Parliament votes in favour of amended PSP motion on supporting hawkers
The Progress Singapore Party's Leong Mun Wai said the party supported the amended motion to show that parliament is united in its support for hawkers.
SINGAPORE: Members of Parliament (MPs) on both sides of the aisle voted on Wednesday (Nov 13) in favour of an amended Progress Singapore Party (PSP) motion to continue the government's support for hawkers and to grow Singapore’s hawker culture.
The original motion by the PSP called on 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”.
MP Edward Chia (PAP-Holland-Bukit Timah) proposed that the motion be amended to reflect that the government would instead “continue its support for hawkers by regularly reviewing” its policies, and to change “provide better support for hawkers” to “which will help”.
He also proposed to add a phrase to the end of the motion.
The amended motion read: “That this House calls on the government to continue its support for hawkers by regularly reviewing its policies relating to hawkers and the management of hawker centres, which will help to sustain and grow Singapore’s hawker culture so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy good and affordable hawker food while enabling hawkers to earn a fair livelihood.”
After five-and-a-half hours of debate, all MPs who were present – including those from the Workers’ Party (WP) and the PSP's Non-Constituency MPs – voted in favour of these three amendments.
In total, 14 MPs spoke during the debate, including two PSP NCMPs, a WP MP and one Nominated MP.
All MPs in the House also 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 NCMP Leong Mun Wai in his closing speech.
“This is to show that this House is united in our support for hawkers.”
Centralise the management of hawker centres under a new Government agency called Hawker Singapore and phase out social enterprise hawker centres. Put in place a new rent model which will charge lower rent, which will lead to ripple effects on rents in coffee shops and food courts. Allow each hawker stall to employ one work permit holder as a store assistant. Instead of asking hawkers to provide budget meals at their own expense, the Government should pay for targeted food discounts for seniors from the Pioneer and Merdeka generations and CHAS cardholders, as well as give more CDC vouchers to lower-income households. NCMP Leong Mun Wai proposed these initiatives in a motion in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 13) to ensure that Singapore’s hawker culture will be invigorated to shine brightly on the global culinary scene. He said they will also ensure that hawker centres, as the “people’s kitchen”, will provide affordable food for many more generations to come.
THE PROPOSALS
Mr Leong and PSP NCMP Hazel Poa laid out several policy proposals.
Among these was Mr Leong’s suggestion that each cooked food hawker stall, including drinks and cut fruit stalls, should be allowed to employ one work permit holder as a stall assistant, to help with the manpower crunch.
Responding to this suggestion, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon said that a “full liberalisation” for foreign manpower may “alter the nature of our hawker centres significantly”, a change that some Singaporeans may not be able to accept.
He added that the recent announcement that hawker stalls will be allowed to hire long-term visit pass holders as assistants from Jan 1 next year is a way the government is trying to strike a balance.
Another suggestion Mr Leong made was that the government move away from the tendering model for hawker centre stalls altogether.
“Instead, we propose a more flexible rent model with the aim of lowering rent and curbing excessive speculation in coffee shops,” he said.
Dr Koh defended the current bidding system, which he said is open, transparent and straightforward.
“It's not a complicated system. A bidding system enables market mechanisms to work at hawker centres,” he added.
“The process encourages prospective hawkers that are committed and serious to come forward and submit a bid.”
Ms Poa proposed a central procurement system for hawker centres, where a government agency can contract wholesalers to supply hawkers with cheaper ingredients through bulk purchasing.
Dr Koh said that some of these hawker centres have offered bulk purchasing services, but the take-up has not been widespread.
“Most already have established relationships with their existing suppliers, or are quite particular about the source and quality of the ingredients,” he said.
Safeguarding Singapore’s hawker culture remains an important priority for the Government and it is committed to work together with the hawker community and stakeholders on this, said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Manpower Koh Poh Koon. “Together we can sustain our hawker culture to thrive for generations to come,” he said in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 13). Dr Koh highlighted the fundamental objectives and principles of the Government’s policy - ensure that hawker centres remain Singapore’s community dining room with affordable food options, ensure that hawkers have a decent livelihood and preserve the country’s unique local hawker culture and identity. He pointed out that ensuring that Singapore’s hawker culture continues to thrive entails a fine balancing act. The Government has taken a calibrated and long-term view in crafting its policies, he said. It has put in place comprehensive measures that strike a careful balance between ensuring affordable hawker food options and supporting hawkers with a conducive business environment while safeguarding the long-term sustainability of the hawker trade, as well as local hawker culture and heritage. Dr Koh pointed out that this would not have been possible without the readiness and commitment from hawkers and hawker associations to work with the Government. He said their input and partnership have helped the Government to improve its policies to balance between competing objectives and chart the best way forward for both hawkers and Singaporeans. “We may not always get this right the first time. With your input and feedback and as circumstances change, we will review and adjust our policies. We have done so in the past and we will continue to finetune and improve,” he said. What is important in these adjustments is that hawkers must be able to earn a fair livelihood, said Dr Koh. “This is critical for our hawker culture to thrive for a long time. Without our hawkers as torchbearers, our hawker centres will be empty and our hawker culture will disappear,” he said. Noting that 2025 will be the fifth year since the UNESCO inscription for hawker culture in Singapore, Dr Koh said in conjunction with this milestone, the Government will be reviewing its measures to further support hawkers and revitalise hawker culture. It will announce more details during the Committee of Supply debates next year, he added.
