2/16/2021

More young Singaporeans are setting out to be hawkers

Singapore – Amidst the Covid-19 downturn, more young Singaporeans are setting out to be hawkers....

“The local or traditional, iconic dishes would be disappearing if young people do not take over the stall or learn these dishes,” said apprentice Lim Wei Keat.

Newcomers like him will help existing hawkers pass on their legacy. “I’m getting older, and my children don’t want to take over, so if I don’t teach apprentices then the flavour will disappear from Singapore,” said the owner Neo Cheng Leong.

 Hawker food critic K.F. Seetoh commented, “Back in the day, it (the hawker business) was really seen as a profession for those who have no route into life. So that has changed a lot today, but that perception hasn’t gone.”

He was referring to the perception that hawkers are in a low-paid profession, causing the young to choose to be baristas or bartenders instead.

“There’s still a school of people who would say ‘What, you want to be a hawker? What’s wrong with you?'” added Mr Seetoh. CNA

This is like a paradigm shift. Our young are gradually turning to the professions of their fathers and grand fathers, becoming part time drivers, security guards, now becoming hawkers.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is this progress, to be encouraged or to be frown upon?

I would rather hear things like banking jobs or ITs would disappear if no Singaporeans would want to take on these jobs. This is a scary truth. No Singaporean interested in being CEOs of Singaporean banks. I would rather hear highly skilled jobs like professors, doctors, engineers etc would disappear if no Singaporeans would want to take these jobs. But of course these good jobs would not disappear as more foreigners would be brought in to fill them and let the clueless and unthinking Singaporeans continue their love to be part time cab drivers and hawkers. Do not blame the imbeciles. They tried but could not find enough good and skill Singaporeans suitable for these top jobs. It must be the fault of poorly qualified no talent Singaporeans.

Don't blame our world class education system and universities as well.  They are doing an excellent job for sure. Just can't figure out what the students were learning that made them graduated with skills that are not suitable for top jobs, but to be hawkers or part time workers. Should the third world half past six universities and degree mills learn from our world class universities or the other way round, our world class universities learning from them? Have they been recruiting the best academics from the third world universities to boost our university talent pool?

But Singaporeans still have a bright future. Nothing to worry about.  These new or old professions, not the oldest profession I hope, are respectable professions. Soon Singaporean maids would be in vogue and maybe diploma or degree courses would be offered to be professional maids. Only Singaporeans need apply. The bright future, to work for foreign talents and their families.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like we will soon be starting degree courses at local universities in hawking, security guarding, pirate taxi driving. Then they will say upgrading your skills with a degree will enable aspiring chefs (don't call them hawkers anymore), anti-theft specialist (don't call them security guards anymore) and limousine captains (don't call them pirate taxi drivers anymore) will let them earn big bucks.

Of course customers and commuters will also need to pay big bucks for their services. Then it will be 'all is well and that ends well' feeling, with jobs created, GDP rises and more bonuses for the thinkers.

Like products sold at supermarkets, they need to change the wrappings every now and then, although what is inside the package remains the same or even contain less, but becomes more expensive on the outside with the change in appearance.

Milk powder manufacturers particularly have been doing that for ages, each successive change of the look of the containers means a few more dollars more expensive, with the contents reduced and God knows what rubbish they said they added in. Yet, such additives have in fact made successive generations more daft. A 2 kg tin before now is now sold in a 1.6 kg tin with the price increasing by leaps and bounds.

Anonymous said...

Be a hawker....Not bad not bad!

At least can be CEO of own hawker stall...not bad lah... furthermore,many many many many hawkers are staying in landed properties, some more than one!

All the BEST-est!


Really... not bad not bad!

Anonymous said...

They have allowed medical fees to run wild. Price of milk powder also.
These are essential items that people cannot say no to. Everyone would want the best for their loved ones.

