Opinions

Recently, a document from OTMH PTE LTD showed the prices, terms and conditions for having a hawker stall at Our Tampines Hub Hawker Centre. From the document, it shows that it takes about $3,600 for you to run a stall at the hawker centre. Does it make sense to charge our hawkers this much? Imagine selling a chicken rice for $3 a plate. You will have to sell 1,200 plates of chicken rice in a month just to breakeven and this is without factoring the cost of ingredients.

Isn't it ridiculous to charge our hawkers this much? Why is the government supporting the death of the hawker culture? Can't we do more to keep the culture alive?

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Stop fucking with our food culture for hawker draining policies which are killing the business owners, stop creating dead over-priced food courts bereft of any character or history filled with soul deadeningly awful food, cooked by folk who know fuck about food. You're so dead set on policy making Singapore. You forgot the people who built the country's food reputation. The people who've fed you and all of us. They don't work in banks. They don't go to co working spaces to Facebook. They don't instagram their food. They shout at you. Cook well. Have for a long long time. They don't give you ball shrinkingly delicious dividends. But they have soul, character, heart, and a different way of making money and existing. Ironic, when we do nothing but shout about entrepreneurs, we kill off the original Singaporean entrepreneur and replace it with some snot-ass 'neu hawker' bullshit. Give a fuck, policy makers. Give a fuck for all your people. Cause this idea that we're what you want to project thru films and ads, is beyond one sided, regressive and strangulatingly boring and bland. We are much much more. Much more. This? Is Passion Made Possible. Getting up everyday to do the same thing for your livelihood. Doing it well. Every day.

Credits to Anita G Kapoor

Recently, an image of Sheng Shiong supermarket banning the sale of Haagen-Daz rum and raisin ice cream went viral again. This is the second time that such an image was subject to netizen backlash, with the majority not being able to fathom the reasons for such a ridiculous ban. 

Technically, the alcohol content in the ice cream may be above the permissible sales limit but by using simple logic, who on the hunt for alcoholic high would buy tubs of expensive alcoholic ice cream to get this high? 

Instead of an alcohol high, the person would most likely become diabetic before the high kicks in. This is just another example of the authorities or supermarket blindly implementing rules in a rigid senseless manner. 

Why can't more common sense prevail among those in power in Singapore? Prominent radio deejays The Muttons did a test on the air and verified that after eating 2 tubs of rum and raisin ice cream, they did not get a high. With such a conclusive experiment, can't the authorities make changes so they stop looking like the idiots they are now? 

Another MRT breakdown hits our Perfect Singapore. But this is no longer news to most Singaporeans. MRT breakdowns, while frustrating, is now becoming just another part of life here. We have had so many breakdowns over the past few years, even the jokes have dried up.

Maybe it is time we stop focusing on MRT breakdowns, but how the SMRT and SBS Transit companies deal with commuters in the aftermath of breakdowns. While breakdowns can be blamed on a myriad of faults, how commuters are handled are basically the same. But how come, after all these while, commuters are still failed by the lack of information on what they should do next? Directional signs to take shuttle buses are often not there. And because hundreds are stranded without train, this will lead to huge queues forming for the buses. Yet, no solution are still in sight on what measures are best to take when dealing with train failures. It is still so messy.

Singapore is known as a city state, where everything runs like clockwork. But why can't we get our measures for train breakdowns right?

MUIS have today clarified to the public that all the four main cinema chains here in Singapore are not halal certified. This has upset many Muslims cinema goes who go to enjoy movies with the hopes that the food there are hahal certified.

There are four main movie chains with 30 food corner. Muslim cinema goers were not aware that the cinemas in Singapore does not sell halal certified food. 

Many of these people have asked MUIS to be more pro-active, to seed out all these unlicenced selling of the non-halal item. Let this fester for far too long, then there will be more issues arising from this.   

The recent calls from Ministers to ban smoking in one's own home has struck a chord with many Singaporeans. On the one hand, it seems like a good idea, because have you ever been in your own house, and yet get suffocated by the cigarette smell coming out of your neighbours unit? On the other hand, if you are a smoker, why can't you even light up in your own home? 

But this call to ban shows one thing. It seems like the Singapore government's go to tactics when a problem arises is to ban them. Being naked in one's own home, and people can see that you are, is also wrong. Banned. Never mind if the people who saw you could be voyeurs for looking in to your own home. Cats in HDB units? No good. Ban them. Big dogs in HDB units? Dangerous. Ban them.

So, what's next? is banning really a solution to a problem? Or will it just bury the issue, only to resurface in some other forms one of these days?