Under The Angsana Tree: Hawker Centres That Are Not Social Nor Enterprising

A less sentimental view of hawker centres - Neither Social Nor Enterprising

Exchange between Cheryl Chan and Amy Khor on reinvesting surpluses to benefit hawkers

Minister Masagos on new, younger hawkers being attracted to socially-conscious operators

What is a 'social enterprise' hawker centre? MP asks in Parliament

The term "social enterprise" hawker centre often used by the media is a "misnomer", said Senior Minister of State for Environment & Water Resources Amy Khor in Parliament on Mon (Nov 19)

She was responding to Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah, who was among several MPs who raised questions on this model of running hawker centres.

"A lot of residents are asking, what is the definition of social enterprise? We don't see Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) coming in but we see those social enterprises that are set up by big companies. So what is their motivation?" Ms Lee asked.

Dr Khor explained that such operators of hawker centres must have a "social mission".

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S’pore hawkers struggling to survive in private social enterprise hawker centres

A public good provided by private organisations? What kind of heaven is this?

Hawker centres in Singapore run by not-for-profit social enterprises are getting massive bad press.

Where did bad press come from? Foodie-critic-consultant KF Seetoh crystallised the argument against social enterprise hawker centres and highlighted their shortcomings in an Aug. 28 article, Not Social Enterprise Hawker Centres.

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Model for new hawker centres to be tweaked

Environment & Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli and Senior Minister of State Amy Khor fielded 19 questions from MPs on these socially conscious enterprise hawker centres (SEHCs). ST FOTO: JEREMY KWAN

The model by which seven new hawker centres are run by social enterprises is generally sound in spite of issues with its implementation, Environment & Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said.

He told Parliament yesterday that his ministry has heard the feedback from Singaporeans, and will continue with the scheme, but adjust it to better serve patrons and look after hawkers' well-being.

"As with any trials and experiments, we cannot always get it right the first time," he said.

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Government to go ahead with SEHC model for new food centres

Hawkers from the Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre told The New Paper that high operating costs remain a concern. TNP FILE FOTO

Hawker centres run by social enterprises, which came under fire recently, will be tweaked to better cater to customers & look after the welfare of hawkers.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli told Parliament yesterday that despite some implementation challenges, the new socially conscious enterprise hawker centre (SEHC) scheme is sound.
Critics of the scheme had complained that it has unnecessary rules & burdens operators with additional costs.

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3 areas MEWR wants to improve for new hawker centres

Senior Minister of State for the Environment & Water Resources Dr Amy Khor outlined on Monday (Nov 19) three areas her ministry would focus on in the coming months to improve the Socially-Conscious Enterprise Hawker Centre (SEHC) model implemented at 7 new hawker centres.

These are: give better support to the stallholders to manage costs, have greater oversight by regulator the National Environment Agency (NEA) to safeguard hawkers' well-being, and have structured channels set up by the SEHC operators for hawkers to give feedback.

Dr Khor also said in Parliament that a ground-up work group, comprising hawkers and other experts, will be set up soon to look at how to support newcomers to the trade and sustain Singapore's hawker culture.

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All stalls at Our Tampines Hub hawker centre to cease round-the-clock operations from January

There had been complaints from some hawkers at the Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre in recent months of having to operate in the wee hours despite low footfall. ST FOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

The Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre (OTH) - the only one out of 114 here to operate round the clock - will not have any of its current 42 hawkers serving food & drinks in the wee hours from next January.

The remaining 13 hawkers that had been operating 24 hours daily at the OTH have taken up an offer from the operator allowing them to cease doing so from Jan 1. The other 29 hawkers had earlier ceased 24-hour operations.

There had been complaints from some hawkers at the OTH in recent months of having to operate in the wee hours despite low footfall.

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Hawkers at Our Tampines Hub jump at chance to no longer work 24/7

Starting from January 1 of next year, the hawkers at Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre are no longer required to operate 24 hours a day. Following a review of the contract between the National Environment Agency (NEA) and social enterprise hawker center operators, every single one of the 13 stall owners at Our Tampines Hub opted out of whole day operating hours.

“After conducting the review and feedback dialogue with the stallholders, no stallholder opted for 24-hour operation. This will take effect on Jan 1, 2019,” Vincent Cheong, Kopitiam’s corporate communications manager told TODAY.

Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre is operated by OTMH, which is the social enterprise of Kopitiam. There are a total of 42 stall owners at Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre.

Elderly hawker allegedly passed away after working 18-hour days to avoid hefty fine when NTUC Foodfare rejected appeal to shorten operating hours

NTUC Foodfare slaps $3500 fine on elderly and injured tenant who was unable to operate for a few days

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Discussion over social enterprise hawker centres partly fuelled by ‘well-meaning but misinformed' comments: Amy Khor

While the authorities “appreciate the passionate conversations & discussions” about the hawker industry, Dr Amy Khor said she wanted to address some misinformation — on rental & operating costs, budget meals and the deal that hawkers are getting — that “is really quite concerning”

Debate over social enterprise-run hawker centres — a hot-button issue that has come under scrutiny in recent months — has been “in part fuelled by hearsay & anecdotes which have emotive appeal”, said Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor.

