Parliament votes in favour of amended PSP motion on supporting 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.” 
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.
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.”
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 pride 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.”