Hawkers must personally operate stalls to prevent subletting, says NEA after hawker's viral complaint
Hawker Noorman Mubarak complained that his wife had to manage their stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.
PHOTO: Facebook/Noorman Mubarak
PUBLISHED ONFebruary 21, 2025 5:20 AMByChing Shi JieHawkers must personally operate their stalls to prevent subletting, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Thursday (Feb 20).
"Subletting would drive up rental prices and food prices to the detriment of Singaporeans," they added.
The agency was responding to AsiaOne's queries after a hawker's complaint went viral on social media this week.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Noorman Mubarak said that he was forced to make his heavily pregnant wife stand in their nasi lemak stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, after they received a warning for violating NEA's tenancy agreement.
Noting that it is "rightly so" that hawkers must personally manage the stall, he took issue with NEA saying that "personally means physically being in the stall".
According to Noorman, he and his wife have been managing the original Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang stall since 2017.
After personally manning the stall for up to 18 hours daily for years, the couple now let their staff run the stall while they handle administrative work and other matters.
"My wife is 40 weeks pregnant, it does not mean she cannot manage the shop in other ways," he said. "We are just being smart and upgraded ourselves by using technology and software."
Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang has 20 stores in Singapore, and has been featured on Michelin Guide Singapore since 2021.
In their statement on Thursday, NEA said that the stall is registered under Noorman's wife, adding that Noorman is currently not a registered stallholder or stall assistant.
"NEA's appointed operator for Yishun Park Hawker Centre, Timbre+ Hawkers, observed that Mrs Noorman has not been operating the stall personally and had reached out to her to explore appointing a joint operator or stall nominee," the agency added.
"Although the offer was declined, these options remain open to Mrs Noorman."
Hawkers are also supported through measures such as rental rebates if they have to close their stalls temporarily, said NEA.
Meanwhile, Yishun Park Hawker Centre said in a Facebook post that they have engaged Noorman's wife "multiple times" to understand her circumstances and explore solutions.
"Our priority is to support a thriving hawker culture while ensuring compliance with existing policies. It is not our intention to disrupt hawkers' businesses," they added.
Noorman told AsiaOne on Thursday that the hawker centre operator only contacted them once through a WhatsApp message.
"My wife told them that she is still managing the stall and is pregnant," the third-generation hawker said. "No reply from them until they emailed us that we violated the tenancy agreement."
Noorman said that he will be meeting with representatives from NEA to discuss the issue, and added that he is open to all solutions, including Timbre+ Hawkers' suggestions of him becoming a joint operator or stall nominee.
"But we are not side-stepping or pushing the issue aside," he added. "Why are hawkers painted with a broad brush that we will sublet a stall if we are not physically in the stall?"
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