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
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
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 Podcast 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
The BiblioAsia Podcast by the National Library Singapore tells stories about Singapore history.