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The Big Read: Much more than a market, Jurong West fire guts an estate’s social hub

SINGAPORE — Every weekend, Mr Yip, a 62-year-old retiree, used to visit the wet market at Block 493, Jurong West Street 41, to stock up on groceries such as fish and pork. When the marketing was done, he sought out an old friend or two and, over a cup of “kopi” at the coffee shop, they would “kaypoh” about each other’s lives, and while away the afternoons.

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SINGAPORE — Every weekend, Mr Yip, a 62-year-old retiree, used to visit the wet market at Block 493, Jurong West Street 41, to stock up on groceries such as fish and pork. When the marketing was done, he sought out an old friend or two and, over a cup of “kopi” at the coffee shop, they would “kaypoh” about each other’s lives, and while away the afternoons.

It was a routine that the long-time Jurong West resident, who lives across the road from the market, had grown accustomed to.

But in the wee hours of Oct 11, Mr Yip was jolted out of his sleep by the sound of an explosion. Bleary-eyed, he rushed down from his flat to join a crowd which had already gathered in front of a huge blaze engulfing the wet market and two coffee shops at Blocks 493 and 494.

“People were just standing around, (wondering) how this fire could have started … We felt very sad,” he said.

Within an hour and a half, the 30-year-old wet market was reduced to a charred shell.

In the days that followed, the affected stallholders milled around the estate, discussing the situation. Former residents returned to visit the area and find out how their former neighbours were doing. The incident was the talk of the town, including those not living in the area.

“People had asked me which block I was from, and said ‘too bad, no more coffee shop’,” said Mr Yip, recalling how he was asked about the fire while having his meals in Jurong East Central.

The loss of the market reflects a facet of heartland life that few Singaporeans think twice about until it is gone. Wet markets, coffeeshops and hawker centres have been in the news in recent years. In 2007, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) reversed its policy — three years after it stopped building markets in new towns — following a major consultation exercise involving some 1,000 Singaporeans.

In 2009, when supermarket chain Sheng Siong bought over five wet markets, Singaporeans urged the Government to intervene, to prevent the company from converting the wet markets into supermarkets. The HDB subsequently made it clear that it would not allow the wet markets to be converted. Wet markets, or rather the lack of them, have also been a central municipal issue for many constituencies when it comes to election time.

In heartland estates across the island, wet markets and hawker centres are front and centre when it comes to amenities. Less than two weeks ago, a S$2 million upgrade for Yuhua Village centred around the facilities near the wet market. When approval for construction of a wet market in Sengkang was given earlier this year, the area’s Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Lam Pin Min, described it as part of an integrated community facility.

For many Jurong West residents, there is a sudden void in their lives. Afterall, the wet market was where they spent a good part of their day. Several residents whom TODAY spoke to over the past week were still grappling with the loss, while the market is being prepared for demolition.

Previously, the market was a hive of activity, often bustling with crowds, some travelling all the way from Choa Chu Kang and even Punggol and Sengkang, said clothing store owner Wendy Kiu, 38, who grew up in the area.

Mdm Latifah, 50, a housewife who stays at Boon Lay, is a regular visitor to the area. She used to buy her groceries from the friendly stallholders who made it a point to remember her orders. “I don’t usually carry plastic bags, so they always remember that … And whenever I go there, it seems like they know what I’m going to buy. It seems like they are family,” she said.

Often, the coffee shops near the market would be so packed with customers that there were barely enough tables available, said Mdm Wong Kim Yok, 80, who runs a medical hall and has lived at Block 494 for the past 30 years. The carpark behind the market was often full, and people would complain about not getting lots, she added. “But in the blink of an eye, it’s gone. Nobody comes by anymore,” she lamented in Mandarin.

Another resident, Mdm Ng, 61, said she would miss the stalls — the ones selling Thai fried rice and kuay chap, in particular — at the coffee shops. She used to buy food there every day. “I miss it, and it’s a pity that they are now gone. I just hope they can quickly start their businesses again,” she said in Mandarin.

A new temporary market — a few blocks away — is likely to be ready in time for Chinese New Year, Jurong GRC MP Ang Wei Neng assured the stallholders earlier this week during a meeting with them.

It could not come sooner for fortune teller Chua Hock Seng, 51, who already misses the area’s kampung spirit.

Mdm Betsy Tan, who has been running a minimart at Block 494 for the past decade, recalled how the stallholders helped one another, including setting aside vegetables or other goods for her to buy later. “This place is like an old people’s town … Everyone knows one another and we’re always greeting one another,” she said.

In the days after the fire, several shopkeepers from nearby blocks pooled together a sum of money to help those affected get by. One of them, Mdm Goh, 58, said: “We’re so used to it because we pass by it every day, so we might have (overlooked it), but suddenly it’s gone … Knowing that these stallholders have to start from scratch, we know it’s not that easy.”

While there are enough coffee shops and markets nearby that residents can turn to for their daily needs, Mr Yip insisted that things were not the same as before. He simply misses the buzz and the people. “There’s a lot of emptiness now, everyone is wondering where these stallholders are going and what their lives are going to be like.”

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