Replies: Hawker centres

Forum: No letting up on drive to cultivate cleanliness culture

A woman taking a used bowl to the return station at a hawker centre on Aug 10, 2020. PHOTO: ST FILE

The Public Hygiene Council (PHC) agrees with the views expressed by Mr Andrew Tan Chye Hee in his letter (Hawker culture: Time to work on cleanliness, hygiene standards, Dec 18).

Like Mr Tan, we are immensely proud that our hawker culture has been added to the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. We are just as concerned about the state of hygiene in our hawker centres.

The PHC has worked very hard over the past years to educate a wide spectrum of society, including schools, parents, grassroots communities, cinema operators, food business operators, non-profit environmental groups and corporations, on the importance of cleanliness and hygiene in public spaces, including hawker centres, but it has been an uphill task.

We will continue with our public education efforts and appeal to all Singaporeans to do their part so that the hawker culture we are so proud of includes the culture of cleanliness and hygiene.

Edward D'Silva

Chairman, Public Hygiene Council

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 31, 2020, with the headline Forum: No letting up on drive to cultivate cleanliness culture. Subscribe