Seeking to dispel some mistaken beliefs surrounding social enterprise-run hawker centres, Dr Khor said the management model was never meant to be “a magic pill”.

“Some of these hearsay and anecdotes may be well-meaning but (are) misinformed. In fact, quite a number are really not verified,” she told TODAY in an hour-long interview at Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre on Fri (Nov 16).

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Model of social enterprise hawker centres needs to be tweaked to benefit all involved: Elim Chew

Ci Yuan Community Centre Hawker Centre in Hougang is one of the first in Singapore to be run by a social enterprise Photo: Fann Sim

The model of having social enterprises manage hawker centres on a not-for-profit basis was mooted with good intentions, but it will now have to be tweaked so that it benefits all parties involved, said local entrepreneur Elim Chew.

In particular, the issue of higher rents & additional fees faced by hawkers at some of these social enterprise-run hawker centres will have to be looked into, she told reporters on Wed (Oct 24).

"It (was recommended with) a good intention,” said Ms Chew. “I don’t think it’s a wrong model but it needs to be tweaked to a model that benefits all.”

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Social enterprise hawker centre model 'generally sound', market mechanism working: Masagos

Despite some challenges with implementation, the socially-conscious enterprise hawker centre (SEHC) model is “generally sound" & the Government should let market mechanisms work instead of mandating low rents, Environment & Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli told Parliament on Monday (Nov 19).

"Food prices are kept affordable with a good variety of high-quality options, & the majority of hawkers are doing well at the SEHCs," he said. "We should not undo these achievements."

Mr Masagos was responding to a barrage of 19 questions tabled by several Members of Parliament on the SEHCs, including the challenges hawkers under this model face and how the ministry is addressing them.

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Govt to stick with social enterprise hawker centre model, ‘not enough to keep doing things the same way’

Environment & Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said that food prices at social enterprise hawker centres are not kept artificially low, with operators working with hawkers to offer a range of food at different price points

Social enterprise-run hawker centres are here to stay, said Minister for the Environment & Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Mon (Nov 19), as Members of Parliament (MPs) raised questions about the new model & why the National Environment Agency (NEA) could not manage the centres directly.

Existing hawker centres under the NEA have done well to meet the needs of communities and hawkers, but it is not enough to keep doing things the same way, said Mr Masagos.

Despite implementation challenges, the social enterprise hawker centre model is generally sound,” he said, outlining what the social enterprises could do better than the NEA.

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Grumbling and rumbling at social enterprise hawker centres — what’s the rub?

Just 3 years after the social enterprise model was rolled out to new hawker centres in Singapore, it has failed to live up to its promise. The questions on everyone’s minds are: Where has it all gone wrong? Are there underlying issues that need to be addressed? What is the best way forward?

The natives are restless in Singapore’s much-cherished hawker landscape, with a litany of issues plaguing what is one of the country’s most important community spaces & social institutions.

Allegations of poor management practices as well as high rentals & auxiliary costs at social enterprise-run hawker centres have hogged the headlines in recent weeks, not long after it was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the National Day Rally that the Republic is eyeing a spot for its hawker culture on the Unesco’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In announcing the bid, Mr Lee emphasised the hawker centres’ special place in the Singaporean heart, on top of the important role which they play in keeping the cost of living low.

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Not all can stomach social enterprise hawker centres, stall owners call for flexibility, lower rent

A hawker at Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre — which is run by NTUC Foodfare — said that there was not enough transparency in the services they were paying for, such as information on how the monthly “concept and marketing” fee of S$300 was used

They were introduced 3 years ago with the aim of keeping food prices low for consumers, among other social objectives.

But the jury is still out on not-for-profit, social enterprise hawker centres, as they came under the spotlight recently after food critic and consultant K F Seetoh raised concerns about how they were run.

Mr Seetoh said in a post on his Makansutra website that hawkers at such centres have to pay an average of S$4,000 a month in rent due to extra expenses that included coin-changing services, charges for crockery washing, collection & return, as well as a fee for spot-checks on food quality and operation.

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Hawker reacts to Amy Khor’ criticism that hawker complaints are merely unverified anecdotes

Public debate over the effectiveness of the social enterprise model that’s being piloted in seven hawker centres around the island is continuing to heat up.

Some of the main concerns that have been raised by the hawkers themselves include high rental, high ancillary costs, the requirement of having an ‘affordable meal’ option that’s less that $3, and unreasonable contractual terms just to name a few.

A recent episode of New Naratif’s Political Agenda podcast included three hawker stall owners who shared their experiences with being in the hawker business and their take on the whole social enterprise model that the National Environment Agency (NEA) is testing out. The feedback was less than glowing.