We are going down the road of destruction, American style. Seeing how bad things are in the USA, the imbeciles are not doing anything to put a stop to it and happily go along. What is good for the Americans must be good for us too.

China on the other hand are only picking what is good and discard what is bad for its people. This is thinking, making policies with a bit of thinking and common sense. Here, like the USA, allows profiting with no restraints. Housing prices up and up, very good, I have so many properties, no estate duties to pay, even go up to 100m or 200m better still.

Anonymous said...

In time Sinkies will all be CEOs of their own hawker stalls, pirate taxi owners, security guard agencies.

All chiefs, no Indian braves!

Anonymous said...

Some silly reporters even flattered them saying they are their own bosses, a lot of freedom to move around and do nothing.

ABC said...

It is going to be good for Singapore to have many, many HAWKers. The more HAWKers there are, the more Singapore prospers.

Then all the extremely expensive Millionaire-demanding Ministers can be replace by HAWKing Ministers. No need to pay $Millions for substandard performances. No need to have Cambridge, Oxbridge or Stanford and Harvard scholars to be paper-generals to become bookworm, theorist Ministers.

With HAWKing Ministers, their pay can be reduced to one-tenth of present Get-Rich-Quick Ministers' pay.

With HAWKing Ministers, all SAF paper-generals can be sent to the rural areas of China and India to gain practical ground experiences for a ten-year term, on rotation basis. If they are still not up to the mark after ten years, they can be sent back for a second term of another ten years, and so on and on.

In fact, the President and SAF scholarships schemes should be closed, because they have become a symbol of prestige than anything else. This has made those scholars swell-headed, egoistic and arrogant. Instead of positive encouragement, these schemes have produced misfits in of top-ranking leadership. This is definitely not good for Singaporeans. Maybe good for the individuals concerned but totally not good for Singapore as a whole, as a nation.

Any country that breeds self-centred, egoistic, arrogant elites who, instead of feeling strongly for the people, feel entitled to out-of-this-world salaries and bonuses in order to make themselves multi-millionaires overnight (within a year) is doomed.

The signs are already there, very clearly written on the wall: For exemples,

1. Leaders who, after years of study, still thinks that cotton comes from sheep;

2. Leaders who scolded and belittled fellow Singaporeans as "Xia Shuay" (Disgraceful) behind closed doors;

3. Leaders who openly pretended that someone is a Malay but actually Indian by birth;

4. Leaders who claimed to take responsibility but only by words said in parliament, not by deeds of resigning, etc.

5. Leaders who claimed no conflicts of interests but in reality there are many conflicts of interests.

6. Many more examples .....

Anonymous said...

Not bad! Not bad!

Good profits! Good money!

Earns a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$$!

So come come come...be a hawker today!

Anonymous said...

7. Leader who claimed to be outstanding but only outstanding in making great losses in NOL and as a result had to sell it to a foreign French company that turned it around to profit-making in only one year.

8. Leader who after failing in NOL, took over SPH and also became outstanding in making great losses again. Such is the tract records of paper-generals.

9. Leader who, after years of study and experiences in top leadership posts, still claimed that nurses are low-grade menial workers but actually nurses are professionals that have special callings and demands.

10. Leader whose ministry made blunder after blunder but he has yet to take full responsibility by resigning. Still happily collecting his $millions every year for the last ten years or so.

Anonymous said...

This is a clear sign that the country is spinning downwards to become a third world cuntry.

Anonymous said...

In the colonial days when opportunities were limited, the aspiration of the locals was to become a 'tua chye hoo' aka chief clerk.

Today it is to became a hawker. What a fucking joke. Why bring in millions of foreigners to create hawker jobs and driver jobs for Singaporeans and the foreigners taking over the plum jobs?

Who is responsible for this silliness?

SSO said...

Revamp all the ministries.

Replace Prime Minister with Prime Hawker or Hawker-in-Chief.

Replace Ministry for Manpower with Ministry of Hawkers.

Replace Ministry for Education with Ministry of Hawk-action.

