Rustic islanders off glitzy Singapore face uncertain future

26/11/2024 14:43

        People in wealthy Singapore have taken for granted comforts such as electricity and air-conditioning for decades, but a dwindling band of residents on a tiny island to its east saw the arrival of a solar grid 11 years ago as a miracle they still talk about.
        
        The outlying island of Pulau Ubin, a rare rural spot amid the futuristic architecture of the southeast Asian financial hub, is a treasure trove of biodiversity and home to wetlands once under threat of reclamation until the plans were postponed.
        
        Though electricity was expensive, said Chu Yok Choon, one of 30 people living on the island that spans just 10 sq km (4 sq miles), he loved the fact that the solar grid let him hit a button by the village well to pump water to his home.