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NEA to co-fund half of centralised dishwashing costs borne by stallholders at new SEHCs starting January next year

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has included the co-funding of centralised dishwashing costs as a part of its extension of the 'Productive Hawker Centres' grant to stallholders at social enterprise hawker centres (SEHCs), which will take effect on 1 Jan next year.

In a press release on Friday (16 Nov), NEA said the grant will soon include stallholders at "the seven new hawker centres" as a means of increasing its "support" in terms of "managing the cost from the adoption of centralised dishwashing service at these centres."

The seven new SEHCs are:

Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre
Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre
Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre
Ci Yuan Hawker Centre
Yishun Park Hawker Centre
Jurong West Hawker Centre
Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre

The agency added that it will subsidise 50% of the dishwashing costs for the first year, and then 30% for the second year. Stallholders are expected to bear the dishwashing costs in full the third year onwards.

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Social enterprise hawker centres need time to establish themselves: Masagos

“As with any trials and experiments, we cannot always get it right the first time,” said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli in Parliament on Monday (19 November). (PHOTO: MCI)

The seven existing socially conscious enterprise hawker centres (SEHCs) need “time to establish themselves”, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Monday (19 November).

“Despite implementation challenges, the SEHC model is generally sound. Food prices are kept affordable with a good variety of high-quality options. And the majority of hawkers are doing well at the SEHCs. We should not undo these achievements,” Masagos said in Parliament.

“As with any trials and experiments, we cannot always get it right the first time. We have heard the feedback and we will adjust the model to better serve Singaporeans.”

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Strong public views on social enterprise hawker centres will lead to change: Makansutra's K F Seetoh

The public’s “indignant” responses towards some practices by operators of not-for-profit social enterprise hawker centres are heartening and encouraging, said Makansutra founder K F Seetoh on Friday (19 October).

The food critic, who has in recent months raised concerns about the management of such hawker centres, said in a sit-down interview with Yahoo News Singapore that such public reactions would pave the way for changes in the business model.

His comments come after Jurong West Hawker Centre announced on Thursday that it is changing its tray return policy. Customers patronising the place are now required to pay a 20-cent deposit to collect clean trays for use, and be refunded when they return them to the collection points.

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Not Social Enterprise Hawker Centres

Barely a year old and some stalls are struggling to remain open and profitable at this hawker centre in the east

Finally, our leaders are recognising how great a cultural icon the hawker centres are, not just as a building or the food served, but of the culture and heritage it represents. It resonates across folks of all creed, standing, race, religion and colour. Even our PM, who now wants our Hawker Centre food culture to be enshrined as a Unesco Intangible Heritage and Culture icon, lines up for this makan at a hawker centre with his wife. And he spoke also about the humble intents of the new Social Enterprise Hawker Centres (10 to be built) and how it will bond Singaporeans even more. But before we move any further ahead, I have to flag some concerns about how it’s run and what they mean by Social Enterprise.

At best, the term social enterprise is murky. Check Wikipedia and you will know what I mean. The best version I came across is “A social enterprise is a cause-driven business, whose primary reason for being is to improve social objectives and serve the common good.” And in that sense, our Social Enterprise Hawkers Centres, are not, in many ways.

I had the sad eye opening chance to glance at the contract agreements of some new hawkers which have been installed at our new Social Enterprise Hawker Centres (SEHC). I heard whispers and murmurs in the market regarding the operational practices of some private companies, registered as a social enterprise organisation, running the newly government built hawker centres like commercial food courts. Up to 10 are planned for since 2011. In that year, the government formed a Panel to address the concerns of the community regarding the future and continuity of hawker centres, as it serves a big part of our lifestyle and “to continue the provision of affordable food” for the less privilege and poorer folks in our midst. Very noble indeed and I was looking forward to see how this will play into our future and craft new, proud and interesting narratives in my musings on this development.

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Rentals at hawker centres do not directly affect food prices: Amy Khor

A study on the factors determining food prices at hawker centres has found that stall rentals comprised only 12 per cent of the overall costs incurred by hawkers, said Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Amy Khor in Parliament on Monday (19 November).

The same 2014 study by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) showed that raw materials and manpower made up 76 per cent of hawkers’ cost.

Studies by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) also revealed that hawkers generally price food according to what the market can bear, influenced by competition in the area and the demographic profile of customers. “Hence, stall rentals do not directly affect food prices,” said Dr Khor.

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2 young Yishun Park hawkers uncertain about their future. People just aren’t visiting the hawker centre

“Socially-conscious enterprise hawker centres” (SEHCs) has become a contentious term recently.

Private social enterprises were invited by the government to operate hawker centres with the thinking that they would better improved the way hawker centres are run, and help attract young hawkers.

These goals were marred by recent allegations that SEHC operators are unfairly profiteering off the hawkers who rent stalls with them, and complaints that there aren’t enough people eating at SEHCs.

related: S’pore hawkers struggling to survive in private social enterprise hawker centres

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Full Coverage:

Elderly hawker allegedly passed away after working 18-hour days to avoid hefty

NTUC Foodfare slaps $3500 fine on elderly and injured tenant who was unable