Replace Ministry for Health with Ministry of Gluttony.

Replace Ministry for Social Services with Ministry of Hawking Services.

Replace Ministry for Youth and Sports with Ministry of Eating and Drinking.

Replace Ministry for Finance with Ministry of Greed.

Etc.

Anonymous said...

Iswaran explained that "the country (India) on the other side is not going to then say, ‘Yes, please do that’, and not do anything about it" when Singapore takes something away from the (CECA) agreement.

“So you have to answer the question... what are you going to give up in order to secure the things that you want."

So give up Singaporean PMETs' livelihood in order for corporations to secure access to India's markets.

Anonymous said...

That bugger is talking cock. There must be an expiry date for the agreement. Why renewed when the terms were unfavourable and cannot change? I thought they are all super talents, got cheated or conned by the India Indians under blur like sotong, completely hapless, held at ransom by India?

What signed an unequal treaty without being coerced into it? Who signed it? Who is responsible for this piece of shit? This is amounting to treason.

Anonymous said...

Dunno want to cry or want to laugh.

LKY would be so angry that he would pulled out all his hair if he knew this is what the imbeciles had done.

Anonymous said...

CECA could be terminate with a 6-months notice in writing.

https://www.enterprisesg.gov.sg/-/media/esg/files/non-financial-assistance/for-companies/free-trade-agreements/CECA_India/Legal_Text/Chapter16_General_and_Final_Provisions

ARTICLE 16.8: ENTRY INTO FORCE, DURATION AND TERMINATION
1. This Agreement shall enter into force on 1 August 2005.
2. Either Party may terminate this Agreement by giving the other Party six months' advance notice in writing.

SSO said...

Iswaran is talking blue-bird's words. CECA can be terminated by giving notice six months in advance. There is no strings attached, according to the clearly stated official document.

Perhaps, Iswaran is saying something that we do not know.

Perhaps, Iswaran is saying something not written in the official documents.

Perhaps, there were under-table private negotiations similar to what had happened in the Keppel (O&M)-Brazil secret negotiations that were in force and in operation for 13 long years?

It is quite clear that some individuals or organisations must have benefited and still benefitting greatly from the CECA agreement at the greatest expense of all fellow Singaporeans. Otherwise, they would not have expanded the agreement twice after the agreement was signed in 2005.



Anonymous said...

You must know how difficult it is to deal with the Indians. China is probably the only country that could squeeze their balls to make them scream. The Indians have been doing all kinds of monkey business at the border and blaming the Chinese for it, thinking the American pricks behind them are very big, strong and friendly. The Chinese told them to shove it into their mouths. The Chinese are ready to do another 1962.

Not the Chinese or Indians here. These would be squeezed by the Indians until they scream for help. See how useless they are in the way they talked about CECA. See how the Indians swarmed this island and they could not do anything about it. Hopeless bunch, only know how to collect their millions.

Anonymous said...

Hello Redbean, you wrote " This is like a paradigm shift. Our young are gradually turning to the professions of their fathers and grand fathers, becoming part time drivers, security guards, now becoming hawkers. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is this progress, to be encouraged or to be frown upon?"

Of course it is a good thing. Singaporeans can be hawkers, cab drivers or security guard. What is wrong with that? These are all honest employment and nothing to be frown upon. The CEO jobs are reserved for the imported talents because they are better qualified and are hungrier than the locals. Singaporean Universities mare world class but hey do not produce graduates who are fit to be CEOs and world class bankers. Feeling sorry for Singaporeans. Still, being a hawker, taxi driver, security guard or delivering food are all jobs reserved fopr Singaporeans.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Agree. That is why some imbeciles were saying the piece of paper cannot eat, so be happy if got a job, any job, even crane driver also. Forget about the hundreds of thousands spent on the piece of toilet paper.

Anonymous said...

