Evolution of Singapore Hawkers • From Plying the Streets to Hawkerpreneurs

The hawker profession in Singapore went through three distinct stages, from plying the streets to running a hawker centre stall to being an entrepreneur, dubbed hawkerpreneur.

Hawker 1.0 • Roving Street Hawkers

When Sir Stamford Raffles arrived in Singapore in 1819, there are around 1,000 inhabitants, most of whom were Orang Laut (sea nomads) and fishermen. On establishing the British trading post in Singapore, Raffles needed lots of manpower which he imported from India, Indonesia and China.

Almost all were men who came alone without their families. Some became street hawkers serving cooked meals to the rest who mostly worked as labourers. The hawkers sold familiar comfort dishes from their hometowns.

The hawkers did not operate from any fixed place but moved about. The food was either carried on their heads or in two baskets across a bamboo pole.

On the head, it was usually cooked food like vadai, putu mayam, etc.

The two basket stalls were amazing as they were literally roving one-man mobile restaurants. In one basket was the kitchen complete with cooking stove (fired by charcoal). The other basket was the pantry with all the ingredients for the dish. The hawkers also carried water for washing and stools for customers to sit.

The Malays sold satay, mee rebus while Chinese sold bak chor mee, laksa, and so on.

Before long, the street hawkers ran afoul of the British colonial authorities. The street hawkers were fouling up the drains with food waste. They also obstructed traffic by setting up their stalls haphazardly on roads and five foot ways. They dumped food waste indiscriminately leading to serious rat and cockroach infestations. People often fell sick from food poisoning and contracted deadly diseases like cholera.

By the early 1900s, the authorities instituted hawker licensing and a scheme to put itinerant hawkers into hawker shelters.

But, far too few hawker shelters were built, leaving the majority to ply the streets.

The authorities attempted to enforce licensing through health inspectors whom the hawkers called teh gu or toads 🐸 Health inspectors would swoop in on the hawkers, causing them to scatter helter skelter. Unlicensed hawkers who were caught had their goods and equipment confiscated as well as given summons. Naturally, this led to antagonism between hawkers and health inspectors, sometimes leading to altercations.

The roving itinerant hawker's life was exceptionally hard. S/he was on his feet most of the time, often bare footed walking from place to place. His stall on his back was heavy, often leading to occupational illnesses like a hunched back and other health issues. His social status was low as he had little schooling and hawking was an occupation of last resort. Culinary skills was passed down through the family or self taught and poorly regarded (hawkers were considered unskilled labour).

He was subject to the weather, rain or shine, not only physically but it also directly affected his income. He operated without electricity or running water. S/he was constantly in a cat and mouse game with health inspectors unless he was among the minority issued with a hawking license. A fine was at least twice his daily earnings and his equipment (means of making a living) may be confiscated. S/he also had to pay "protection money" to gangs during the days when secret societies were more rampant. At the end of the day, his daily income was meagre.

Hawker 2.0 • Hawker Centre Hawkers

The turning point came in the late 1960s when the post-independence government launched the ambitious public housing programme to provide a flat for every Singapore family.

The hawker centre building programme was launched in tandem. Every public housing estate had hawker centres which served as "community dining rooms" where residents come down from their flats for meals.

Hawker centres were also built in the Central Business District to serve office workers. By 1986, the first hawker centre building programme was completed. The ambitious plan to put every street hawker into a hawker centre was a resounding success. Today, there are 114 hawker centres with some 15,000 hawkers.

The hawkers were now licensed, have their own stalls, sheltered from the elements, supplied with gas for cooking, electricity and piped water. Customers come to them instead of hawkers having to ply their trade from street to street. The greatly improved working conditions allowed hawkers to focus on their craft.

The 1980s to the first decade of the new millennium were the heyday of the hawker centre hawkers. The hawkers, each specialising in one or two dishes for decades became veritable masters of their craft. The deliciousness of hawker flavours and aromas were at their height. The best hawkers became literal legends and heroes who were the tastemakers and memory makers for generations of Singaporeans.

