8 November 2001

SPEECH BY MR MOHAMAD MAIDIN BIN PACKER MOHD, SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AT THE LAUNCH OF CAPTAIN GREEN BOOK SERIES AND SONGS ON THURSDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2001 AT 3.00 PM AT THE ATRIUM OF PLAZA SINGAPURA

Good afternoon distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, teachers, boys and girls.

I am honoured to be here today to launch the Captain Green Book Series and Songs. Captain Green is not new to Singaporeans familiar with the Clean and Green Campaign. He is the mascot for the campaign and has appeared on all the campaign publicity materials. The new book series and CD of songs are aimed at pre-schoolers. I am told that these books and songs are 100% "Made in Singapore". All stories and songs are Singapore originals. The flora and fauna featured in the books, like the Plantain Squirrel and the Macaranga plant, are also 100% local.

2 Having reached out to the older school-going children, it is opportune for Captain Green to reach out to the younger children in kindergartens and pre-school centres. Though younger, they, too, can play a role in the conservation of the environment.

3 In their interactions with adults, such as their parents, grandparents and other family members, these young children can become ambassadors of the conservation movement. The environmental promotion message can be disseminated to the adult population in a less intrusive manner through our young charges.

4 Teachers, you have a crucial role to play in promoting greater awareness of the conservation of the environment. These books and CDs are useful resource materials to use in developing an environmentally conscious and responsible mind-set in our young children and educating them on their role in the future development of Singapore.

5 In a resource-scarce Singapore where we don't have the dramatic inspiration of our own running rivers, snowy mountains, extensive plains and vast forests, it is a challenging task that you must undertake to help our children and people understand how fragile and valuable the physical environment is to our livelihood.

6 Think about this: Singapore's population density is 4,477 people per square kilometre. By contrast, New Zealand, which has about the same total population as Singapore and prides itself as being clean and green, has only 13 people per square kilometre. I raise this comparison because it shows that we have to be so much more careful with our environment. It would be so easy to crush the elements of our environment under the sheer weight of our numbers - if we are not careful.

7 That's why environmental education resource materials such as the Captain Green book series and songs come in handy. They can help inculcate clean and green attitudes in the next generation so that as our population grows, our people will have learnt to tread lightly through our limited ecosystems, and to use our natural resources wisely.

8 I mentioned earlier that our young children are ambassadors of the conservation message. You can use your influence to encourage them to go home and tell their parents about the wonderful things they have learnt about the environment. You will agree with me - our children's infectious enthusiasm and spontaneity will win the day.

9 I would like to commend the Ministry of the Environment, Ms Grace Leng, the author of the books and Ms Julie Sim, Mr Kenneth Ngo and Mr Trevor Nerva, the composers of the songs, for the effort and time they have put into making this book series and songs possible.

10 Last but not least, I hope that the book series and songs will inspire children and families to look at their surroundings with new eyes, to appreciate our environment for the lifestyle it provides us and to look after it better.

11 I look forward to reading these books and singing the songs together with my children and I hope that you would do so, too, with your own children.