r/singapore • u/ZeaSG • 13h ago
News Singapore keeping options open on haze prosecution against companies as it collects, reviews data: Grace Fu
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/options-open-haze-prosecution-collects-reviews-data-grace-fu-6458601?cid=FBcna&fbclid=IwZnRzaAU8ePBleHRuA2FlbQExAHBkb2YFZmRpZBZRBBRfDgR7RDwE-Ju0DHJWqP75nMBTc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQKNjYyODU2ODM3OQABHghcSq-bn1ISfO6P6TywggjTglExaJ03zjNkP1bUr25ucX2wPsx6l80abaNI_aem_fD8XjNorr-kE8-T5ksIOpw215
u/Imaginary-Duck7848 12h ago edited 12h ago
Can we ask ourselves how Grace Fu even became Minister of Environment in the first place? She was an accountant in her private career for god's sake.
For things which should require decades of knowledge and actual specialists helming it such as THE ENVIRONMENT, why on earth did SHE become the Minister? I doubt she can explain to anyone about basic environmental concept like soil erosion and why it happens, let alone climatic phenomena such as El Nino.
It's the equivalent of having your average auntie drive an F1 car
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u/anticapitalist69 12h ago
The TLDR is that we have a government that is economics-centric. This essentially means that expertise doesn’t matter, because experts can be engaged. However, economists study the economic viability, which optimises GDP above all else.
It’s an unsustainable system of governance.
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u/KeythKatz East side best side 11h ago
Real answer? MSE, like MDDI, MSD and MCCI, aren't real ministries, at least one where the minister in charge has any say or impact at all. They're not related to the economy and there's a trend of recent ministers being mostly minority or women. They never say anything of note or make any commitments because they literally can't do anything. It's primarily a PR role.
It's harsh but they're ministries to throw people into for diversity purposes or because they're too senior to demote. The same faces get cycled through these ministries because they can't be trusted with an important one. There's a lot of title inflation in the cabinet used to reward long service as an MP.
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u/schweddyballsac 11h ago
There’s probably some truth in this because i can’t even name one of those ministries from those abbreviations without more thought and guesswork.
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u/KeythKatz East side best side 10h ago
I first noticed it with MDDI, formerly MCI and MICA. 2 ministers ago was Yaacob Ibrahim. It's generally agreed that he's a useless minister and literally cycled through 3 of the 4 ministries I mentioned along with taking Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs which is the most PR role of all of them. I met him almost 15 years ago and couldn't shake the sense that he was just a token figurehead.
The previous minister was Israwan. I don't think there's a need to explain more.
The current minister is Josephine Teo. She was thrown into this ministry from MOM after she made herself untenable as an anchor minister and that's the biggest evidence for my theory about these ministries.
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u/BadFinanceadvisor 5h ago
The only ministers with the relevant experience leading their respective portfolio, is Shan and CCS. The rest of the cabinet are from utterly different industries that has little commonality with their current portfolio. Very jarring and janky system.
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u/griffoberwald69 5h ago
Weetminster Parliamentary system: the civil servants are the experts. The politicians of the government are appointed ministers to oversee the work of the various ministries and ensure that they are delivering according to the mandate on which they campaigned for election.
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u/butbeautiful_ 8h ago
that’s why bcrs, maju gillman forest, haze is like nothing to sustainability or environment.
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u/fawe9374 2h ago
Largely the ministries is run by Perm Secs, the Ministers are there for legislation, the Government likes to sell the idea that Ministers are doing all the work so you feel dependent on them.
Reality is that the ministries will survive very long without Ministers, just that no new policies or legislations will be made.
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u/Anorakky 27m ago
This is what you get in a scholar-run elitist system. Everyone in there underestimates what needs to be done but has inflated egos to admit they don’t.
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u/minisoo 9h ago
Well we have ng eng hen who was a surgical oncologist becoming our minister for defence. Tell me how a doctor can grasp the deep technicality of defence?
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u/fawe9374 2h ago edited 2h ago
Ng Eng Hen: I can plan military strategies with surgical precision. Each part of the military is like an organ, they work together in harmony.