I remember reading somewhere one of the senior ministers came out to say that you cannot eat your degree. That was the time when the PAP government was persuading people not to fight for places in top schools and universities. Now a few years later this same government has created qualification for charkoewteow and hokkien mee. Very soon there will be degree for taxi drivers or security guards. Time has changed and this Singapore must change too. Who knows, very soon there could be a degree in NUS for maids where Singaporeans girls can get qualification to work in foreign countries.

1984 George Orwell said...

When the people of a nation are held ransom by the dictators of their country, that people collectively are a pathetic lot. One good example is Burma or Myanmar, where the people are being held ransom at gun-point now, by the military dictatorial generals.

Singaporeans too are being held ransom by the political dictatorial elites, some of whom are also from the military, especially one Powerful Brigadier who happens to be the PM. The only difference is Burma's military dictators do it illegally but Singapore's military dictators do it legally, through the ballot box.

Anonymous said...

Through the ballot box?? you must be joking or just kidding yourself.

SSO said...

Israel has the highest, on record, number of people vaccinated against the Coronavirus. Yet it is so cruel as to stop a small amount of vaccines from reaching the Palestinian frontline medical staff in the Gaza Strip. This incident really exposes the true colors of the Israeli government to the world.

Israel on Monday stopped 1,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine that are intended for front-line medical workers from entering the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday blasted Israel’s refusal to allow vaccine doses destined for Gaza health workers through its blockade of the territory as a “violation” of international law.

What is the United Nations Chief doing about this cruel inhuman act?

Anonymous said...

What would the kind and good Americans say about this?
What would the protector of human rights western media say about this?

Anonymous said...

It is terribly and horribly disgraceful for Singaporeans to pay their leaders the world's highest pay, for political office-holders, and yet they are treated worse than the foreign trash.

Anonymous said...

Probably what he meant is 'Through the ballot' by means of GRCs, redrawing of constituency boundaries every erection, tweeting elections rules, 'hangouts' and hanging out carrots & even mass import of foreigners to become citizens. It takes very long time to change the political landscape & hard to win for any contestants.

Anonymous said...

Only brilliant million dollar minds can come up with diploma and degree courses for hawkers and maids. You lay people cannot think, no standard to think, so don't deserve to be paid million dollar salary.

Anonymous said...

Agree with Anon 7.49.

Years of tweeking with the election system and rules have produced the required result, culminating in regimental control.

Such tweeks, discreet and always minor on the surface with each successive election, did not generate attention from human rights watch or the West, but accumulated over the years are even more harmful than open trampling of human rights, which would have drawn condemnation from the rest of the democratic world.

That is how smart lawyers can be. They know the law, how to make full use of the law and everything done is above board and legal. If not legal, just change the law. It works all the time.

But sometimes, it is the legal process that comes back to haunt some people.

Anonymous said...

"Shutting borders to countries such as India and Indonesia would impact lives and livelihoods in S'pore" - Koh Poh Koon told Parliament on Tuesday, avoiding elephant in the room.

In response to Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai asking about the Government's decision to keep the borders open to these travellers as a disproportionately large number of imported cases had originated from the two countries, Koh said Singapore needs a continued inflow of migrant workers to support key economic sectors. They include construction workers who build homes and critical infrastructure, as well as domestic workers who support caregiving needs.

Singaporeans always know this and have always appreciated such workers.

But Koh conveniently avoided mentioning the India nationals coming into Singapore to cannibalize jobs that can be filled by Singaporean PMETs.

Think Singaporeans are so dumb?

Anonymous said...

" Think Singaporeans are so dumb? "

YES YES YES. Dumb and gullible. Stolen lunch by imported FTs still asleep.

Anonymous said...

The asshole doctor always talk cock like sing song. That's why he was rejected by the voters when he stood as an independent candidate. Until now, he still does not have any credibility on his own standing. And he knows it. That's why he is trying so hard to please his boss, becauseit was his boss who bought him into the powerhouse through the back door.