The management of a hawker center said today it did not ask any of its vendors to close during the Chinese New Year weekend contrary to a memo that found its way online.
A December memo sent to hawkers at the Old Airport Road Food Center announcing it would close this past weekend was posted by a popular food blogger and activist who accused the center’s management of trying to “dictate” the business of its informal sellers.
In response to the criticism by blogger KF Seetoh, management firm NTUC Foodfare told Coconuts Singapore today that it was all a misunderstanding stemming from a poor choice of words. Spokesman Andrew Tan said only the management office closed while the hawker center remained open.
“This year, a number of stalls continued to operate across our centres on the first two days of CNY. There is no change in CNY operations practice since we took over the management of the centres 2 years ago,” he wrote in reply to inquiries Thursday, adding that the memo “could have been worded more clearly.”
That’s a bit of an understatement given the memo reads pretty clearly. It was titled “Hawker Centre Operations” and the first words say “[t]he center will be officially closed for operations” on the weekend in question.
But Tan said none of the centers was actually asked to close.
“We thank Mr KF Seetoh for his feedback and would like to clarify that none of the hawker centres under our management are required to close during the Chinese New Year (CNY) period,” he said.
As for an admonishment in the memo that vendors must limit price increases, Tan said they are in place to protect customers from being overcharged. He said those who need to increase prices beyond the allowed S$1 can submit proposals for an exception.
KF Seetoh, who advocates for hawkers and has spoken out against the impacts of privatization, took the memo at face value and questioned the management’s need to impose such restrictions on the sellers.
“Insensitive. Why do you need to dictate and close the hawker [center] for the holidays. Hawker centres are essential services. You should know that there are non chinese who need and want to operate their stalls and serve all races on such days,” he wrote yesterday.
KF Seetoh also called the management out for trying to “dictate” prices.
“Also, do not dictate how much they should raise or not, their prices. It’s their market knowledge that would formulate their price changes. If your parent NTUC could arrange for them to get cheaper supplies, then you have a narrative, otherwise, stay out of their operation. The public will decide if they want to patronise them,” he said.
NTUC Foodfare is a privately operated cooperative under the National Trades Union Congress, or NTUC. It operates eight hawker centers across Singapore, including those at Bukit Panjang and Pasir Ris.
The independent vendors are allowed some autonomy, such as setting their own operating hours. Hawkers tend to increase prices of meals as operating costs rise, such as when demand inflates vegetable prices during festive periods. Tan said limits to price adjustments were decided following consultations with various associations of hawkers.
“Using the median price increase submitted by the hawkers for the previous year, the team has worked out a range of not more than $0.50 adjustment for beverages and not more than $1 for cooked food. This proposal is then discussed with all the respective Hawker Associations from each centre for mutual concurrence,” the statement said.
The management of Singapore’s many hawker centers has become privatized; they were once overseen by the National Environment Agency.
The takeover has led to issues impacting hawkers such as higher operating costs and inflexible operating hours. The government has since addressed those issues through grants, largely in response to KF Seetoh giving voice to hawkers’ concerns online.
Related:
13 new hawker centers to be completed by 2027, new venders get lower rent first two years
Eat like a local: The A to Z guide of Singapore’s most iconic local, hawker and specialty foods
