Depleting Our Resources

As the taxi was ploughing through the light drizzle along Napier Road, I pointed out to my Indonesian clients, Mr. Komala and Mr. Budiman, that Marco Polo Hotel used to stand at the junction of Napier and Tanglin Road. Now in its place is a luxurious condomium. Mr. Komala jokingly mentioned that he then understood why he found it so difficult to book a room at the Fullerton Hotel during the December period. If I am not mistaken, I remember at that time, the economy was quite bad and the hotel business suffered. Hence, it was demolished and a condominium was rebuilt.

Parrot Restaurant at Marco Polo used to be my favourite haunt. They served quite an excellent buffet spread for high tea. A few of my friends and I would have our monthly high tea gathering there and we could eat and talk for hours.

It saddens me to think that buildings just come and go. It is understandable that due to shortage of land, all those old buildings with four storeys and less and over thirty years of age, would be enblocked and demolished, so that maximum use of the land could be utilised. However, I cannot understand why Marco Polo Hotel, which was still quite new, had to be taken down. Now we do not have enough hotel rooms to cater to the ever growing number of tourists and business people visiting our little country.

As an agent, I had witnessed how lovely apartments had been re-renovated, because the clients did not like the original layout and colour. It did not matter whether the condominium was still in a very good condition as the previous owner had just renovated about a year ago. People with money have no qualms about tearing and rebuilding, for after all, they can afford to feed their whims and fancy.

Hence, this is why I often tell my clients not to renovate their properties if they have the intention to hold them for a fairly short term. For the new buyer may not like what have been renovated, and may have to do up the whole apartment again!!

I only wish that every one would think about our world resources. The rubbish collector in my estate complained that ever so often he found large chunks of newspapers thrown into the rubbish chute. Can't these people just bring down the papers and leave them by the bins so that they can be recycled by the karang guni man (trash vendor)? Think of the poor trees that take so long to grow to provide papers for us. Think also of the unkind weather or natural phenomenom that sometimes have these trees burnt up in forest fires or destroyed by floods.

I was recently quite thrilled when I found out that at a 7-11 store which I patronised in Taipei, the staff would not give me a plastic bag for my goods. If I wanted one, I would have to pay NT10 for it. (About S0.20). It was interesting to note that customers brought their own bags so as to save the NT10. Perhaps in Singapore, we should start emulating the Taiwanese.

The above made me think about the time we had Scripture Studies in school. I was often fascinated with the miracle performed by Jesus. After feeding the crowd of about 5,000, Jesus asked His disciples to pick up the remnants of food which filled 12 baskets. I often wonder why there was this need to pick up the leftover broken pieces of food. Was Jesus teaching His disciples the importance of keeping the country clean. ? (Am sure our government would love Him for that - a role model in our cleanliness campaign.) Or was Jesus teaching His disciples the importance of conserving world resources and the need to be frugal? The remnants of food could be recycled and fed to the animals.? After all Jesus had already performed the miracle of feeding the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 fishes. He could perform any miracle He wanted - but why bother with painfully collecting the remnants of food till they filled 12 baskets?

For religious leaders who want to impress the world with their magnificent churches oozing with so much pomp and luxury, let us remember the simplicty of Jesus during his life on earth. He reminded us that while foxes and birds have their holes and nests, the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. I am sure Jesus would be more concerned with the spiritual welfare of the members than on what brands of glass and tiles have been used for the church buildings.

I am not a theologian, and I doubt Jesus would approve of unnecessary demonstration of luxury or wastage in this world. We can use stainless steel instead of platinum, we can use good, ordinary architects instead of those with renown, and of course, charge a bomb. Our clothes can be beautiful without being branded. Before we order our food, let us ensure that we order just enough, so that there is no left over on the table. If the weather is cool, switch off the airconditioning and make do with a fan instead. For every dollar saved, it could go a long way to feeding a starving child in Africa. For every dollar saved, there would be more bricks and sand for our future generation.

Gan Chau