SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim recently tackled an issue involving the availability of halal food in his ward, saying that he has received feedback that there are not enough Muslim food options in Anchorvale.
Upon investigating the matter, the Assoc Prof wrote in a Mar 28 (Tuesday) Facebook post that “As it turns out, at the time of our ground survey, not all coffeeshops had a Muslim food option. This led me to wonder whether there was any stipulation that such options be continuously provided for, after the initial bidding process.”
He raised the issue in Parliament on March 20, asking the Minister for National Development whether HDB coffeeshop operators are required to replace their sole halal food stalls with another halal vendor when the original vendor’s operations ceases; and if this is the case, what the time frame is for the coffeeshop operator to seek a replacement; and if not, why not.
National Development Minister Desmond Lee confirmed that the operators of HDB coffeeshops are indeed required to replace sole halal food stalls with another halal vendor if the original one leaves due to business failure.
But Assoc Prof Lim wrote in his post that “no time frame is provided, and the sanction seems to be that the anchor operator’s tenancy may not be renewed, and there does not appear to be any financial repercussions for failing to do so expeditiously.”
The Sengkang GRC MP noted that this seems unfair, given that eating is a necessity and added that “with the lower density of coffeeshops already in non-mature estates, this reduces their dining options even further.”
He ended his post by writing that the WP will continue to pursue the matter, adding that he hopes that “a more concerted regulatory effort can be applied to ensuring that our Muslim residents are well-served in #SengkangGRC.”
This is the second time this month that Assoc Prof Lim tackled an issue related to food in his social media posts.
On Mar 14, he wrote about the high prices of coffee shop food in Sengkang in comparison to other places.
“A bunch of volunteers and I gathered data on prices, and we’ve managed to confirm that equivalent meals cost between $0.20 to $1 higher in Sengkang (and, on average, around $0.50 more), versus other mature estates like Ang Mo Kio (where we got the most data from),” he wrote.
/TISG
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