'We want to do right by S'poreans, balance needs of hawkers and consumers'

Following heated online discussions over a pregnant hawker standing at her Yishun stall to meet National Environment Agency criteria, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu has expressed her empathy for Madam Puti Andam Dewi Henry.

Hawker Noorman Mubarak in a Feb 18 Facebook post complained that he was "forced" to make his heavily pregnant wife stand in their Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

According to the tenancy agreement, stall owners must manage their stalls personally.

Mr Noorman, who has since locked his Facebook profile, was not a registered stallholder or stall assistant.

The couple had received an NEA warning for violating the tenancy agreement on account of his wife, the registered stallholder, not being physically at the stall.

In a response on Feb 20, NEA stated stallholders can appoint a joint stall operator or a nominee to operate the stalls on their behalf.

Ms Fu explained in her Facebook post that "hawker stalls are meant to provide Singaporeans with the opportunity to start and run a small food business".

"Day in, day out, our hawkers work long and hard to satisfy our hunger and food cravings with local fare at affordable prices," she wrote.

"We want to do right by Singaporeans and balance the needs of our hawkers and consumers with rules that will benefit all Singaporeans and our shared hawker culture."