The authorities are pushing ahead with the redevelopment of the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery, Singapore’s only active burial ground.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has called on firms to offer consultancy services for the cemetery’s third five-year redevelopment project.

This involves installing about 40,000 concrete crypts to bury the recently deceased. These concrete burial plots do not have a base, and came into use in 2007, replacing traditional earth plots. They allow bodies to be interred in a more compact way, saving space.

The project also involves installing about 5,000 crypts to bury exhumed remains, and redevelopment work relating to roads, drainage and amenities, according to the tender called by NEA in April. Consultants will also be asked to review the cemetery redevelopment masterplan.

The concrete crypts complement a burial policy introduced in 1998, which limits the burial period to 15 years. After this period, graves will be exhumed and the remains cremated or re-interred, according to religious requirements.

These measures have lengthened the life of the cemetery, which is expected to be kept open till 2130.

Under the new project, 33,684 crypts for Muslim fresh burials and 4,700 for Muslim re-interment will be built. For Chinese fresh burials, 2,847 crypts will be built. For Christian or lawn fresh burials, 1,451 will be built.

Religions such as Islam require their dead to be buried.

When The Straits Times visited the Muslim cemetery at Choa Chu Kang Cemetery in May, it found that more new crypts could be put into a given area than the older ones. Newer plots were also neater.

A 60-year-old retiree visiting the Muslim cemetery said the body of his son is buried in a concrete crypt and there are no religious issues with the crypts. Exhumation would be easier with these, too, added the man, who declined to give his name.

Madam Mastura Ahmad, 45, a cleaner, said she had no issue with the concrete crypts either. “It is okay, the block (of burial plots) is also easy to find,” she said.

She and her family were visiting her father’s grave on his first death anniversary. He was buried in a new crypt.

Feedback on the concrete crypts has been good, said Mr Sa’at Ahmad, manager at Muslim funeral service provider Setia Bakti, adding that these made burial easier in the rain.

“When we bring the body here after heavy rain, if there is some water, they do some adjustments and the water will drain out. This is not like in the past where the water would stay inside and the soil would be mushy.”

He added: “When most of my customers’ relatives from other countries come here to pay their last respects, they are impressed with our way of burying the body. It is convenient, very neat and not messy.”

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said the Muslim Singaporean community “appreciated the necessity” of the new crypt system and the burial policy.

“There has been no negative feedback at all since the implementation of the (crypt) system in 2007,” it said.

In cases where burial is not compulsory, cremation has become more popular here over the years, noted an NEA spokesman.

“Where burial is non-compulsory, a combination of policy, pricing mechanism and provision of adequate infrastructure has helped shift preference towards cremation (97 per cent) over burial (3 per cent),” the spokesman said.

About seven in 10 Chinese are cremated, estimates Venerable Seck Kwang Phing, president of the Singapore Buddhist Federation, adding this was a significant increase from 2010.

About 3,700 bodies were buried in Choa Chu Kang cemetery last year, of which 87 per cent were from religious groups where burial is compulsory, said NEA.

There were 19,862 deaths in Singapore last year.

NEA did not answer queries on what percentage of Choa Chu Kang Cemetery was used for burials or reinterred remains. In 2011, The Straits Times reported that about 280ha out of 318ha of the cemetery were then used for new burials or reinterred remains.

Experts suggested ways to address burial space issues should they arise.

Singapore can turn to multi-tier burial crypts, said Mr William Lau, immediate past president, Singapore Institute of Planners. He added he was confident the NEA had correctly projected there would be sufficient burial space in the Choa Chu Kang cemetery till 2130.

To address space issues, tree burials, which require less space, can also be encouraged, said Professor Lily Kong, provost and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University. With tree burials, cremated remains of the deceased are put in containers and buried around trees in a cemetery park .

This article was first published on Jun 22, 2016.
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A new car ride-sharing service offering trips between Singapore and Johor Baru will now be operated as a three-week “trial” without any money changing hands.

Drivers taking part in Grab’s GrabHitch Inter-Country Service, which was launched on Monday, were to receive an average of $12 from passengers towards fuel costs.

However, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has said a paid service would violate regulations in both Singapore and Malaysia.

“Malaysian-registered cars are not allowed to provide hire and reward services in Singapore without a public service vehicle licence,” the LTA said, adding that Singapore-registered vehicles would also need to be licensed to offer such services in Malaysia.

“Grab should ensure that any cross-border carpool service does not contravene Singaporean or Malaysian regulations,” it added.

A Grab spokesman said it is now running GrabHitch JB-SG as a “fare-free pilot programme” to test its feasibility. She said: “During this three-week fare-free pilot, we will test out the model and engage with the LTA in Singapore and regulatory authorities in Malaysia on the use of carpooling solutions to improve connectivity between Singapore and Johor Baru.”

Grab declined to comment on its plans after the three-week trial, which ends on July 8.

Desktop systems specialist Azmi Maniku will consider using the service to travel to Johor but believes the regulations are not foolproof. “Even if the service is free, drivers and riders themselves could negotiate a small token for fuel,” said the 33-year-old.

Carpooling regulations brought in last year allow drivers to be paid for offering rides within Singapore, though payment should not exceed expenses incurred.

GrabHitch, introduced last November, is a ride-sharing service allowing passengers to pay drivers based on pick-up and drop-off locations, with a trip from Jurong East to Tanjong Pagar costing $8.20, almost half the price of an equivalent taxi journey.

This article was first published on Jun 22, 2016.
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