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5h ago
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u/FlipFlopForALiving East side best side 4h ago
Do NS already can become Min of Def, isn’t that also equivalent of average uncle drive F1 car? Lol
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u/HidingCat President of the Old Peoples Club 1h ago
I don't agree that needs to be the case, just need people who are competent. See Ng Eng Han, who is after all, a doctor. I'd say he was an exceptional defence minister.
Now, competency on the other hand...
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u/bloomingfarts Non-constituency 4h ago
Makes ppl also question about the kind of calibre like TSL and Jo Teo doing what they are doing now.
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u/sdarkpaladin Job: Security guard for my house 4h ago
That's the whole government in general, no?
Most of the time, you have people without knowledge on a subject leading the statboard or ministry.
Whether they can actually do the job is really a toss up.
But the feeling is that, most of them just focus more on optics, buzzwords, new hotness, over actually understanding what they're leading.
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u/lawlianne Flat is Justice. 3h ago
Maybe it's a saigang designation and they just throw their most disposable players out to fill the gap. Bo bian. Does it look like she wants to do it also lol.
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u/worldcitizensg 3h ago
If we look in to CEO of major Singaporean companies. Either Accountants or Lawyers. No specific domain knowledge or skills. Because all it matters is "numbers" or "talk through it or make sure someone else is causing the problem"
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u/SnooEpiphanies7144 1h ago
She is a Forbes and Times climate/Sustainability leader 🤔🤔🤔🤔
source:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/grace-fu-named-among-times-100-most-influential-climate-leaders-of-2025
https://www.forbes.com/sites/elisabethbrier/2025/09/18/forbes-sustainability-leaders-2025/-9
u/Accurate-Algae-2557 11h ago
Armchair thoughts..
Maybe there really isn’t much suitable candidate for ministerial position. No one wants the publicity, everyone is happy as perm sec, etc. in any case, minister command and steer the ministry with context to other governmental issue and cabinet issue, on top of political party issue. So all she has to do is to wield her experts and advisors below.
So it just happens she is the best person for that portfolio. Does she need to know everything in environ? Maybe not. Is she steering and taking action efficiently and effectively? Not so sure. Probably not, because as others have pointed out there are many things we can do to alleviate. What happened to all the covid era learnings right?
Partly i think her hands are tied with making big statements and taking big actions. Because waiting for other hot topic issues to run down the pipeline…say maybe waiting for MFA to sort things out politically?
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u/priore8 12h ago
When it comes to preserving forests, she gives in.
When it comes to plastic bag charges, she reverses what Amy Khor said in 2018 about how imposing a fee is not meaningful.
When it comes to BCRS being a zero-sum game of "portraying green efforts" yet using electricity to power the very same machines island wide 24/7 and having suppliers print more labels and incur unnecessary costs, she's all in.
And here you are expecting her to take swift and decisive action against these companies?
Come on.
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u/ZeaSG 13h ago
“Singapore hopes Indonesia succeeds in extinguishing the fires within a month, says Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.”
Why is she reinforcing the obvious convenient statement from Indonesia? The region is entering intermonsoon and the rain will reach the fire areas soon.
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u/peterthewiserock 13h ago
Government should just revoke all of their 50% tax rebates they are giving every company this year.
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u/risingsuncoc Senior Citizen 12h ago
The 50% rebate capped at $40k, to the large companies it’s insignificant to them
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u/PitifulFill7304 7h ago
Haze should be her KPI and she should not get her full salary. No other way if they insist on such high salaries. Take accountability; bear the consequences, get replaced in the next cycle.
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u/frozen1ced Own self check own self ✅ 11h ago
Singapore is “keeping its options open” on whether it will take action against errant companies under its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on Oct 14.
Ok some interesting background for those interested about this Act:
Since the Act was enacted, no one has been fined or sued.
Singapore previously invoked the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act following the severe haze episode in 2015.
NEA identified fires on concession lands associated with six Indonesian companies and issued legal notices to them under the Act.
Investigations into two of the companies were subsequently closed after NEA accepted their explanations that they were no longer associated with the affected land when the fires occurred.
Investigations into the remaining four companies are still ongoing, more than a decade after the 2015 haze episode.
Now go figure.
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u/No_LifeSinkie 12h ago
We have a bunch of spineless overpaid ministers in charge who have no clue how to stand up for our rights
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u/six3oo 4h ago
LOL. Indonesia needs to send us domestic workers as much as we need them. Otherwise they will lose a key source of foreign remittance and all those college grads will remain unemployed and start joining the widespread protests.
