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.

Samantha Boh is a journalist and an author who covers the environment and science. She has written extensively on scientific breakthroughs in biomedical science, robotics, water resources, recycling, and food wastage over 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.

What Samantha Talked About

1. 02:59 – About Lee Ek Tieng
2. 07:16 – Lee Ek Tieng’s key achievements.
3. 12:31 – His personality and leadership style
4. 19:07 – Conflict with Economic Development Board during industrial pollution control and backing from Lee Kuan Yew
5. 24:01 – Building water self‑sufficiency
6. 29:20 – How NEWater got its name
7. 31:16 – What colleagues said about him
8. 35:31 – His hobbies and DIY spirit
9. 38:03 – Books by Nutgraf

Transcript and Resources

1. Read the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/podcast/civil-servant-in-charge-of-clean-and-green-singapore-lee-ek-tieng-samantha-boh/transcript/

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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.

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