SINGAPORE: A hawker at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre has set a new island-wide record by bidding S$10,158 for a vacant stall at the centre.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the hawker who won the bid is 51-year-old Yang Ailan. Ms Yang revealed to the reporter that she has been operating “84 Coffee House” at the hawker centre for over ten years.
Yang noted that the vacant stall was previously used for selling fish soup and later for oyster vermicelli.
She plans to acquire the stall to allow her son and family to continue and expand the family’s hawker business.
When asked about her decision to bid over S$10,000, Ms Yang explained, “Everyone says the stall is a good opportunity, and my child wants to be involved, so I want to give them the chance to learn.”
She added that vacancies at the food centre are rare and that many people are willing to bid high prices to secure a stall, making a higher bid necessary.
Additionally, the food centre’s prime location next to the Marine Parade MRT station exit has boosted business by at least 20% since the MRT service began on 23 June.
Ms Yang believes that the Marine Parade area has strong business potential, and her bid reflects the market value of the stall.
Commenting on Lianhe Zaobao’s Facebook post, some netizens expressed concern about rising food prices and inflation.
They argued that the government should ensure the affordability of hawker food to protect public interests.
A comment wrote:
“For privately operated coffee shops and food courts, it’s understandable that stalls are auctioned off to the highest bidder to make a profit.”
“However, hawker centres are places where ordinary people go to eat. The allocation of stalls shouldn’t be based on who bids the highest. It should be based on who offers food that is healthy, tasty, and affordable, so that residents can enjoy meals that are both affordable and healthy.”
WP MP’s Call for Rental Cap for NEA Hawkers
In March, Mr Louis Chua Kheng Wee, Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Sengkang GRC, had argued against a purely price-based tender system, where hawker stalls are awarded to the highest bidder.
Participating in the Committee of Supply Debate for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) budget on 4 March, Mr Chua emphasized the need for measures to ease the financial pressures on hawkers and ensure the affordability of hawker food for the public.
One of Mr Chua’s proposals was to consider implementing a rental cap for hawker stalls.
In response to Mr Chua’s proposal, Dr Koh Poh Koon, the Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Sustainability and the Environment, staunchly defended NEA’s commitment to fostering a supportive environment for hawkers.
He explained that NEA conducts transparent monthly tenders and adjusts rents to the assessed market rate after the first three years.
Dr Koh noted that only about 4% of stalls pay above the market rate and that NEA’s rental rates for non-subsidized stalls have remained stable at S$1,250 since 2015.
In July, Singaporean food critic and Makansutra founder KF Seetoh reiterated his criticism of the hawker stall bidding practice.
He pointed out that hawkers often pay market rates to secure a stall, sometimes up to S$7,000 per month, but are then pressured by the government to sell dishes at prices as low as S$3.50, without sufficient compensation.