SINGAPORE: During the parliamentary sitting on 14 October, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, Koh Poh Koon, announced a policy change aimed at addressing the manpower challenges faced by hawkers.

Effective 1 January 2025, hawker stalls will be allowed to hire long-term visit pass (LTVP) holders as stall assistants.

Currently, only Singapore citizens and permanent residents are eligible for such positions in NEA-managed hawker centres.

This policy relaxation will enable LTVP holders with approved work rights, particularly those with familial connections to hawkers, to serve as assistants.

SMS Koh reiterated that the high tender prices in hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) are exceptions rather than the norm.

He emphasised NEA’s ongoing review of its policies to ensure the system remains effective while keeping hawker food prices affordable.

Dr Koh revealed that in 2023, one in five cooked food stalls were tendered at or below S$500 per month.

The median successful tender price for cooked food stalls decreased from S$2,000 in 2022 to S$1,800 in 2023.

While higher bids were observed in popular locations, they do not reflect overall trends. The NEA conducts monthly tender exercises, which Dr Koh characterised as “transparent and fair.”

Dr Koh’s comments were made in response to parliamentary questions from Melvin Yong, PAP MP for Radin Mas SMC.

Mr Yong inquired about the median rent for hawker stalls over the past two years, the potential for NEA to review the tenancy period to mitigate disproportionately high bids, and whether a ballot model with fixed rental rates had been considered.

In July, a bid of S$10,158 was submitted for a vacant stall at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre, the second-highest for the unit and reportedly the highest bid for a hawker stall in six years.

Of the top five bids for the Marine Parade stall, the highest bid of S$10,680 was withdrawn, with three others exceeding S$8,000.

MP Yong Warns High Rental Bids Could Trigger Ripple Effect on Food Prices

Mr Yong later in a supplementary question further raised concerns that some new hawkers, after placing high rental bids, may increase food prices to cover costs.

This, he said, could lead to other hawkers raising their prices, creating a ripple effect. He suggested the ministry implement a system, similar to the HDB resale portal, to alert prospective bidders when their bids exceed the median rent in the same hawker centre by 10%.

In response, Dr Koh said the ministry did not track food price increases in hawker centres with high rental bids but suggesting that market competition would naturally moderate prices.

He argued that hawkers with high rents would still need to offer competitive prices to attract customers and sustain their businesses.

He emphasized that excessive rental bids were outliers, and the majority of hawker centres continued to offer affordable food.

Dr Koh also supported the idea of improving transparency by providing detailed rental data on NEA’s website, helping bidders make more informed decisions.

MP for Bukit Panjang SMC Liang Eng Hwa noted that disproportionately high rents could undermine the original intent of hawker centres, which is to provide affordable food.

He suggested that NEA conduct due diligence on bidders, assessing their financial capacity to sustain high rental levels.

Dr Koh acknowledged the concern but cautioned against imposing stringent requirements that could disadvantage smaller hawkers.

He emphasised that hawker centres are competitive environments, and the market would filter out those unable to sustain their bids.

He reiterated that high rents affect only a small number of stalls, while most still offer affordable prices.

Leong Mun Wai, Non-Constituency Member of Parliament from Progress Singapore Party (PSP), raised the possibility of further liberalizing manpower policies to allow work permit holders to be employed in hawker stalls, referencing the mini restaurant licence scheme that allows some hawkers in coffee shops and food courts to hire such workers.

In response, Dr Koh stated that there were no immediate plans to allow work permit holders to work in hawker stalls. He stressed the importance of preserving the local hawker culture, which is primarily run by Singaporeans.

While LTVP holders can work in hawker stalls due to their familial connections, extending this to work permit holders is not being considered.

Instead, the focus remains on helping hawkers adopt more productive methods to reduce reliance on manpower, he added.

SINGAPORE: Education Minister Chan Chun Sing stated that the number of reported bullying incidents in schools has remained stable over the past five years.

On average, there were around two incidents per 1,000 primary school students and six incidents per 1,000 secondary school students annually, he said.

