Man questions requirement for pregnant wife to physically run Yishun hawker stall, NEA says alternatives declined

A man took to Facebook saying his pregnant wife received a warning from the National Environment Agency (NEA) for not being present in their stall despite the fact that it is run by their staff.

The man noted his tenancy agreement "rightly" requires owners to "personally" manage their stalls, but he took issue with whether that requirement extended to having the hawker be physically present.

He said he and his wife were "able to use brains and systems and softwares to manage the stall" and could do so after developing SOPs over the years since they started out in 2017.

However, he said the stance taken by NEA was that doing so would violate the tenancy agreement.

The post was put up on Feb. 18 by Facebook user Noorman Mubarak, one of the owners of Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang, which has an outlet at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

In his post, Noorman said NEA warned that not being physically present in their stall would violate the tenancy agreement.

Noorman claimed that as a result, his wife will be taking photos of herself at the stall and send it to Timbre+ Hawkers, which manages the hawker centre, as proof that she is physically present.

Staff now handles the physical work while owners handle the administrative matters

According to Noorman, since the stall was first set up in 2017, its operations have improved in efficiency with staff now handling the physical work while he handles the administrative matters together with his wife.

"My wife is 40 weeks pregnant, it does not mean she cannot manage the shop in other ways, we are just being smart and upgraded ourselves by using technology and software," he wrote.

In addition, his wife can continue to manage the stall after she has given birth by continuing to give clear instructions to their staff, he said.

However, this is supposedly not allowed by NEA as his wife must either be physically present in the stall or officially assign someone to "pretend" to manage the shop, he alleged.

NEA: Offer of alternative arrangement was declined

In response to Mothership's queries, a spokesperson for NEA said they are aware of the concerns raised by Noorman.

The spokesperson clarified that the the stall is under Noorman’s wife, while Noorman himself is currently neither a registered stallholder nor stall assistant.

NEA said that Yishun Park Hawker Centre's appointed operator, Timbre+ Hawkers, observed that Noorman's wife had not been operating the stall personally.

It had reached out to her to explore appointing a joint operator or stall nominee.

"Although the offer was declined, these options remain open to Mrs Noorman," NEA said.

NEA's spokesperson also explained the requirement for stallholders to personally operate their stalls, saying:

"Hawker stalls provide an opportunity for Singaporeans to run their own small business. As such, we require stallholders to personally operate their stalls.

This also prevents stall subletting, which would drive up rental prices and food prices to the detriment of Singaporeans."

NEA's spokesperson added:

"We appreciate the challenges that hawkers face in balancing their personal circumstances with business operations. Some stallholders may not be able to operate their stalls for a period of time for good reasons.

During this period, the stallholder can appoint a joint stall operator or a nominee to operate the stall.

In the event that the stall has to close temporarily, we also extend support to the stallholder, including through rental rebates.

The above policy applies to stalls in hawker centres managed by NEA and our operators."

Two reminders were communicated to Noorman's wife

Yishun Park Hawker Centre also said in a separate statement on Facebook that it had engaged Noorman's wife "multiple times" to "understand her circumstances and explore solutions".

It suggested appointing a joint operator or nominee during the stallholder’s absence.

"However, despite repeated requests, the stallholder has not made any appointment or nomination.

Hence, two reminders were communicated to the stallholder."

Yishun Park Hawker Centre also explained the options suggested.

For appointing a joint operator, hawkers and the joint operator are each required to personally operate the stall for at least four hours per business day.

And if the hawker had a "need to be absent from the stall for a period of time for good reason", they can appoint a nominee to operate the stall on their behalf.

The statement also called for stallholders with concerns to reach out, "so that we can explore viable options together".

In response to Yishun Park Hawker Centre in a comment on the same post, Noorman replied in the comments that they had messaged his wife once and she had replied on the same day that she is managing the shop and is pregnant.

Yishun Park Hawker Centre did not reply to her, Noorman claimed.

"Then we received a second warning via email stating again she was not found in the stall. That is our frustration, you did not engage us personally and find a solution," he said.

Noorman added that he had engaged “the decision makers”, however, and will discuss tentative solution.

He also said he would fight for a "fairer implementation and interpretation" of the policy in question.

Top left image via Noorman Mubarak/Facebook, right photo via Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang/Facebook