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u/Standard-Fan8205 4h ago
Then let them? Why are we acting like we need their business more than we value our citizens health
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u/ChottoTheFuck 4h ago
I would argue public health takes priority over material profits. Action speak louder than words, they obviously think otherwise
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u/kopisiutaidaily 13h ago edited 13h ago
What options is she talking about? Option to let them go with a small slap on the wrist like they did the last time?
Again with her pointless PR replies that has no meaning whatsoever… there’s literally nothing. Seems like the approach this govt is taking. Monitoring 2.0?
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u/PitcherTrap West Coast 13h ago
Strongly worded "Oi!" during ASEAN meeting
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u/ZeaSG 11h ago
Somehow I agree with Calvin that Malaysia seems to be handling the diplomacy with Indonesia better.
What I’m curious about is why Malaysia is already talking task force / operational cooperation with Indonesia, while Singapore mostly says we “stand ready to assist”.
Also wonder if having a Malay-speaking minister involved would help a bit with rapport and negotiation. Not saying language solves everything lah, but for neighbour-to-neighbour diplomacy, nuance matters.
Of course Indonesia still has to accept the help first.
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u/SoupOpening917 7h ago
That Vivian foreign minister can speak Malay mah. Grace can call Vivian for a favour and have some girl talk.
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u/thehohungyi 13h ago
I’d have more respect for them if they followed that with a finger pointing then: “You don’t chee bye.”
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u/SugisakiKen627 13h ago
what do you expect her to do or even try, if she will just get voted in. SG is getting the government it deserved, the wayang govt
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u/PitcherTrap West Coast 13h ago
K, I will die from lung cancer before anybody gets charged under this act.
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u/wahchicken 5h ago
My view is that willingness to help and permission to intervene are two different things. Singapore and Malaysia can offer firefighting assistance, but they cannot simply send teams or aircraft into Indonesia without its consent. If that consent is withheld, there are limits to what neighbours can do, however justified the frustration.
Corporate accountability is a separate issue. Singapore already has the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, including provisions covering conduct overseas. The difficulty is establishing legal responsibility and obtaining the evidence needed to enforce it across borders. A company being linked to a supplier or plantation is not, by itself, proof of liability.
That does not mean companies should get a free pass. It means the pressure should be on transparency, evidence-sharing and enforcement
—not the assumption that Singapore can simply enter another country or prosecute companies based on association alone.
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u/chiawy 11h ago
Sumatra, Kalimantan, toxic haze, Sarawak, Sabah, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Philippines, Papua New Guinea
PT Damai Agro Sejahtera, Bumitama Agri, PT Kayung Agro Lestari, First Resources, ANJ, Fangiono, PT Mitra, PT Arjuna Utama Sawit, First Borneo Plantations, Prabowo, Syahganda Nainggolan
We didn't start the fire It was always burning since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
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u/Anxious-Opposite-590 13h ago
"keep options open" "due consideration" "monitoring"
You couldn't sound more pathetic and useless if you tried
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u/4JiaoHao2JiaoGengHao 13h ago
Translation: we are not going to be as decisive as when using POFMA because these Indon companies have their corporate offices here and going hard on them means they will just pack up and leave… to KL or some other cheaper city.
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u/boredomez リア充爆発しろ! 12h ago
No one learned anything new, and absolutely nothing changed after this disgracefu speech. Wasting everybody, even all the reporter's time. Just keep quiet, take your undeserved increment, and shake leg quietly la.
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u/SoggyPresentation285 13h ago
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the country is "keeping our options open" under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. When asked about possible prosecution against firms, Ms Fu said Singapore is collecting the data now and would review it carefully.
Given the inordinate number of people working under her ministry and the inordinate number of scenario planning they would have been expected to generate, to do what when what happens, it’s frightening that at PSI levels not seen since 2015, we are still giving out these sound bites.
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u/Frosty-Tough6067 3h ago
Statement like this is simply reactive adopting a wait and see... The situation is now very serious and we need our minister to do more since they are the talents and demanded millions.
