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THE REAL ISSUES IN THE BUKIT CANBERRA DISPUTE

I have been following the recent dispute between veteran hawker advocate KF Seetoh and Minister Ong Ye Kung, over hawkers at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre being charged $70 a month for the space to leave a basket behind their stalls for supplier deliveries.

We should not be distracted in this dispute. In my opinion, there are two key issues:

1) Fees being charged for all kinds of reasons by operators of Socially-Conscious Enterprise Hawker Centres (SEHCs) like Bukit Canberra. 

2) The clause in hawkers’ contracts requiring them to provide free meals to low-income residents.

PSP has previously raised both issues in Parliament in November 2024, when I raised a motion in Parliament on sustaining hawker culture in Singapore, and proposed solutions. The motion I raised was amended and passed unanimously. But why has the Government not done the necessary reviews to rectify some of the issues we had debated in Parliament? If the reviews were done and changes have been made, why have the same issues been raised again?

1) Fees

In November 2024, I pointed out that these fees at the SEHCs, such as table cleaning fees, dishwashing fees, S&CC fees and pest control fees, can add up to as much as the rent itself. 

For example, the hawkers at Bukit Canberra have been billed a $650 table cleaning fee. Why is such a high fee still being charged when customers have to clear their own tables?

That is why during the debate, PSP proposed for the SEHC model to be phased out.  

Is it justifiable for private SEHC operators to impose fees as a means to maximise any surpluses or profits from hawker centres, which are public assets?

Hawker centres are part of our national heritage. They should be run by the Government solely for the benefit of the people and not for anyone’s profit.

2) Hawkers being required to provide free meals

The current approach, where hawkers at SEHCs and HDB coffeeshops are being contractually forced or guilt-tripped into selling budget meals, is unsustainable. The cost of budget meals is being shouldered by hawkers. Many hawkers are not high-income and already struggle with high costs and manpower shortages.

In November, I argued that instead of forcing hawkers to offer budget meals at their own expense, the Government should be funding these initiatives. The Government can pay for food discounts for Pioneer and Merdeka Generation seniors and CHAS cardholders, or provide lower-income households with more CDC vouchers. This way, we can ensure that hawker food remains affordable for those who need them most, without compromising the livelihoods of our hawkers. 

Hawkers have provided everyone in Singapore with affordable, good food for decades. But they should not be asked to provide social welfare as inflation crushes the livelihoods of many Singaporeans. 

Our hawker culture is a national treasure, but for it to survive, we need to work together to build a fair and sustainable ecosystem. PSP will continue to speak up for our hawkers.

PSP perm sec on the hawker saga 

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