The Sunday Times: Trouble in Paradise

SINGAPORE (Feb 24, 2019): Since he was a teenager, Mr Mohamad Farhan Ahmad has made weekly trips to Pilau Ubin to fish and camp.

But after his last trip in March last year, the 47-year-old assistant engineer has not returned there. "In the past, my friends and I could pitch our tents anywhere, set up a campfire and cook, as though we were living in a kampung. We would all go home with a bucket full of fish," said Mr Farhan.

"It was an adventure."

"Now we can't do as we like. There are designated spots for campfires. We also can't fish in the quarries now," added Mr Farhan who now goes to Indonesia to fish.

Long a sanctuary for those seeking out a pot of unmanicured Singapore, Pulau Ubin, off the north-eastern corner of the mainland, attracts a mix of outdoor lovers, heritage fans and those harkening back to a slower pace of life. It is also home to Singapore's last remaining offshore community.

But Pulau Ubin villagers and visitors are chafing at "stricter rules" - from how they should deal with monkeys that enter their homes, to restrictions on where hammocks should be tied - since National Parks (NParks) took over as the island's central managing agent in June 2016.

Many of the rules, NParks says, have been around long before 2016, and they are there to protect wildlife and the safety of visitors and residents. What has changed is more effective enforcement.

The islanders - many of whom run businesses on the island - say this has resulted in a drop in visitors in recent years.

More no-fishing signs have also been erected around the island. Bike kiosk owners say NParks is very strict on making sure that they display their bikes within certain boundaries.

"Foreign visitors like to tie hammocks to the trees and have an afternoon nap. Now, they are told they can't do that as it would harm the trees," said a bicycle owner who wants to be known as only Mr Lim.

Interviews with 20 Pulau Ubin villagers and visitors throw up the same grouses. They include five boatmen who said their business has dropped by over half in the last two years.

Boatman Kit Kau Chye, 71, the chairman of Changi Point Ferry Association who ha sbeen operating his boat business for over 50 years, said the drop in visitorship came after management of Pulau Ubin was completely handed over to NParks.

He used to take seven to eight groups of anglers, each numbering five to eight people, to Pulau Ubin each weekend. Now, he only gets two groups.

Mr Billy Tan (above, left) on a fishing trip to Pulau Ubin with his friends. The fishing enthusiast who has been visiting Pulau Ubin once a week in the past four years said he was put off by new fences put up around the island, which once had "many good fishing spots". Photo courtesy of Mr Billy Tan, Sunday Times

Fishing enthusiast Billy Tan, 44, who has been visiting Pulau Ubin once a week in the past four years, said he was put off by new fences put up around the island which once had "many good fishing spots".

"And due to security reasons cited by the authorities, we now can't even go near the island to fish."

Mr Lee Ah Yong, 59, who helps to run Chew Teck Seng Provision Shop, said: "It's obvious visitorship has dropped. During my first Christmas working on Ubin in 2016, business was good. We had a turnover of $1,500 just from selling drinks. In 2017, it dropped to $500. Last year saw a record low of $200 to $300."

But the authorities dispute the fall in visits to the island.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, NParks' director of Pulau Ubin Robert Teo said the number of visitors had stabilised at 300,000 a year for several years. In 2010, the agency stopped tracking the numbers and NParks has "not observed any discernible drop in visitorship since". It is not clear how NParks arrived at this conclusion.

Mr Teo, 54, who has been working on Pulau Ubin since 1997, said that together with Friends of Ubin Network (FUN), a group of nature and heritage groups, academics and villagers, NParks had introduced programmes such as cycling and farm activities to court more visitors. With the help of volunteers, it organised over 350 educational and outreach events last year.

He said many of the rules that the islanders are complaining of were already in place before 2016.

For example, due to safety concerns, fishing at the quarries and open fires in public spaces have not been permitted since the 1990s.

But now, there is stricter enforcement since NParks took charge, overseeing functions ranging from nature conservation to the maintenance of infrastructure, he said.

Prior to 2016, the island was managed by a hodgepodge of agencies such as Singapore Land Authority and National Environment Agency.

Said Mr Teo: "Under our Parks and Trees Regulations, there are regulations for use of parks for visitors. This is like everywhere else in Singapore. We have rules and regulations."

On the villagers' complaints, he said: "That's their feelings. But there are laws governing the land."

The conflict underscores the tightrope officials walk in overseeing the island, given sometimes competing concerns like the islanders' livelihoods, what visitors want and protection of biodiversity.

Mr Albert Liu, 35, a civil servant who joined FUN as a volunteer in 2015, felt "it's perfectly sensible" for NParks to enforce its rules to protect the island.

"There's so much work that goes on behind the scenes to protect it. We can't allow anglers to fish anywhere they want. And I don't think the fences are put up to prevent anglers from fishing, but to protect people from falling into the quarries. It's for safety," he said.

"People who come to Ubin must share Ubin's values. You cannot bring your mentality of 'I can do what I want because bo zhen hu (no government)'. There are designated spots for camping and campfire."

Today, there are about 70 households or 100 people still living on Pulau Ubin, which once had 3,000 residents.

Bicycle shop owner Sit Chin Chwee, 66, said: "The authority needs to understand the meaning of kampung. Kampung should not have many rules. We were doing so well in the past. Why set so many rules now?"

Mr Sit added that monkeys are now "king" on the island as they are protected by NParks even when they break into homes to steal food.

"In the past, we can chase away the monkeys. We hit them so they don't dare to come near our homes. Now we are told we cannot hit the monkeys, so we make police reports about the monkeys," said Mr Sit.

"But the problem persists because the police cannot arrest the monkeys and put them in jail."

On this, Mr Teo said NParks officers have visited islanders' homes and identified "solutions like proper storage of food, securing the entry points and pruning of branches to discourage access by monkeys".

"This is similar to how we advise residents on the mainland on monkey issues," he said.

Mr Liu felt things on Pulau Ubin have changed for the better since 2015, when he did a study for the island while pursuing a masters degree in biodiversity, conservation and management at the University of Oxford.

His research then found that there was a lack of initiatives to revitalise the island's community.

Today, there are activities planned such as a Chinese New Year reunion of present and former islanders. Some of the kampung houses are also being restored by NParks, said Mr Liu.

"I love the island but I go once a month and only on weekends. When I am there on weekends, it's bustling with life," said Mr Liu, who was surprised when told that islanders said visitorship has dropped.

- Joyce Lim, Senior Correspondent