Speech by 2M Desmond Lee at Ubin Day 2019

Jun 29, 2019

 Good morning and a very warm welcome to Ubin Day 2019! 

Thank you for choosing to spend your Saturday morning here on this emerald island. 

I am very happy to be back. I was just here just two weeks ago for Pesta Raya@Ubin, one of the highlights of this year’s Pesta Ubin. More than 350 former islanders returned to celebrate Hari Raya over makan, games, and fellowship with each other.

It was very heartwarming and wonderful to see so many Ubin families of all races coming together, bringing their children and grandchildren along, reconnecting with their shared heritage on his island. 

The event was organised by Mr Syazwan Majid, who is a Friends of Ubin Network (FUN) member, and whose family members are also former Ubinites. Over the course of three months, Syazwan worked closely with NParks and FUN to organise this homecoming for the Ubin families. Volunteers from Kawan Ubin and other FUN groups helped to ensure the event ran smoothly. 

Meanwhile, we had a number of seniors with mobility difficulties, who would not have been able to return without the help of FUN group Accessible Ubin, led by Albert Liu and Colin Chew.

Albert and Colin worked with a variety of organisations to find a way for these former residents on wheelchairs to safely make their way to the island.

For example, they worked with the Outward Bound Singapore (OBS), which chartered their boats to ferry them; Social Service Agencies (SSAs) such as SPD and AWWA, which lent us extra roller ramps and wheelchairs; Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC), which kept their jetties open specially for the boats to set off and arrive; and many others in the FUN community, who pitched in to help pick up and send residents back to the mainland.

Indeed, an event like Pesta Raya@Ubin is a culmination of what makes The Ubin Project so special, with people rising to the occasion, coming together, putting on their thinking caps, bringing their passion to the fore and their talent to the table, to contribute to our common vision for a thriving Ubin.  

Highlights of Pesta Ubin 2019 
This energetic and collaborative spirit happens throughout the year, and especially during Pesta Ubin. Pesta Ubin continues to see strong support from our community and we are in our eighth year. 

I am happy to share that this year, we saw a total of 4500 people take part in 47 activities over the course of 6 weeks, including kayaking, nature walks, bird watching, cycling, crafts, and much more. 

All of this was made possible by 560 volunteers from 30 organising groups. A very big round of applause to all our organisers for making these six weeks a showcase of what Ubin and Singapore have to offer.

Many of you have been involved in Pesta Ubin since the beginning. But whether you are joining us for the first time or have been here since the start, I would like to thank you for your hard work, passion and dedication!  

I would also like to recognise Ria Tan and her team of tireless Pesta Ubin community coordinators, Sumita, Shan, Ethan, Francine, Yung Kang, Joyce, Syazwan, and Johari, without whom none of this would have been possible!

Before I declare Ubin Day “open”, I would like to take this opportunity to share four updates with you. These are issues close to your hearts and developments that would not have taken place without your strong support and some of you driving them.

Formation of NParks Community Liaison Team 
First, on better supporting Ubin’s community. Ubin is special not just because of its thriving biodiversity and rustic charm, but because it is home to a living community of people. 

Since NParks took over as Central Management Agency of the island, it has been taking steps to sensitively improve the living environment of all Ubinites. It has fixed the drainage and footpaths between houses and in public areas, and continues to work on improving safety and accessibility for both visitors and villagers alike. 

This is the ‘hardware’ – fixing things, solving problems, and making sure that in doing so, we do not overly urbanise the rustic charm of this land. But taking care of the community is also about the ‘heartware’ – about the people and the relationships. 

It is important to have a sustained conversation with villagers and those who’ve come to work on the island to better understand their needs, maintain cohesion amongst the community, and look out for their interests.

In our conversations in FUN with partners who care deeply about heritage and community, including with Dr Chua Ai Lin and her volunteers from the Singapore Heritage Society, we have therefore decided to form an NParks Community Liaison Team to do this important work.

This team will keep in close touch with the people on the island, gather residents’ feedback, address their concerns, and connect them to relevant services and assistance. Through them, they will enable the Friends of Ubin Network to support community culture and heritage on this island.

