The National Environment Agency (NEA) explained that the ‘archaic’ rule referred to by The Good Beer Company founder Daniel Goh and whose removal was ordered by Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Jan. 13, had applied to zi char stalls of the past.
Producing ‘restaurant type of dishes’ would’ve generated large amounts of smoke and needed fume-extraction devices, which was why it required approval from the authorities.
Hawker centres of today, however, have exhaust systems and more electrical power to facilitate the making of said dishes.
Goh, who’d flagged the rule on Facebook saying it restricted innovation, is pleasantly surprised by the response he’s received, leading to the scrapping of the rule with immediate effect.
“The kind of speed really, really, gives us hope. When we consider the hawker scene, it gives us hope that things would change for the better,” he said to Channel NewsAsia.
Photo: Channel NewsAsia
