Singapore is a country occupied by 5.9 million people of different cultures and nationalities. The diversity of cultures is apparent everywhere, from Housing Development Board (HDB) flats to parks and even places where Singaporeans dine at — the hawker centres, which has shaped the vibrant hawker food culture scene in Singapore. Greatly raved about for its ability to unite people in one giant melting pot of cultures, the hawker food culture creates an avenue for Singaporeans to forge dense and diverse social bonds with others. However, given the rising disposable income of Singaporeans, critics may argue that the hawker food culture is proving to be redundant as people would rather order in from restaurants and other well-known dining establishments. Despite that, I still firmly believe that hawker food culture plays a pivotal role in ensuring an all-accepting, welcoming and racially harmonious Singapore.
One important aspect of hawker food culture is that it promotes social cohesion in Singapore by encouraging mixing among people of different races, languages, socio-economic statuses or religions. An expression of place and people, the hawker food culture redefines what it truly means to be a Singaporean. In a Straits Times poll conducted in 2017, it was reported that 60% of Singaporeans visit hawker centres on a daily basis. From interacting while queuing up at a stall, to sharing a table together during mealtimes, the hawker food culture provides a multitude of opportunities for total strangers to understand one another better. As a result, social cohesion is achieved as Singaporeans forge stronger and tighter bonds with other fellow Singaporeans, bringing about a racially harmonious and congenial Singapore.
Additionally, hawker food culture serves as a marker of national identity. It has bound many Singaporeans together, providing them with a common place, common experience and common identity to be proud of. One such instance was seen in 2019, when the Singapore government submitted a nomination to inscribe hawker culture in Singapore on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Such a nomination allows Singaporeans to have a common identity to be proud of — one that they can create stronger ties over. The hawker culture is like a piece of thread. While a small piece of thread may seem small and irrelevant, it has the capability to be sewn into splendid items, akin to how hawker culture may be perceived as unimportant, yet it still possesses immense potential to bring Singaporeans even closer together. With that, Singaporeans have an additional thing in common, one that they can all be proud of.
Conversely, dissenters argue that hawker food culture is facing the rising threat of gradually losing its significance due to the growing presence of multinational corporations (MNCs) and larger food establishments. With significantly higher capital and more manpower resources compared to hawkers, MNCs and large establishments like McDonalds and KFC are dominating the food market. Coupled with their flashy advertising campaigns and well-established global reputation, it is no surprise that these companies have the upper hand in influencing Singaporeans’ food choices. Aside from that, there are also rising fears of cultural homogenisation as the presence of these businesses may not only bring irreversible damage to domestic enterprises, but it may also allow for the imposition of foreign tastes in Singapore. Hence, hawker culture is facing the severe threat of dilution, especially with the entrance of numerous large foreign food companies into Singapore who directly compete with hawkers for business.
Furthermore, the unique flavours tastes of paradigmatic hawker food that play a crucial role in shaping Singapore’s hawker food culture may be lost when older practitioners retire without passing on their expertise to the next generation of hawkers. There are feelings of familiarity and comfort associated with savouring the traditional favourites especially with family and friends. However, all of that may be lost when the next generation of hawkers are unwilling to take over their family business. The contempt of working in humid conditions, long hours and back-breaking manual labour associated with being a hawker may drive the young towards the comfort of a regular office job. With no successor to take over their business, old hawkers may have to eventually close their stalls and let the culinary techniques that they have spent countless years honing and perfecting go to waste.
In closing, I believe that the presence of hawker food culture is highly beneficial to Singapore. Not only is it able to forge a common identity for Singaporeans, but it is also vital in creating a racially harmonious Singapore. However, hawkers who contribute greatly to the hawker culture may lose their position in Singapore due to the presence of MNCs. In addition, the dilution of hawker culture is also becoming an increasingly evident and worrying problem. Hence, while there are many perks to hawker culture, there are also other challenges faced by hawkers, compounded by the rising costs of business that they may not be able to afford. To combat this problem, the Singaporean government can put in place targeted measures such as lowering rental costs that will offer an attractive job option to the culinary inclined young in Singapore. At the same time, this would ensure the continuity of hawker food culture, keeping it alive for generations to come.
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