20/04/2022
Sustaining a heritage in the likes of sungei Road has been more then a challenge when residents oppose their existence instead of embracing fellow Singaporeans into their neighbourhood.
Many complaints about the activities of the past when they were hawking on the streets. Now that they have moved into proper shop houses units with attached toilets they still complain and reference back to the past.
One word of advise. Please continue to walk/cycle or take the public bus to your destinations. Do not take the mrt or book a grab etc since you can't embrace change nor embrace the kampung spirit we all grew up with.
What is the difference between these sungei road shops set up in the likes of salvation army thrift shops or similar? Why not boycott the famous laksa as it is said they use earthworms in their rich gravy. Its a wake up call for everyone!
It's sad and truly disappointing that fellow Singaporeans cannot live side by side with an ardent group of vendors who embrace heritage till their last drop of sweat!
Sustainability has been part of the vendors culture for over 80 years. With the revamped name change to sungei road Green Hub - Items are reused, refurbished and repurposed (upcycle) the sad fact remains that its the mindset of locals that cannot change and accept this heritage of Sustainability. Not only for the environment but also for the lifelihood of each and every vendor. Its a job/business they take great pride in till this day.
So much talk about Sustainability, climate change etc all goes to waste when people don't embrace the heritage and culture of a group of vendors struggling to maintain that very fact!
Closure seems imminent in the location where it all started. Many of us make it a point to visit flea markets when overseas. Its part of the to do list for tourists. Could the Green hub be on such a list for visitors to singapore? That's a big question mark that only the top authorities can answer. When pasar malam was shut down, we all missed it so much. Many attempts to revive it recently with not much success. It takes time to rebuild a heritage. Do we want to continue rebuilding the sungei road heritage 20 years later?
In the meanwhile, it's a mad scramble to look for an alternative location to house them. If you agree to heritage and Sustainability, please keep us posted if there are landlords who are open to house all our heritage keepers and also revive the pasar malam culture in a permanent location.
* we do not support any political party/parties or be part of any political agenda whatsoever in our quest to continue this heritage.
** the sungei road green hub segment starts from the 20min mark on the you tube channel below
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