I lived in Singapore from 2011 to 2017. I have travelled to 56 countries; Singapore is my favourite country, and its citizens are lucky to be living there. 

I visited Singapore for a week recently. What I noticed has changed the most is the amount of litter in public spaces.

I saw cigarette butts outside Raffles Place MRT station and along pavements, and plastic cups and bags on the pathways near eateries.

Several drainage canals were full of debris, with plastic bottles and paper cups floating on the water.

I saw a tourist toss a lit cigarette near a hotel, but I did not dare scold him for fear of retaliation. 

When I lived in Singapore, I used an app to report cases of clogged drains and littering, but I did not have the app installed during this visit. 

I have bragged to all my friends about how immaculate Singapore is. While it is probably still the cleanest country in the world, why is it allowing this littering?

Where are the litter patrols? When I first moved to Singapore, I saw officers speaking to tourists and local teenagers who had littered. During this visit, I did not see anyone cleaning community places under a Corrective Work Order.

Please do not let litter scar this beautiful country. Catch and penalise offenders. Make sure the canals are clean. Encourage citizens to maintain cleanliness. Singapore is a “City in a Garden”, and it must keep itself immaculate to maintain this image.   

Marie Antoinette McBride