Government taking big risks with Hawker Centres

Hawker centers are terribly important and they are key to defining who we are as Singaporeans. I have a very simple minded approach to them. I don't want them to change suddenly but evolve with us. I remember as a kid there were no western food stalls. One day one opened at Tanglin Halt just across the street from where we lived. In a short time the whole of Singapore seemed to turn up for $2.40 pork chops etc., Today they are in every hawker center and coffee shops.

I hope Vivian Balakrishnan and the NEA are on top of what they are doing here. Mess this up and you will not be forgiven. I hope they understand the risks. It is no good to leave hawkers unsure and insecure. As usual every government department is a horrible communicator. Just witness the latest fiasco of the MCE. There is nothing terribly wrong with the new expressway but LTA failed to come up with a "user manual" for using it. It was just like beta software. They were more in awe of their engineering feat than how we might use them. It is like they saw the whole enterprise from a helicopter and no more. A user manual equivalent would have been just a series of YouTube videos showing what to look out for as you use the MCE on the way to your familiar destinations at each exit. People don't read maps if they can help it even if they are animated.

This is an unrecognized but open secret. Many good hawkers are good at cooking even Michelin stars beating fare but clueless business people. This is a major reason why they are often slow to up prices. They do so only when they are confident of inflation expectation. There are also lots of them who believe their mission in life is not about becoming rich but more important to cook well for their customers. Twenty first century business attitudes just spoils everything because it is profit maximizing and short term. The whole economy has been infected by this government naivety about present time business motivations across the world. So does it means that we are spared the rapacious appetite of business if this is run on a not for profit basis? I doubt it. Government isn't also for profit on paper but the experience could not be more different. I fear that these not for profit hawker centres will end up as closet business enterprises destroying the admired and coveted ethos that have kept our hawker centers unique and Singapore defining.

Update: Jan 14 11:20am

Big Thumbs Up to Vivian B!