The Civil Servant in Charge of Clean and Green Singapore, Lee Ek Tieng
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.
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What Samantha Talked About
About the Guest
Samantha Boh is a journalist and an author who covers the environment and science. She has written extensively on breakthroughs in biomedical science, robotics, water resources, recycling and food wastage for 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.
Resources
Samantha Boh, Pearl Lee and Matthew Gan, Lee Ek Tieng: The Green General of Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore: The Nutgraf Books, 2025).
Chia Sue-Ann and Peh Shing Huei, eds., The Price of Being Fair: The FairPrice Group Story (Singapore: The Nutgraf Books, 2023).
Peh Shing Huei, ed., The Last Fools: The Eight Immortals of Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore: The Nutgraf Books, 2022).
Jan Beránek, “In Search of Silvestr,” BiblioAsia (April 2025).
Credits
This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Nookcha Films. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Samantha for coming on the show.
About the Podcast
BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library Singapore.