SINGAPORE — Many stallholders at the Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaars are experienced and have run stalls at previous years' bazaars or other trade fairs organised by the People's Association (PA), said deputy chairman of PA Edwin Tong.

Stallholders would know the rental prices published by operators during the bidding process, before they decide to bid for a stall, he added.

Mr Tong, who is also the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, was responding on Friday (April 21) to a parliamentary question from Mr Muhammad Faisal Abdul Manap (Aljunied GRC) on how PA ensures stall rentals at trade fairs and bazaars remain affordable to stallholders.

Stallholders had complained about high rents which went up to $24,000, according to some.

But Mr Tong said that the stallholders knew what they would be paying and that the operator won the project through an open tender process, which reflects the market price.

"The operator of course... publishes the rates that he wants to charge. So no bidder (for the stalls) comes in without knowing what the rates would be. And that's an important consideration. They have to make their own calculations, and that's why I mentioned the market price. So the bidder knows in advance what the price would be, they decide."

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Those who intend to bid for a stall will also know in advance other details in which the trade fair or bazaar is being operated, he said.

He added: "A substantial number (of stallholders) not only came from previous years' Geylang Serai bazaar, so they know what it would be like, but they also came and made bids for multiple stalls in this bazaar," he said.

"That's something that they have to factor in their own consideration when it comes to market price, what they think they can afford, what they think they can sell, and whether they can realise and recoup."

Each year's bazaar is run by a professional operator who wins the project in an open tender process, which reflects the market price, Mr Tong said. Interested operators decide what the market price would be and make a bid based on that.

The point is to get the bidder with the best expertise, experience and proposal, to manage and run the bazaar — and not necessarily the highest bidder — he added. This year, the tender was awarded to a consortium of operators made up of S-Lite Event Support, TLK Trade Fair and Events and Enniche Global Trading, which was not the highest bidder, Mr Tong said.

The event is organised by Wisma Geylang Serai, the social and cultural heritage hub in Geylang Serai, led by the People's Association.

"And in particular for a bazaar the size and scale of the Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaars — which is not just the bazaar itself, but in conjunction with the festive occasion, the Ramadan light-up and so on — it is important to get the programming — as well as the way in which the bazaar would be operated in a safe way for stallholders and patrons — right."

Responding to a supplementary question from Mr Faisal on the number of stallholders who managed to break even, he said that PA does not require stallholders to declare their profits, and added that this always varies from stall to stall, depending on the popularity of their offerings and other factors.

"We have some anecdotal evidence to suggest that some of the stallholders, sometime around the midway point, had recouped their rental expenses. Others perhaps might take a longer period of time... But the point to be made is that they know in advance what the costs will be."

Mr Tong said that PA does not run the bazaar but sets the conditions and specifications for the operator to ensure that the event is held in a suitable, conducive and safe environment for stallholders and patrons.

This is done through the terms of an open tender, which include ensuring the adequate supply of utilities and amenities, as well as the provision of suitable logistical support, he said.

"A successful tenderer will also have to comply with the terms of the tender and the successful tenderer then also sets the relevant rental rates for the stalls having regard to factors such as the duration and location of the event, the type of business based on market rates."

On Wisma Geylang Serai's role, he said: "(Of) whatever is tendered, a substantial amount then goes back into the light-up, the organisation of the event itself, and ensuring that (the) programming... drives footfall to the event, and also PA and Wisma Geylang Serai's main agenda to ensure that the festive occasion is celebrated appropriately." 

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.