Sungei Road vendors may move to Golden Mile Tower

SINGAPORE — Hawkers from the Sungei Road flea market, which closed down on Monday (July 10), have been offered a lifeline: They could be allowed to operate out of the rooftop car park of the Golden Mile Tower from this Saturday.

However, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said that planning approval is required before the space can be used as an outdoor market. To date, the authority has not received any applications, a spokesperson said.

Mr Koh Eng Koon, chairman of the Association for the Recycling of Second Hand Goods, which oversees the vendors, told the media about the relocation on Monday, adding that it had struck an agreement last week with the management of the Golden Mile Tower, a shopping complex along Beach Road.

When told about the URA’s comments, Mr Koh said that he hopes the authorities would assist the association in the process. 

Golden Mile Tower’s management could not be reached for comment.

Revealing details about the relocation, Mr Koh said that about 90 of 200 hawkers were keen to move to the new site, which will likely operate from noon to 7pm daily. 

The association would test-use the new site for three months to see whether business is good before proceeding with plans.

Rental will be charged at S$5 daily for association members and S$10 for non-members. Interested hawkers can apply for a spot from this Wednesday, and they need to pay a security deposit of S$100.

The association has already paid the monthly rental of S$10,000 for the first month to Golden Mile Tower’s management to use the space, and it will collect the money from vendors at an unspecified date.

“I’ve been campaigning for three years to save the current site,” Mr Koh said, referring to the Save Sungei Road Market Campaign he spearheaded.

“Vendors are happy to have a new location. I am happy that I managed to get a place for them.”

On Monday, hundreds of people milled around the outdoor market, which was the last free-hawking zone in Singapore where vendors did not have to pay rent for stalls. It was set up in the 1930s, and has since shrunk in size over the years to make way for developments. 

Visitors told TODAY that they were hoping to get discounted second-hand items or soak in the atmosphere for the last time.

Serangoon Junior College student Schon Ng, 17, who was there for the first time, said that his father had picked him up after school and they both decided to drop by.

Describing the experience as “eye-opening”, he said: “When you think about Singapore, you don’t think about places like this. It’s all about the malls and fancy buildings, but there’s a charm to this place.”

His father, property agent Rey Ng, 46, said that it was the last chance for his son to see the area in its current state and be aware of the country’s social fabric.

“The elderly here, they went through hardships. So, it’s important for my son to understand that Singaporeans have different backgrounds,” Mr Ng said.

Filipina Yhanie Pilones, 27, a wedding and events planner, said that as a frequent customer, she has built relationships with the hawkers.

“There are so many things you can buy here. The other time, I saw a nice dress and it was only S$4. So, I bought it,” she said, laughing. At times, she would buy items from them out of sympathy. “In a way, I’m helping them make a living,” she added.

Other regular customers were seen taking photos with vendors. One hawker, Madam Zabidah Abdul Hamid, 55, said that her sweetest memory there was selling a Patek Phillipe watch for S$4,000. A buyer, who was a watch collector, had determined that the item was authentic.

She is hoping to head to Golden Mile Tower next, but said while holding back tears: “Moving out of this place, it’s such a big loss.”

Another vendor, Mr Mohd Jalil Sharwan, 57, started selling items such as shoes and components from television and radio sets here 20 years ago, after he was retrenched from his marketing job.

He knew that the market’s days at the Sungei Road area were numbered and had mentally prepared himself for it.

“It’s sad to leave, but you’ve to move on. I’m proud that my income from being a vendor here has allowed me to fund my children’s university education. It’s an honest living.”

Even after operating hours ended at 7pm, some vendors had not yet packed up, while patrons continued to loiter around. Seven men each wearing a yellow vest labelled “enforcement warden” were seen patrolling the area. The vests bore logos of the Cisco security agency and the National Environment Agency on them.

For more than half an hour, a lion dance troupe made its way around the market while customers and vendors shouted “Huat, ah!”, a Hokkien phrase calling for good fortune. 

One hawker, who identified herself as just Mala, preferred to see the closure positively.

“It celebrates what Singaporeans are all about. That we are one tight-knit community,” the 51-year-old said.