OTHER CONCERNS, SUGGESTIONS
MPs also raised other concerns while questioning some of Mr Leong and Ms Poa’s suggestions.
On hiring work permit holders, Mr Chia pointed to past parliamentary debates.
Parliamentary records from 2010 and 2011 “reflect concerns over the influx of foreign workers in hawker centres, with residents noting issues such as language barriers, cultural differences and variations in service standards”, he said.
He added: “It's important to acknowledge these concerns and strive for a balance between addressing manpower needs and preserving the authenticity of our hawker culture.”
MP Poh Li San (PAP-Sembawang) said schemes such as the Hawkers' Development Programme and the Hawkers Succession Scheme were launched in the past few years, but their take-up rates have been low.
“We need to push harder in order to entice young hawkers into the trade with more creative incentives,” she said.
Of the 566 people who signed up for the Hawkers’ Development Programme, which aims to equip hawkers with skills to run a stall, 120 completed their apprenticeship, 29 started their business and 16 remain in operation, said MP Louis Chua (WP-Sengkang).
Since its launch in January 2022, seven veteran hawkers have signed up for the Hawkers Succession Scheme and two have completed the transfer of their stalls to their successors, he added.
“We need to recognise that the Hawkers Development Programme and Hawkers Succession Scheme do not work,” he said.
Mr Chua said that the WP had intended to support the original PSP motion, but was also supportive of the amended motion by Mr Chia.
Dr Koh said the government takes a long-term view in crafting its hawker policies, and this would not have been possible without “the readiness and commitment from our hawkers and hawker associations to work with the government”.
“We may not always get this right the first time,” he said. “With your input and feedback, and as circumstances change, we will review and adjust our policies. We have done so in the past, and we will continue to finetune and improve.”
MPs also highlighted how mindsets surrounding the value of hawker food need to change.
“As we reflect on Singapore’s social compact, let’s also take a moment to consider how each of us can contribute to helping our (hawkers) earn a fair and sustainable livelihood,” said Mr Chia.
“Hawkers have expressed that while customers are willing to pay S$15 (US$11) for a bowl of ramen, they hesitate to pay S$5 for a handmade bowl of fishball noodles.”
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GOVERNMENT SUPPORT MEASURES
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Shawn Huang said the government has taken action to tackle inflation.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has tightened monetary policy five times, and the stronger Singapore dollar meant inflation did not reach the highs seen in other countries, he added.
The government has also introduced measures to cushion the impact on households, including the Assurance Package, which has been enhanced several times since it was first introduced in 2022.
Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers have been given out to Singaporean households every year since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and the number of participating hawkers and merchants has grown over time.
Singaporean households will also receive another S$300 in CDC vouchers in January next year, he said.
In the coming months, all adult Singaporeans will get between S$200 and S$600 in payouts.
In response to Ms Poa's proposal for more help for vulnerable groups, Mr Huang said a middle-income household with two young children will get about S$4,400 in rebates, payouts and support this year.
A lower-income household with two young children will get about S$6,500, while a retired elderly couple with no income will get about S$12,400.
"The government stands ready to do more to support Singaporeans should it be necessary," said Mr Huang.
"The government will continue to monitor global conditions closely. For example, an increase in geopolitical and trade tensions may lead to higher commodity prices and reverse the decline in imported costs.
"The broad-based support that we have provided over the past few years will help every family, but we recognise that there may be still gaps for some households. For these households, we will continue to review and update our social support schemes."
Singapore cannot control external factors like wars and disruptions but the stronger Singapore dollar has helped to keep inflation rates lower than elsewhere, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Shawn Huang. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 13), he pointed out that the Government has rolled out significant and broad-based support measures over the past few years to help Singaporeans cope with the higher cost of living. “We stand ready to do more to help Singaporeans, if needed, in a sustainable, fair and effective way, with more help to lower- and middle-income Singaporeans,” he said. He added that the Government will continue to listen to Singaporeans’ concerns and take necessary measures to address these concerns, as well as help Singaporeans sustain real income growth through higher productivity and enhanced skills.
In his closing speech, Mr Leong said that hawkers face tremendous pressure such as high rentals, shortage of manpower and unfair competition, and are still expected to provide cheap and good food.
“This situation is not sustainable. At the rate we are going, our traditional hawker culture, which is based on the hard work and enterprise of individual hawkers, will slowly wither away.”
He said that while the corporatisation of the hawker trade is a “natural development of the market economy”, there can be a “more level playing field for our individual hawkers to thrive and flourish”.
“The current (plight) of our hawkers is at least partly due to the policies laid down by the government,” he said.
“The onus is now on the government to consider our suggestions to provide better support for hawkers in the future.”