They will also engage other important stakeholders such as interest groups and businesses. Most of all, they will work to deepen the sense of community on the island. 

I hope that you will give them your full support as they ramp up their work in the coming months. 

Announcement of Accessibility Plan for Ubin 
Second, we are also working to make Pulau Ubin a more inclusive place for people of all abilities to visit. Over the years, we have celebrated Ubin Day and Pesta Raya, but a sensitive group of people in the Friends of Ubin Network has asked if we can make the island inclusive as well. This is especially as many former villagers would like to return to the island, but find that what we find are minor impediments cause them major difficulties in coming back. There are also Singaporeans young and old, who may have mobility difficulties and find it hard to enjoy the beauty and serenity of this green island.

This is why NParks, in partnership with Accessible Ubin, is embarking on an Accessibility Plan for the island.

While the community has been leaning in to bring those with mobility needs to Ubin for once-off events like Pesta Raya and Wheels@Ubin, the island is not yet fully accessible on a day-to-day basis. 

So, the Accessibility Plan will address things like improving transportation to, from and within Pulau Ubin, improving access points to be more wheelchair-friendly, and engaging potential users to better understand their needs and expectations. 

I am also happy to share that in collaboration with Accessible Ubin, a new accessible jetty will be constructed at Ubin Living Lab. You would have seen early designs of the jetty from Accessible Ubin. I am happy to share that the new jetty will allow safe and convenient access for wheelchair users, and will serve as an alternative entry point for those with mobility needs.

First Ubin Learning Symposium 
Third, we are merely stewards and custodians of Pulau Ubin for our children and our children’s children. We must therefore strive to pass on Ubin’s treasures to the next generation. Our FUN education workgroup – comprising teachers and educators such as Beng Chiak, June, Philemon, Jacob, Kah Mun and Kelly – has been hard at work with NParks to develop Ubin’s first ever learning symposium, which will be held later this year. 

The symposium will see senior teachers and school leaders enjoy an immersive day on Ubin, to get to know the island better as an experiential, multi-disciplinary classroom in the wild. Through our teachers, we hope that more and more students will be able to learn about Ubin’s – and Singapore’s – biodiversity, culture and history. Our FUN educators are also developing a teaching package for different disciplines, so that more teachers can conduct their own classes and learning journeys to the island. More details will be shared at a later date. 

Updates on Habitat Enhancement Efforts 
Lastly, our work continues to protect and enhance Ubin’s biodiversity. I have some exciting updates for you on our ongoing conservation and research efforts. Some of you may know that NParks has been piloting floating wetlands at Pekan Quarry since 2015.

Floating wetlands are small modules that are placed on the surface of the water to attract wildlife, and provide safe havens for biodiversity in the quarry. The initial pilots have been quite successful, so NParks will be introducing more floating wetlands soon. These additional wetlands will provide shelter, allow animals to forage and nest, especially for local wildlife near the quarry such as herons, crakes, rails and kingfishers. 

Meanwhile, I am also happy to share that we are looking to restore the mangroves at abandoned aquaculture ponds in the south-eastern part of Pulau Ubin. A feasibility study has already been completed.

NParks is partnering with the National University of Singapore (NUS) as part of Restore Ubin Mangroves (RUM) initiative to restore the mangroves using the Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR) method. The EMR focuses on providing the right natural conditions for mangrove species to be regenerated, so that mangroves have a better chance of self-sustaining over the long term. I look forward to seeing some fruitful results. 

Conclusion
Every year, Ubin Day is a chance for our community to showcase what this special island has to offer. It is also a chance to affirm and celebrate our ongoing partnerships and look forward to what more we can do together, as we continue to protect and enhance Pulau Ubin for many generations of Singaporeans.  

Finally, on behalf of FUN and our partners, I now declare Ubin Day “open”! Enjoy the island and its charm, and take nothing but photographs back and memories with you. Please spread the word that there is a way of life special to this island that once was and will continue to be.

Thank you all very much.