The Civil Servant in Charge of Clean and Green Singapore, Lee Ek Tieng

About this episode

This episode discusses the contributions of Lee Ek Tieng to Singapore's environmental and sanitation efforts, as recounted by journalist Samantha Boh.

Lee Ek Tieng (1933–2025) was the civil servant who headed the clean-up of the Singapore River, had the foresight to modernise the sanitation system, and ensured water self-sufficiency for Singapore. Writer Samantha Boh tells us how he did it with his colleagues and earned their respect. Samantha Boh is a journalist and an author who covers the environment and science. She has written extensively on scientific breakthroughs in biomedical science, robotics, water resources, recycling, and food wastage over more than a decade. She is a co-author of The Last Fools , The Price of Being Fair and Lee Ek Tieng: The Green General of Lee Kuan Yew . What Samantha Talked About 02:59 – About Lee Ek Tieng 07:16 – Lee Ek Tieng’s key achievements 12:31 – His personality and leadership style 19:07 – Conflict with Economic Development Board during industrial pollution control and backing from Lee Kuan Yew 24:01 – Building water self‑sufficiency 29:20 – How NEWater got its name 31:16 – What colleagues said about him 35:31 – His hobbies and DIY spirit 38:03 – Books by Nutgraf Transcript and Resources Read the transcript…

People in this episode

Host: Jimmy Yap

Guest: Samantha Boh

Topics covered

• environment
• sanitation
• water self-sufficiency
• leadership
• Singapore history

Keywords

• Lee Ek Tieng
• Singapore River
• sanitation system
• water resources
• NEWater

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Economic Development Board, Nookcha Films

Books & works: The Last Fools, The Price of Being Fair, Lee Ek Tieng: The Green General of Lee Kuan Yew

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