PUBLISHED ONNovember 14, 2024 2:31 AMByBhavya RawatParliament voted in favour of an amended version of a motion put forth by Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency MPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa on Wednesday (Nov 13) after a debate that lasted five-and-a-half hours.
This motion called for the Government to "review its policies relating to hawkers and the management of hawker centres to provide better support for hawkers to sustain and grow Singapore hawker culture, so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy good and affordable hawker food".
During his speech, Leong highlighted that high operational costs, harsh working conditions, and the expectation to provide cheap food are pressing issues faced by hawkers here.
The PSP secretary-general then proposed that social enterprise hawker centres be phased out as contracts expire, replacing them with centralised management under a new government agency called Hawker Singapore.
This new agency would oversee the management of all hawker centres in Singapore and the promotion of hawker culture domestically and internationally, working together with other relevant agencies, he added.
Leong also suggested the Government move away from setting hawker stall rent by tender, and adopt a flexible model where hawker stalls are either charged a monthly base rent or percentage of their gross turnover depending on which is higher.
"While rent may not be the biggest cost item for a hawker, it is the biggest burden because it is a fixed cost," Leong explained.
He also suggested allowing the employment of one work permit holder as an assistant in every stall to ease the manpower shortage in hawker centres.
Responding to Leong's call for reform, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon said the social enterprise model was put in place to explore new business models while providing a variety of food options at affordable prices.
Ensuring vibrancy, good visitorship and footfall as well as responding to the community's changing needs require the "right business acumen" which government agencies do not have, Dr Koh said.
Under the social enterprise model, operators can use their industry knowledge to promote hawker centres, even providing business advice and support to aspiring hawkers, he added.
Dr Koh also defended the current bidding system for hawker stall rental which he referred to as "open, transparent and straightforward".
"It's not a complicated system. A bidding system enables market mechanisms to work at hawker centres," he said.
"The process encourages prospective hawkers that are committed and serious to come forward and submit a bid."
Addressing Leong's suggestion to hire work permit holders as assistants at hawker stalls, Dr Koh said that a "full liberalisation" for foreign manpower may "alter the nature of our hawker centres significantly", a change some Singaporeans might not accept.
The recent announcement that hawker stalls will be allowed to hire long-term visit pass holders as assistants from Jan 1 next year is the Government's attempt to strike a balance, he said.
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP and Assistant Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress Yeo Wan Ling also said in response to Leong's suggestions that it is necessary to "keep a steely eye" on the win-win national desires of providing affordable food for Singaporeans with supporting the lives and livelihoods of hawkers.
"I wholeheartedly agree that we should continue to review our policies relating to hawkers and hawker centres, but... we should also recognise that much work has been done over the years in terms of policy and support," she said.
In the past few years, various initiatives have been implemented by the Government to support existing and aspiring hawkers.
These include the Hawkers Go Digital programme, first launched in 2018 and extended till the end of 2025 in October this year, as well as a new measure to deter high bids for hawker stalls, which was announced by the National Environment Agency on Nov 4.
Holland-Bukit Timah MP Edward Chia then proposed three amendments to the motion.
The amended motion calls on the Government to "continue its support for hawkers by regularly reviewing its policies" to "help to sustain and grow Singapore's hawker culture" for Singaporeans to continue enjoying "good and affordable hawker food while enabling hawkers to earn a fair livelihood".
All MPs present in Parliament, including those from the Workers' Party as well as the PSP's NCMPs, voted in favour of the amended motion.
"The PSP is ready to support the amended motion, which is not too different from the original motion tabled by me," said Leong in his closing speech.
"This is to show that this House is united in our support for hawkers."
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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
