SPH GEOG CHALLENGE Drama Script

A scene from GeoCourt

Characters:
Judge;
Prosecutor;
Defence Lawyer;
Witness/ Narrator/ Secretary.

Scene:
In a court room;
One high table (e.g. assembly speaking stand);

Chair for¡¡judge (in wig);
Paste poster on high table;
Two chairs with short tables for 2 lawyers (in black coats);
One standing microphone with table in front for witnesses.

Narrator: This is a scene from the GeoCourt. There are 2 parties
debating whether there is a need to preserve our central water catchment areas in
view of the land scarcity in Singapore.
Yaojing will be the judge for today, Tan Tongkai acts as the defence and Ko Tongkai as the prosecution. Judges, you will be the jury and you will have to raise the options card given at the end of session.

Secretary: Court rise!

(Everyone stands)

(Judge knocks hammer three times)
(Everybody sit down)

Secretary: (Nudging the judge) Your Honour, may I¡­

Judge: (Frowning, confused)

Secretary: (Softly) Nature, nature¡­

Judge: All right-- Prosecution, you may start your introduction on the GeoCase for
judging today.

Prosecution: Thank you, your honour. On behalf of his Highness the Lord of Catchment Areas (CA), I accuse the Regional Development Board (RDB), of infringement on personal rights. In the past one month, the defendant has repeatedly demanded the prosecutor to turn over his property under the slogan of further development of our country. In spite of our firm rejection to this unlawful request, however, ten days ago, on March 21^st, the Earth Day, without any kind of permission, the defendant forcibly occupied over 6% of the prosecutor�s realty by¡­

Defence: Objection! The defendant�s action was not illegal, simply because of the prosecutor�s passive reaction to our proposal that is conducive to the development of Singapore. His action does not fit in with the spirit of the government�s policy.

Prosecution: Yes, it does. CA has been dedicated his entire life to our nation�s sustainable development. His work has been highly commended by the whole community for the past thirty years. We must acknowledge his great effort in utilising our limited natural resources. Singapore is a small island in the sea, so that we have to rely on the neighbouring Malaysian State of Johore for a large proportion of water supply. If CA�s work were suspended, we would be totally dependent on foreign countries for our water. Whereas we should not take this for granted. Should the water contract not be renewed, we would be¡­ (Draws finger across throat)

Defence: Objection! Why can�t we get water supply from Indonesia?

Prosecution: At the worst no one else could be fully trusted in apart from ourselves. I want to remind you that without water, the country could be paralysed in no time. How might we put the precious lives of our four million prominent citizens in jeopardy?

Defence: However, if we do not confiscate the land currently occupied by CA, there would left more space available for the economic development of Singapore. With economic progress, the country could be richer, and thus be wealthy enough to carry out water desalination when the water supply from bordering countries is cut off.

Prosecution: (Getting agitated) What if the economic activities do not
turn out well? The country would be unable to make a profit, let
alone start building desalination plants. You are making baseless
assumptions.

Judge: (gavel knock) Prosecutor, please observe rules in the court.
Please do not allow your emotions to overwhelm you. You may continue
with your case.

Prosecution: Thank you, your Honour. Now I wish to present my witness, Prof. Qing Caodi, doctor for environmental studies, at University of Geoland.

Judge: Mr. Qing, before you testify in the court, please swear by the name of Atlas.

Mr. Green: (American Tone) I, Mr. Green, swear in the name of the¡­ Geoland that I will speak of nothing but the truth.

Prosecution: (Whisper to Mr. Green) It is Atlas.

Mr. Green: (Stuck) OK, at laaast. (Bewildered)

Prosecution: I have a simple question to ask of you. How important is the role of CA in terms of water supply?

Qing: It is very important indeed. He manages to provide 25% of the water supply of Singapore. Without his blood and sweat, we would be completely reliant on other nations.

Prosecution: That is a considerable share, isn�t it?

Qing: Absolutely. (Speak to himself) But I am not at all interested in stocks and shares anyway¡­ What a strange question!

Prosecutor: Thank you, Mr. Tan. That is all.

Judge: Defense, do you wish to cross-examine this witness?

Defence: No, you Honour. However, I would like to call upon my first witness of today.

Judge: Yes, you may.

Defence: Thank you, your Honour. Allow me to proudly present Mr. Toa Tan Lui, chairman of NearWest Private Development Corporation.

(Mr Lee strode in, giving off his name cards to everyone)

Defence: Mr. Lee, what is your opinion of the development opportunities of the currently CA territory?