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u/arcturuz78 2h ago
wait until the haze is over, take zero action, then rinse and repeat for the next 10 yrs
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u/smilelikeachow 52m ago
But hey, at least they managed to find different words to use like "collect, review data" instead of "monitoring"! That one also considered doing more hor. /s 🙃🤡
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u/Fair-Second-642 12h ago
Fucking hell still keep options open. Why not jusy prosecute them directly already. What's the point of "keeping options open" when the damage is already so obvious? Seriously this Grace Fu is FUcking useless
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u/OldieRascal 12h ago
Options? At this juncture? Still don't know what to do? Or what you want to do? Haze happened yesterday?
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u/executeorder69 East Coast 13h ago
Review, monitor, investigate. Where is the gov that had the iron in them /s
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u/NoRegretsFxxkIT 4h ago
collect and review data? I cancelled my trip back to Singapore due to the haze.
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u/idontgiveaflyingf Free rider 3h ago
At this point, im wondering if we even need a Minister for Sustainability and the Environment.
If we remove her and her ministry, there is no difference. Actually, wait, there is a difference. Our populace wouldnt be the karang guni men/women/children.
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u/Hunkfish 2h ago
The only thing I know that she has sustain successfully is her salary increament LMAO
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u/joyyzybp 4h ago
So as usual
- keep monitoring
- wag finger
- say Singapore 無代志好做 (bô tāi-tsì hó tsò)
when problems from our bigger neighbours spread to our shores. Business as usual, while they get millions in pay. Good job they have, I oso wan.
And apparently this ministry does not 'fight' against other ministries such as in cases when Maju forest is due to be cleared for housing? Yup, why even have this ministry at all, just like why we even need mayors when, supposedly, the grassroots head should be sufficient?
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u/lawlianne Flat is Justice. 12h ago
At some point PAP needs to know when to cut the useless clowns that are giving their party a bad rep.
They would stand to gain so much votes if they simply cut like their worst 5 ministers at GE.
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u/vistlip95 5h ago
Its well-known that bad individuals doesn't necessarily give the party a bad rep because people voted for the brand itself, and not individuals per se. This is why you see several clowns dare to join the Government, because the brand is hard carrying them.
It's like Nike. Some item quality have dropped, but hey, its still Nike and people are still going to buy it.
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u/AJ-Dybansta 2h ago
Haze fucking peoples health up, hospital systems went down, nurses and doctors and front line people get the brunt of the pressure, residents suffers but at least these gimps got their propsoed salary raises in a day.
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u/douboong 1h ago
Maybe can freeze their SG bank accounts while the courts slowly drag it out over many years.
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u/afraidofrs Own self check own self ✅ 1h ago
Options open
Take into consideration
Will continue to review
= delay tactics
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u/Odyssey481 43m ago
why keeping option open? You have the evidence you prosecute. Question is do you have the political will?
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u/Economy_Dimension997 7h ago
I think it is fustrating, not trying to defend her but I think this case is so serious that our Foreign Minister n PM needs to step in to put pressure on Indonesia.
I think even Malaysia also cannot do anything to Indonesia.
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u/TheBorkenOne 13h ago edited 13h ago
And then Indonesian government will make noise that we signalling Indonesian companies out, something something bad for relationships, bad neighbor.
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u/pudding567 13h ago
I feel it's unfair to blame her as the haze is not even from here.
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u/Azurebold Fucking Populist 12h ago
I think everyone is more appalled by the nothingburgers of statements that were put out. It’s fair for citizens to want something actionable to be put in place by the government to minimise the issue and mitigate the effects of it. Continuous monitoring and putting up measures is only useful in the short term. Long-term plans would focus more on overall haze reduction no? And that would come from addressing the issue at its root?
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u/pudding567 12h ago
Thank you. I personally hate the political insults that's why I pushed back. Yeah, strict European style supply chain transparency required before imports could be implemented for palm oil related products.
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u/Azurebold Fucking Populist 11h ago
Ah no worries - I hope I didn’t come off as aggressive, really not my intention! I just do seriously hope that something actionable (whilst still being sustainable and not disastrous for us) could be done soon. I don’t think I’m in a position to comment on what would be effective lmao.
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u/Hot-Pain503 13h ago
We wish them well is the most passive thing I've heard from the gov lol