The following is a letter from one of our readers Suzanne Chung.


In a recording which was made by a Singapore Environment Council (SEC) insider during a meeting between the SEC chairman Isabella Loh, chairman of the advisory committee George Huang (who is also her husband), and representatives from Indonesian firm Asia Pulp and Paper, the SEC’s Mr Huang is heard yelling at the end of the clip saying that the Indonesian government was ‘corrupt’.

It is not clear when the meeting was held but it appears to be at the back of the haze episode of 2015, after the Singapore Environment Council suspended APP’s use of the Green Label.

In the recording, Mr Huang enters the meeting towards the end of the clip, and then says: “I have a lot of issues with this (document) and I am not intending to be here, because I don’t want to lose my temper.”

After refering to a particular clause in the document which was being discussed, Mr Huang then bursts out and says: “Everything, in particular 2.62 on page 3, everything must be subject to the approval by Indonesian government, which will take forever.”

“So you guys can go and talk all you like, we will be here for the next 50 years.” he added.

“I don’t understand why everything we do, subject, we are in Singapore. We should not be subject to the Indonesian government, which are corrupt,” he is heard ending with before leaving the room. The recording then ends, after Isabella Loh asks for a few people to leave the room.

Go to 5:10 for the explosive comments made to by George Huang, who was the chairman of the advisory committee of the Singapore Environment Council. He is also the husband of Isabella Loh, the chairman of the Singapore Environment Council.

https://soundcloud.com/suzanne-chung/singapore-environment-council-says-indonesian-government-is-corrupt

It will be interesting to know what is the Singapore government’s view of the position taken by the Singapore Environment Council, especially with the leaders of the two countries due to meet in a month’s time in Jakarta.

The Board and Board Observers of the Singapore Environment Council is made up of representatives from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, the National Environment Agency, PUB and NParks, among others.