Parliament voted in favour of an amended version of a motion put forth by Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency MPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa on Wednesday (Nov 13) after a debate that lasted five-and-a-half hours. This motion called for the Government to «review its policies relating to hawkers and the management of hawker centres to provide better support for hawkers to sustain and grow Singapore hawker culture, so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy good and affordable hawker food». During his speech, Leong highlighted that high operational costs, harsh working conditions, and the expectation to provide cheap food are pressing issues faced by hawkers here. The PSP secretary-general then proposed that social enterprise hawker centres be phased out as contracts expire, replacing them with centralised management under a new government agency called Hawker Singapore. This new agency would oversee the management of all hawker centres in Singapore and the promotion of hawker culture domestically and internationally, working together with other relevant agencies, he added. Read more