Home / Architecture and Landscape

Hawker centres

 

 

Hawker centres or cooked food centres, are open-air complexes that comprise many stalls selling a wide variety of mostly local food that are affordably priced. They are mostly conveniently located at the heart of housing estates, usually with adjourning wet markets. It is one of the places that is highly representative of the Singapore culture and lifestyle. It is also an important place for social interaction and family bonding. With a reputation for eating as a national past-time, it is a common sight to see Singaporeans queuing at their favourite hawker stalls across the island.

Background
As an entrepot centre, Singapore’s food culture was greatly influenced by its geographical location and the various ethnic groups such as the Chinese, Indians and the Malays. As a bustling trading centre, street peddling by hawkers of different races was a common sight in Singapore since the 1800s.

Street hawking continued to thrive in Singapore after the World War II. This could be attributed to the high unemployment rate, prompting many people to take to hawking, which required low capital investment and skills, to provide for their families. The demand for cheap and affordable street food continued to be strong after Singapore’s independence, as industrialisation saw an increased in employment.


Itinerant hawking
While hawkers took care of the daily needs of the population, some social problems arose from an increase in the number of street hawker stalls.

Poor hygiene
Food was prepared in less than ideal conditions due to a shortage of water and proper storage equipment. Inappropriate disposal of refuse led to an increase of flies, mosquitoes, rodents and cockroaches that fuelled the spread of diseases such as cholera, typhoid and malaria. The threat to public health was a major problem associated with hawkers.

Unsightly conditions
The operation of itinerant hawkers was haphazard and unorganised, thus often appearing unsightly, rowdy and chaotic. They usually obstructed traffic and impeded pedestrian flow, competing with the government on the usage of land, especially at prime commercial areas.

These problems led to high tension between the law enforcer and the hawkers. It spawned negative sentiments among the public who often took the side of the hawkers. It also encouraged corruption among the police force, which accepted bribes from hawkers.


The Hawker Inquiry Commission
The Hawker Inquiry Commission was thus set up in 1950 by Governor F. Gimson to address the problems related to hawking. Its objective was to investigate all aspects of hawking with particular emphasis on the social, economic and health issues with regards to the public and the hawkers.

The inaugural public meeting of the Hawker Inquiry Commission, chaired by Prof T.H. Silcock, was held at the Victoria Memorial Hall on 20th April 1950 at 2.15 pm. The Commission gathered information from the Chairman of the Hawkers Association, the Municipal Health Officer, the Superintendent, Town Cleansing Department, and police officers with regards to the issues related to hawking. Evidences were also collected from the hawkers and the public.

Legalising hawkers & construction of hawker centres
The works of the Hawker Inquiry Commission led to the formalisation of the policy to house itinerant hawkers at centralised locations where they could be better controlled. It was a process that took years to implement.

The exercise to legalise hawkers through an island-wide hawkers’ registration was carried out in the 1960s. Coupled with this, the government embarked on a programme to construct markets and hawker centres between 1971 and 1986. No new hawker centres were built after 1986.


Governing body of today’s hawker centres
 The markets and hawker centres in Singapore were owned by three government bodies, namely, the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the JTC Corporation. On 1st April, 2004, the management of markets and hawker centres was consolidated under the NEA under the parent Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR).

Specifically, the management of markets and hawker centres was placed under the purview of NEA’s Hawkers Department. This department formulates, implements and administers hawker policies, including licensing and tenancy matters. The Department also oversees the upgrading of hawker centres.

The NEA currently manages 110 markets and hawker centres in Singapore.


Regulation of food hygiene
In addition to the management of markets and hawker centres, the NEA also regulates the food retail industry in Singapore to ensure that food is prepared hygienically and is safe for public consumption.

Grading of licensed food stalls
Food stalls in hawker centres are given a grade by the NEA based on the overall hygiene, cleanliness and housekeeping standards of the stalls. All hawker stalls are required to display the grade given by the NEA to help public to make a more informed choice when purchasing from the stalls.

Hawker stalls are assessed by the NEA and given the following grades:

·    A – a score of 85% or higher
·    B – a score of 70% to 84%
·    C – a score of 50% to 69%
·    D – a score of less than 50%

Points demerit system
This system deals with the suspension or revocation of licences. Demerit points are given for each public health offences which are categorised as minor, major or serious offences of which demerit points would be deducted. The penalty for accumulating a certain number of demerit points would be the suspension or revocation of stall owners’ licenses.


Hawker centres upgrading programmes
Hawker centres were built more than 20 years ago. Many of the centres were in poor condition and needed a facelift.  As part of a lifestyle and culture that is uniquely Singapore, hawker centres needed to be preserved and upgraded.

Hence, the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP) was launched in February 2001. The entire programme was estimated to cost about S$420m and it was expected to span over a period of 10 years to complete. The upgrading was phased to carry out in 7 batches and covers the the following areas :

·    Re-tiling / Re-roofing / Re-wiring
·    Replacement of tables and stools
·    Replacement of water and sanitary pipes
·    Improvement to ventilation
·    Provision/replacement of exhaust flue system
·    Upgrading of toilets

As of 1st January 2010, 84 centres have been upgraded under HUP. Some markets/hawker centres are currently still undergoing upgrading.



Author
Tung Ai Jui
 


References

Lily Kong (2007). Singapore hawker centres : People, Places, Food. Singapore: National Environment Agency, c2007.

Goh Eck Kheng (Ed.) (2003). Things That Make Us Singaporean. Singapore : NDP 2003 Executive Committee

Hawker Inquiry Opens Today. (1950, April 20), The Straits Times, p. 6

This is the Hawker Problem [Microfilm : NL 2502]. (1950, May 17), The Straits Times, p. 6

National Environment Agency (2010). Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme. Retrieved January 20, 2010, from
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/hawker_upgrade.aspx

National Environment Agency (2010). Hawker and Market Centres. Retrieved January 20, 2010, from
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/topics_hawker.aspx

 

 

The information in this article is valid as at 2010 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources.  It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Streets and Places
Peddlers--Singapore
Business, finance and industry>>Industry>>Manufacturing industries>>Food, beverages and tobacco

Librarian Recommendations
>> Food courts


All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2010.