Take the Long View
Ms Gwee Jin Eng
in a letter to the Business Times (Singapore), 5 Nov 01

WE are about to lose a rare natural resource and potential gold mine - Tanjung Chek Jawa on the eastern coast of Pulau Ubin.

Bio-prospecting, the life science equivalent of prospecting for gold, has been overlooked in the URA decision to carry out reclamation work that will destroy Chek Jawa. Because of the numerous species of coastal marine life at Chek Jawa, prospecting holds great promise for generating millions or even billions of dollars of income in future through patents and sales of useful chemical and other substances discovered at Chek Jawa.

Chek Jawa is a renewable and irreplaceable natural resource that can help Singapore to keep its economic advantage in this region. If it is destroyed, no amount of regret and recrimination can bring it back. We need to act now - reclamation starts this month!