Toa: Boundless prospects! Should we build a dozen more trading and recreational estates there, it will be extremely lucrative. What is more, numerous white-collars would own good opportunities to reside in the most luxurious dwellings in the world. Imagine, it is a win-win situation!

Defence: It is, indeed. Economic development, and a place for our population to expand as well. Could you please also offer some information about the project in which your company is planning to invest, on that particular plot recently confiscated from CA with authorisation?

Toa: There will be constructed a world-class golf course, the most gigantic and awesome one ever. It is certain to draw countless tourists from all over the world, creating multibillion-dollar extra revenue per annum for my comp¡­ co, country!

Defence: That definitely sounds irresistible. Thank you, Mr. Lee, I have no more questions.

Judge: Prosecution, do you wish to cross-examine this witness?

Prosecution: Yes, your honour. Mr. Lee, would you honestly think that one twentieth of the land area of Singapore could house hundreds of thousands of people?

Lee: (Hesitation)

Prosecutor: (Softly and dangerously) Isn�t all this for profit?

Lee: (Unable to answer)

Prosecutor: Members of the jury, the witness is obviously unable to answer my question. Therefore, I feel that the answer should be in affirmative. Thank you, your honour, I have no more questions. But I am going to bring another point here. From an ecological and geographical standpoint, not preserving CA�s precious natural estate is tantamount to not doing our part for the environment.

Defense: How much Singapore could do in terms of saving the environment?

Mr. Green: Erm¡­

Defense: Singapore could not do much in terms of saving the environment. Moreover, it is economic development which matters most to a country. We can leave the job of saving the environment to developed countries like the United States.

Prosecutor: Objection! Everybody plays a part in saving the environment. If everybody has the same mindset as you, nobody would do their part for the environment, and the effects would be devastating. Moreover,¡¡if you consider from an ecological
point of view, a tree is also worth a lot.

Prosecution: Thank you, your honour. Now I would like to invite my first witness for today, Mr. Morris Green, of the Mandai Ecological and Forestry Board to explain the importance of the work of CA in terms of the ecological aspect.

Judge: Yes, you may.

Prosecution: Mr. Green, I like to ask you how many nature areas are left in Singapore?

Mr. Green: At present only 3718 hectare of nature areas is left in Singapore, including the Mandai Orchid Garden, the Zoological Gardens and Night Safari. That takes up mere 5% of our total land. There are thousands of species of flora and fauna, many unique to other parts of the country or even the rest of the world.

Prosecution: Could you please give a conservative estimate on how valuable a tree is in terms of its economic value?

Mr. Green: According to the forestry statistics published by the
Forestry Board, a typical tree provides US$195000 worth of ecological
benefits in forms of output of oxygen, intake of carbon dioxide, filtration of water, cleaning of air, controls over soil erosion, habitats for wild life¡­

Prosecution: (Wink�Stop, time is running out!)

Mr. Green: ¡­ And many more, which I may continue to offer in tomorrow�s session if you�d like to.

Prosecution: Thank you very much, Mr Green. Your Honour, I have no more questions.

Judge: Would you like to cross-examine the witness?

Defence: Mr. Green, would you answer my question, do you think the land run by CA at present generates greater revenue than an industrial park of the same size, if built in the future?

Mr. Green: (Hem and haw)

Prosecution: Objection! The defense lawyer is¡¡guiding the witness into making groundless assumptions and opinions.

Judge: Defense, please phrase your question properly before asking the next time. Defence, do you have any more questions for the witness?

Defence: No, your Honour.

Judge: You may now make your concluding statement.

Prosecutor: Members of the jury, I would not carry on with elaborating on the economical or ecological benefits of catchment areas. However, I would like to remind all of you that numbers in economics cannot possibly reflect ecology. The catchment areas must stay, for the benefit of our environment, our water supply, our air quality,
our surroundings, indeed, for all Singaporeans. The Problem of Land scarcity can be solved in many other ways. We can build more high-rise apartments or reclaim more
land, however, we must, I repeat, must not do away with our catchment areas. Sacrificing the natural environment for economic gain is definitely not a good idea. Only "without an alternative, people will cut the last tree," as George Verghese put it. But we do have a choice. The future of Singapore lies in your hands, therefore, honourable members of the jury, I implore you to choose wisely.

Judge: Defense lawyer, do you have anything to say, before the members of jury make their decisions.

Defense: As I have proven, the economic benefits by far outweigh everything else. Moreover, much land is freed for housing, for our growing population. Thus, I beg the worthy members of the jury to choose wisely.

Judge: Indeed. The jury was choose wisely. Now, what is the decision reached by the members of the jury?

Judge: By majority / unanimous decision of the members of the jury, I hereby declare that catchment areas should be preserved.