Geylang Serai Bazaar 2019 To Be Cheaper, Less Hipster & More Nostalgic

Over the years, the Geylang Serai Bazaar had lost some of its cultural identity.

It is supposed to be a Ramadan Bazaar, where stalls selling Hari Raya goodies were clustered together so that people could buy them to celebrate the occasion.

Instead of traditional goodies and food being sold, more hipster and “Instagram-worthy” food stalls replaced them, leading to crowds of youngsters who were there just for the gram.

Out with the New, in with the Old

On Thursday, 28 March, the organisers of the Geylang Serai Bazaar announced that in this year’s bazaar, there will be more traditional goods related to Hari Raya and the Malay culture.

Not only that, but all food stalls will also be required to sell food suitable for Muslims.

Wisma Geylang Serai, who are the main co-ordinators for the event, said 60 per cent of the food sold must be traditional Malay food. The remaining 40 per cent can offer “hipster” options.

Which means you’ll be seeing less of those rainbow tacos and edible helium balloons around this year.

The stalls are also required to be either Muslim-owned and certified Halal either by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) or consultants engaged by the organisers.

Upgrade from the past

This was an issue that the bazaar has faced for years.

In 2017, there were concerns that some of the stalls were not Halal certified.

The Geylang Serai MP, Dr Fatimah Lateef, later said in an interview that the bazaar was not the Ramadan Bazaar that people believed it to be.

Instead, it was just an annual fair for the general public. Hence, the presence of non-halal stalls.

The Malay-Muslim community criticised her and the Town Council for failing to disclose that the fair was not the Ramadan Bazaar that they thought it was, and that not all stalls present at the Bazaar were halal.

Which they had every right to because the Bazaar was meant for them.

The change made in 2019 was due to the feedback from the previous year that the Bazaar had undergone “hipsterfication”.

What to expect this year

Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, Dr Maliki Osman, said that the bazaar will be organised thematically this year.

There will be designated sections to cater to different audiences. For example, there will be an area for the sale of traditional Malay kueh and another location for modern goods.

He also added that this was such so as to experiment with a “more coordinated approach”.

People can go to different areas according to what they’re interested in. So those who wish to see modern style goods can still find them, and those who wish to see traditional goods can find them as well.

Despite the increase in traditional goods, Dr Maliki emphasised that there must be opportunities for young entrepreneurs. Subsequent editions of the bazaar should try to accommodate to them as well.

Food concerns

There were also some practical food concerns relating to traditional Malay food that was brought up by Mr Syah Ibrahim, the founder of Orange Travel, during the press briefing.

With the hot temperatures in the tents and the warm weather, traditional Kuehs such as koleh-koleh and puteri salat would turn bad due to the eggs and coconut milk in it.

Nasi padang was also not doable because vendors typically open until late at night, and the rice with gravy would not last. He also said that fried foods were more practical for vendors that operate until late at night.

Dr Maliki also repeated that food sold at stalls must be suitable for Muslims. For food stalls that are owned by Muslims, the owners have to ensure that products are halal.

For other food stalls, they must get halal certifications from MUIS. Smaller stalls can work with halal consultants to ensure that equipment and produce can be used.

Lower rentals

It was also announced that the rental costs will be capped at $14,000 this year.

This was due to the complaints that they had received as the rental cost up to $20,000 last year and up to $15,000 in 2017.

Dr Maliki said that since the rental is lower than last year’s, he hopes it translates into cheaper prices of goods.

There will be 500 stalls featured in the bazaar this year, which is fewer than last year’s. The plan that this would translate to more space between stalls, a larger dining space and walkways for visitors.

Hopefully this year, it won’t be packed like sardines.