Closure of heritage eatery Warong Nasi Pariaman not due to high rent: MND

SINGAPORE: The closure of heritage nasi padang eatery Warong Nasi Pariaman last month was not due to high rent, Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi said in parliament on Tuesday (Feb 3), adding that the government carefully monitors retail rents across Singapore.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development told the House: “It was reported in the media that a representative from the family recently clarified that the closure was not related to rental issues, and we should not wrongly conclude that this was due to high rental." 

Dr Syed Harun was responding to questions on the increases in shop rental charges in heritage precincts, on behalf of the Ministry of National Development (MND).

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Jan 31 that median rents rose in the past two years by about 2 per cent a year in Kampong Glam, 2.5 per cent in Little India and 1 per cent in Chinatown.

These increases were comparable with rental growth for conventional retail space in the central area of around 2 per cent a year, and "significantly below" nominal GDP growth of around 6.7 per cent a year over the same period, URA added. 

Warong Nasi Pariaman, first established in 1948 at Kandahar Street by Haji Isrin from the West Sumatran city of Pariaman, had been a constant fixture of the Kampong Glam area.

It was also reportedly Singapore's oldest nasi padang stall before its closure. 

Dr Syed Harun said the government will continue to support heritage businesses, adding that agencies are in touch with the eatery to discuss how the business can continue if the owners wish to do so.

He added that the inter-agency task force to help support heritage businesses, traditional activities and cultural life has introduced new measures, including marketing and business consultancy support under the SG Heritage Business Scheme by the National Heritage Board (NHB).

These also include enhanced place management support to better showcase heritage trades and activities in each historic district.

Today, 42 businesses have been designated under the scheme, including 21 in Kampong Glam and Chinatown, he said.

RENTAL INCREASES

Responding to questions by Member of Parliament (MP) Denise Phua (PAP-Jalan Besar GRC) on rental hikes, Dr Syed Harun said a majority of leases in Kampong Glam saw moderate rent increases, below nominal GDP growth and comparable to those of conventional retail spaces in the central area.

“We understand that some of the data cited in some media reports may be based on anecdotal or incomplete data, and these may not be representative of the overall rental situation in Kampong Glam," he continued.

"We note that the rental might not be homogeneous across the entire district … the Kampong Glam district is actually quite big."

He also said that a "small proportion" of leases signed between 2023 and 2025 saw high rental increases of 25 per cent or higher. These included leases in streets with high footfall, such as Bali Lane and Haji Lane in Kampong Glam.

"Some of these leases were previously contracted at below market rates, and therefore, subsequent to that, they may have experienced a larger increase from their low base when the rates normalised towards the prevailing market rate," he added.

"Notwithstanding the rental increases, their rental rates remained around 20 per cent to 60 per cent below that of conventional retail spaces in the central area as a whole."

Dr Syed Harun noted that there is a "wide variety" of stakeholders interested in preserving Singapore’s heritage and culture. 

"We do recognise that it takes a whole-of-government approach, spanning a few different ministries, to be able to look at the heritage space." 

MP Fadli Fawzi (WP-Aljunied GRC) asked if the government has any plans to extend the additional buyer's stamp duty and seller's stamp duty to commercial properties in heritage districts, considering their limited supply and heritage value.

Dr Syed Harun said that the ministry has no such plans.