Bullying incidents involving technology accounted for fewer than one per 1,000 secondary students, and even fewer at the primary school level.

Speaking during the parliamentary session on Monday (14 October), Minister Chan addressed questions raised by fellow MPs regarding recent school bullying cases that have sparked public concern.

One case involved a video circulated online last month, allegedly showing students from Bukit View Secondary School bullying a peer, though the incident actually occurred in October last year.

Minister Chan reassured MPs that the Ministry of Education (MOE) equips students with pro-social skills through the Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum, which includes lessons on kindness, conflict resolution, and appropriate behaviour.

Minister emphasised the need to balance punishment with rehabilitation

Teachers are trained to foster a supportive classroom environment and to address bullying proactively.

He explained that MOE considers the severity of each incident and the profiles of the students involved when determining disciplinary actions.

These can range from detention and suspension to caning for boys as a last resort. In serious cases, police reports may be filed.

However, Minister Chan stressed the importance of balancing punishment with rehabilitation.

He cautioned against actions that could hinder a perpetrator’s opportunity for reform, particularly counterproductive behaviors on social media, emphasising the need for a justice that blends accountability with rehabilitation.

MP He Ting Ru inquires about breakdown of bullying incidents and special guidelines for neurodiverse students

Ms He Ting Ru, Workers’ Party MP for Sengkang GRC, pressed Minister Chan for breakdown of reported bullying incidents, specifically distinguishing between offline and online incident reported to the school.

Minister Chan clarified that while the data for offline incidents had been provided, online incidents were generally reported at a much lower rate.

He acknowledged that this discrepancy might be due to a lack of awareness among students about what constitutes online bullying.

For instance, if a child feels persistently excluded from a group, it could be a form of psychological bullying, but understanding this requires context.

Minister Chan suggested that the number of reported online bullying incidents is likely to rise over time as awareness increases and as children are exposed to more online interactions.

Ms He also inquired about any special guidelines or approaches for handling bullying cases involving students with neurodiverse conditions or disabilities.

Minister Chan emphasised the importance of sensitivity in these situations.

He noted that there is no one-size-fits-all method for addressing bullying involving students with special needs.

NCMP Hazel Poa questions accuracy of Minister Chan’s Claim on Steady School Bullying Trends

Hazel Poa, Non-Constituency MP from the Progress Singapore Party, noted that while the minister mentioned that the trend of bullying over the past five years has remained steady, she challenged the sufficiency of this timeframe, arguing that social behavior trends may take longer to assess.

She further queried if the minister could provide figures over a longer time frame like for example 20 years?

She also inquired whether there had been any studies exploring the reasons behind bullying behavior among children and young people, aimed at identifying potential preemptive measures to address such behavior.

In response, Minister Chan acknowledged that he did not have data spanning the last 20 years.

“The only thing that we have changed in the classification is that previously we did not account for instances that happen outside school, but more recently we have also put that into our data. That’s about the only change that we have done recently,”Minister Chan told Ms Poa.

WP MP Jamus Lim raises concerns over parental involvement in bullying cases

WP MP Associate Professor Jamus Lim then expressed concern over the limited or absent involvement of parents, particularly highlighting feedback from parents in Sengkang who felt that their outreach to school authorities, such as the discipline master, resulted in inadequate actions due to insufficient family involvement from the perpetrator’s side.

In response, Minister Chan emphasised that the MOE does indeed involve the parents of perpetrators as part of the rehabilitation process.

He clarified that the rehabilitation cannot occur independently of parental involvement, as parents play a crucial role in the partnership needed to raise children effectively.

Minister Chan noted that, unlike jurisdictions that impose fines or punitive measures on parents, the MOE’s approach is more collaborative.

He encouraged parents of perpetrators to engage more actively, and he invited Lim to inform them of any specific cases where parental involvement was lacking, promising to follow up on such concerns.

He also addressed the issue of expectations and pointed out that in difficult cases, some parents may take matters into their own hands, which he described as unhelpful.

He stressed that this type of behaviour serves as negative role modeling for children and is contrary to the guidance the MOE aims to provide.