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NEA's rule requiring hawkers to personally operate stall prevents chain businesses from dominating trade: Koh Poh Koonβ
NEA's rule requiring hawkers to personally operate stall prevents chain businesses from dominating trade: Koh Poh Koon
Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon response in Parliament comes after a hawker's complaint that he was forced to make his pregnant wife stand in their nasi lemak stall. PHOTO: MDDI, Facebook/Noorman Mubarak
Hawker centre stallholders must operate their stalls personally as a measure to prevent chain businesses from "dominating the hawker scene".
Speaking in Parliament on Monday (March 10), Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon said that this requirement "is the most practical and fair way" to prevent subletting, which in turn protects the authenticity of Singapore's hawker culture.
This comes after a hawker's recent viral complaint that he was forced to make his heavily pregnant wife stand in their nasi lemak stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.
On Feb 18, Noorman Mubarak said that he received a National Environment Agency (NEA) warning for violating the tenancy agreement after his wife, the registered stallholder, was not physically manning the stall.
MP Edward Chia asked in a parliamentary question whether NEA exercises flexibility when hawkers are temporarily unable to operate their stalls due to personal reasons.
In response, Koh said that Noorman's complaint is due to a "misunderstanding".
He echoed NEA's statement saying that hawker centre operator Timbre+ Hawker's had reached out to Noorman's wife to explore appointing a joint operator or stall nominee, but the offer was declined.
Koh said that he is happy that hawkers like Noorman, who is running "two or three stalls" and another "20 stalls outside the NEA system", have succeeded.
Only the Yishun Park hawker stall is registered under Noorman's wifeβs name, and this is the founding stall. Another stall at Ci Yuan Hawker Centre is owned by a partner, and the rest by private companies.
"It is understandable that as a business owner, he wants to focus on his other business and not as much on his stall," added Koh. "But that's not something we want to do, because we cannot allow any hawker system to cater to the interest of such by the chain owners."
NEA exercises flexibility when hawkers are temporarily unable to operate their stalls, by asking them to appoint a joint operator or nominee to man the business during that period.
Hawkers can also grow their businesses, with arrangements such as family members being in the trade themselves or selling their recipes to other stall holders.
But Koh said those unable to personally run their stalls should consider relinquishing their business to give others a chance to join the hawker trade.
"To be fair to all players, we have to respect the rules," he added. "Our aim is to encourage more small businesses to enter the hawker trade because of our low barrier to entry.
"But not allow chain players to dominate our hawker scene and change the authenticity of our culture."
Noorman said in his Facebook post that he and his wife had been using technology to reduce the need to be physically at the stall.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Koh said that his ministry supports hawkers using technology to improve their efficiency, but not at the expense of them personally run the stall.
"If a hawker wishes to expand to a chain model, they have the option to move out of hawker centres," he added. "The reality is that we need to balance between protecting our heritage, keeping the food affordable and ensuring fair opportunities for new hawkers."
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