Instead of developing more new shopping malls, more time and resources should be spent on building new hawker centres (More new hawker centres needed, Nov 25).

People from all walks of life frequent hawker centres to enjoy a wide variety of good food at affordable prices.

There are probably many who avoid patronising food outlets in shopping malls, where having a meal can be expensive.

I cannot understand why more shopping malls are sprouting up in Singapore, especially in the suburban areas.

In the north-east where I reside, there are more than a dozen shopping malls which are easily accessible by public transport or within walking distance.

Like the malls in other areas, they are of the same kind with the same mix of shops and food outlets. In other words, there is not enough differentiation in the stores.

One does not need to travel to a particular mall to find his favourite food or a particular brand of item since these are available in nearly every mall.

It is better to have more hawker centres and fewer shopping malls.

Jeffrey Law Lee Beng