S’pore likely to become garbage city without foreign workers: ESM Goh

SINGAPORE  —  The Republic may end up as a “garbage city”, said Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong today (Jan 29) following reports of how a part of the Gardens by the Bay was covered with rubbish following a music festival.

His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted on his Facebook page a picture that showed rubbish strewn on the ground following the 2015 Laneway Festival at The Meadow at Gardens by the Bay. About 13,000 people attended the event last Saturday.

Mr Lee contrasted the situation with the actions of Myanmar sports fans, who were seen picking up litter at the National Stadium after their football team played the Lions last November.

In a Facebook post, Mr Goh wrote: “Our reputation as one of the world’s cleanest cities is going down the rubbish chute. It looks like a case of  ‘monkeys see, monkeys do’.”

He noted that Tokyo has no rubbish even though the Japanese capital has no garbage bins in public places.

“The Japanese take their snack wrappers, empty bottles and ponchos home to dispose. That is why Tokyo is a fine city without ‘fine’ signs. That is why it is a clean city with no foreign workers.”

Mr Goh added: “Without foreign workers, Singapore is likely to become a  ‘garbage city’. Cleanliness is a character thing. It shows who you really are.”

In his Facebook post on Wednesday, Mr Lee said: “It takes continuous effort to keep Singapore clean. We need to progress from being a cleaned city to a truly clean city.”