalan Besar GRC)
- Mr. Heng Chee How (MP Jalan Besar GRC)
- Mr. Lee Boon Yang (MP Jalan Besar GRC)
- Miss Denise Phua (MP Jalan Besar GRC / JBTC Feedback)
- Mr. Goh Meng Seng (Sec-Gen. NSP since NSP last contested and indicated continuing interest to contest Jalan Besar GRC)
- Miss Cassandra Chew (ST Reporter who did an elaborate article on Jalan Besar GRC a few months ago)
BCC:
- To some of my neighbours also concerned but wish to remain anonymous
I'm writing to you as you're both MP for Jalan Besar GRC (Kolam Ayer Division) and Minister for Environment. I thank you for your efforts in keeping an aging estate maintained well with regular UP and HIP among other programmes. I particularly would like to congratulate you for work well done at the ABC Waterfront that even MM Lee Kuan Yew visited with praise a few months ago.
However, there's a chronic problem with the ever increasing population of stray cats, crows and pigeons. They ravage and scavenge rubbish bins and dumps thereby creating hygiene and health problems for residents and especially children. They go for leftover foods at hawker centres and coffeeshops and scattered their own leftovers all over the place anywhere after their raids and fills.
I've even seen birds directly raiding for freshly cooked foods at the stalls. The stallholders would just shoo the birds away. They won't throw the whole tray away as that's too costly to them. Seeing that, of course I won't eat from that stall, at least not for that day. However, what if the other stall that I ate from also got raided by birds earlier that I didn't see? What about all the other residents and customers?
What's the root of the problem? I think that for the birds, it's overplanting of trees that create natural habitat to attract them and breed them. I believe most of us like a green garden environment, yes, but not a jungle! I've even had my kitchen raided by crows flying sorties launched from trees 6 or 7 storeys high through the kitchen window. Many of my neighbourhood folks have the same experience too.
Another cause of the problem is well-meaning but misguided folks feeding them in the sense of "accumulating merit by doing good." NEA has to take strict action to stop them, with penalty if necessary, because they're doing more harm than good. NEA also has to step up stray cat catching and stray bird shooting in this area. I hope you'll look into this with serious concern and not let whatever record of good work you've done for this community be marred and stained by overlooking and neglecting this problem for too long.
Yours sincerely,
XXXXXXXXXXX
Kolam Ayer Resident
Singapore Citizen
CC:
- Dr. Lily Neo (MP Jalan Besar GRC)
- Mr. Heng Chee How (MP Jalan Besar GRC)
- Mr. Lee Boon Yang (MP Jalan Besar GRC)
- Miss Denise Phua (MP Jalan Besar GRC / JBTC Feedback)
- Mr. Goh Meng Seng (Sec-Gen. NSP since NSP last contested and indicated continuing interest to contest Jalan Besar GRC)
- Miss Cassandra Chew (ST Reporter who did an elaborate article on Jalan Besar GRC a few months ago)
BCC:
- To some of my neighbours also concerned but wish to remain anonymous