Thanks to the crucial role of the hawkers which they played so well, hawker centres became vital nodes in Singapore's multi-ethnic social fabric. Singapore hawker centres reflect Singapore's multicultural diversity. Malay mee rebus (spicy sauce noodles) stall, Indian roti prata (pan fried bread with curry) and Chinese bak chor mee (minced pork noodles) stalls operated comfortably side by side.

Customers from all ethnic communities, Malay, Indian, Chinese and others mingled freely. Social classes were also levelled - politicians and tycoons queue and sit at common tables together with housewives, workers, students, and retirees. The sight, smell, sound and taste of hawker food and hawker centres became part of most Singaporeans' shared experience and identity. The government recognised that hawker centres are an indispensable part of Singapore's social infrastructure.

By the second decade of the new millennium, signs of trouble in the "golden age" of Singapore's hawker culture became apparent. The incumbent hawker centre hawkers were greying - most were reaching or past retirement age. But, their successors were not in sight (in replacement numbers).

More and more shuttered hawker stalls were left vacant with no new bidders. The incumbent hawkers were not encouraging, if they weren't actively discouraging their offsprings from take over their businesses. The young too shunted the prospect of becoming hawkers.

The reasons were self evident.

Even during the hawker centre heyday, a hawker's life is a life of toil - the hours are long and odd, the work is physically demanding (often leading to occupational illnesses), and it has low social status in status conscious Singapore.

If all these weren't deterrent enough, profit margins had been eroding steadily due to increasing rental, supplies, utilities and other costs. The prices of hawker dishes had not kept up with rising costs. Seeing these realities, the young do not see it worthwhile to enter the trade. Moreover, with higher educational levels, many opportunities (even overseas) are opened to the young.

This led to the prognosis that hawker culture is dying a slow death in Singapore.

Hawker 3.0 • Hawkerpreneurs

A new kind of Singapore hawker emerged out of this existential crisis - the hawkerpreneur. The new breed of hawker is a hawker but not only that.

Douglas Ng of Fishball Story

Unlike their parents or grandparents, the hawkerpreneur wears many hats. First, s/he is at least a competent cook. S/he chose this career by choice - out one of many available options afforded by his tertiary or university education. Many are driven by passion - "I want to preserve my grandparents / parents' legacy" is an often heard sentiment.

Ler Jie Wei of Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee

But, unlike his parents, the entrepreneur is not stopping at running a hawker stall - the world is the hawkerpreneur's oyster, not the stall. Most hawkerpreneurs have ambitions of running several branches or franchises - they are building brands, not a stall.

Highly driven, they wear many hats and are adept in multi-tasking. Besides being a chef, they are strategists plotting their enterprise's growth. They are technologists eager to embrace the latest in digital innovation and in engineering. They are quick to adopt digital enablers and engineering solutions to increase productivity.

They are publicists savvy in public relations, customer relations, relations with government agencies, media relations (traditional, state, and social). They have a global outlook as their market vision goes beyond Singapore island. They are skilled negotiators always on the look out for collaborations.

Jemmy Yeo of Old World Bakuteh, Old World Fried Porridge, Old Village

Successful hawkerpreneurs possesses all the essential traits of successful entrepreneurs (in other fields). The career of a hawkerpreneur is much more complex than his parents'. His eyes and ears are alert to opportunities and he is much more proactive in tapping the levers at his disposal. Unlike their parents who are remembered for their long suffering sacrifices, hawkerpreneurs are role models of the spirit of enterprise.

If the hawkerpreneur is the next generation of hawkers, questions that come to mind are:

Can hawkerpreneurs save Singapore's hawker culture?
What does it mean for the preservation of our heritage dishes?
How will hawkerpreneurs transform our hawker centres?
What support can the government provide to hawkerpreneurs? (It has to go beyond cooking a good dish.)

What other implications come to your mind?