I think.. and this is absolutely my own opinion.. that once the hawkers realized that they could be pawns in a "political chess game", they want OUT.
Nobody likes to be used for another's agenda.. worse still.. to be viewed by the public as "instigators" or "perpetrators" in a tussle, for any ordinary folk.. is not a thing to celebrate. Perhaps.. the hawkers that are involved.. may not have known that the situation would turn out this way.. perhaps they didn't even know it was meant to be such a "politically motivated" thing in the first place.
Now.. the funny thing is.. not many are paying attention, as this is seen by many (from what I have heard), to be a selfish and greedy act by the hawkers. One of my friends even mentioned, "to me it seems that the hawkers want money for the 5 days closure.. but if they dun use water, electricity and gas or any of their ingredients or stock or watever.. they dun lose.. yet they want money? Greedy la".
Another friend even said, "one year clean 2 times meh? if they want to clean, they should pay ma.. why keep insisting others pay for them? As if the ceilings are dirtied by patrons and TC! it's their cooking that dirties the high places wat! no meh? they dirty, residents pay for them ah? pay la!"
Amidst the noise from the NEA, WP and other parties involved.. this piece of news has not seriously affected any of the public, as they view the cleaning as part and parcel of the people who do their business there. I too, view that hawkers should be the ones who should ensure that their place is clean and with good hygiene. If they demand others to pay for their cleaning expenses, then HDB apartments' home ceilings cleaning should also be covered by Town council cleaning schedule.. no?
Now, I know that hawkers rent the stalls, and therefore their expectations on the landlord, (I don't know if it is the Town Council or NEA now... who can tell me who is the landlord of the hawker centre?) the real owners of the place where they do business, to clean the place sounds legitimate and justified. However, if they expect more cleaning than what is slated in terms and conditions, isn't it fair that THEY, the hawkers, fork out the extra charges themselves?
I read one newspaper article, saying that a political analyst as saying that this fiasco brings "harm" to the image of both PAP and WP. I disagree. From all that has been reported, I see no major mistake on the part of WP. I mean, NEA sent out that email.. and the way it was phrased.. being that course was more important that answering to public's concerns.. seems even more arrogant that accusing govt ministries of being politically motivated.
IF NEA sent email to TC, informing them that the hawkers have arranged the necessary.. would the TC bother anymore? I don't think so. Since the hawkers approached NEA and told NEA themselves.. meaning that they don't want to inform TC of a cleaning that is not in line with the scheduled once a year spring cleaning. Maybe the TC thinks that the hawkers have found cheaper contractors and don't want the TC to engage on their behalf.. this is my speculation.. but if NEA (a govt agency) sent out the email.. I would take it as that.. and may have replied, "with reference to your email, we note that the hawkers have arranged for their own cleaning to be done, thank you for informing us."
The question for me to want to ask is... when the parties involved met up in a closed door meeting, and ended with a "resolution".. I thought the thing was a closed case. Why did Vivian have to come out to say blah blah blah and mess it up again? I feel he shouldn't have done that. There seemed to be clousre, but he seemed to have opened up the healing wound... and probably rubbed salt into each other's injuries.
