Ramadan has barely began and yet there’s been a couple of controversies surrounding the food items on sale at Geylang’s annual Ramadan Bazaar. From vendors selling non-halal dendeng meat to the rise of hipster stalls whose halal status can’t be verified, this has caused the general Muslim population in Singapore scratching their heads in confusion.
Geylang Serai has its roots as a Malay village, while its surrounding areas were well known for commercial activities targeted to the needs of the Malay community. The Ramadan Bazaar in Geylang Serai originated decades ago, even before Singapore’s independence, where vendors would lay their goods and items on groundsheets by the roads. These annual bazaars last for the entire month of Ramadan, serving as not only a place for Muslims to break their fast, but also to shop for their Hari Raya preparations.
However, the Ramadan Food Bazaar in Geylang this year has been tainted with news of stalls having questionable halal status, a huge irony since the bazaar should be targeting a largely Muslim population. The last few years have seen a rise in hipster stalls selling modern food items, a welcoming change enabling us to celebrate the diversity. On the other hand, there has been no effort by any relevant bodies to ensure the halal status of the food items being sold.
A couple of years ago I was serving the nation as a Police Officer patrolling the bustling Ramadan Bazaar. On one of the occasions, a Member of Parliament from Marine Parade GRC came down to visit the said Bazaar. It has always crossed my mind whether or not there are any efforts from the organizing committee to ensure the halal status of the food items being sold, for 5 years ago, I started seeing non-Muslims taking up food stalls in Geylang’s Ramadan Bazaar. However, upon asking the said MP, she simply said that the bazaar is open to all individuals.
The fact that the bazaar is still standing on the grounds of Geylang Serai pays tribute to the rich historical significance and the cultural life of the Malays in Singapore. While I am all for a multiracial, multi-religious and a cosmopolitan Singapore, I strongly feel that the traditions and origins of the Ramadan Bazaar has to be safeguarded. While the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) may view the individual stall’s halal status as being out of their jurisdiction, couldn’t this problem be alleviated by giving priority to Malay Muslim vendors?
Take a stroll along Geylang’s Bazaar Ramadan a few days before its opening, you’ll see rows of stalls snapped up by non-Muslims and subsequently leased out to the makcik-makcik bazaar you see today. Certain stalls are still manned by non-Muslims who hire ‘Malay-looking workers’ from around Southeast Asia to sell their questionable food items. More often than not, these workers don’t even have a clue as to what they are selling, and the origins of the food that they are told to sell. In a bid to attract and appease the Muslim population, some of these stalls put up ‘fake’ halal signs not issued by MUIS, while others proudly display signages which reads “No Pork, No Lard”. Who are we kidding, these efforts are clearly done to deceive the Muslim population, unless you are telling me that there is another group or community in Singapore who does not consume pork/lard?
MUIS’s response to the queries in the article attached above seems to be an easy way out for them, absolving themselves of all responsibilities and stating that the onus is on us to verify the halal status of the individual shops. If this is the case, I urge the organizing committee to no longer call it a Ramadan Bazaar, but call it as what it is: a glorified pasar malam. Geylang’s Ramadan Bazaar should be safeguarded but if this were to continue, the bazaar would have lost all meanings and purpose.
You have those extravagant lights welcoming the Muslim festival of Eid. You have shops selling dates for Muslims to break fast. You have TAA donation boxes for needy Muslims. You have vendors selling garments and carpets for Hari Raya preparation. You can find cookies and goodies which are served in each and every Muslim household. And yet, today, in Geylang’s so called Ramadan Bazaar, you have more than half of the vendors selling food items whose halal status cannot be verified. Tell me this isn’t a problem?
*EDIT*
The team at Halalfoodhunt.com and The Halal Food Blog has done an excellent job, excruciatingly going through each and every individual stall to come up with a list of what’s halal and what’s not. May Allah reward their efforts in helping the community.
Source: Ahmad Bin Osman
