I might have to close in a few years'

Singapore's 'mamak shops' could soon disappear

- Wong Yang

The Hwa Lee Provision Store has been an enduring fixture of the void deck at Block 304 Shunfu Road for 40 years.

Its shopfront and nondescript signboard have remained the same since Madam Chong Meng Choo, 90, first opened the store in 1984, when the Housing Board flats in the area were built.

But the store, which has survived financial crises, pandemics and much more besides, might be on its last legs, said Mr Kelvin Lim, Madam Chong's youngest son.

"We are being forced into a corner by higher costs, online shopping and lower foot traffic. Worst of all, it is very hard to find someone reliable who is willing to take over," said Mr Lim, Hwa Lee's secondgeneration owner.

"I might have to close the shop in a few years, maybe even next year.

I'm very tired, and there are many other things I want to do with my life, like travelling or product design."

Known colloquially as "mamak shops" (mamak means uncle in Tamil), standalone kiosks that sell provisions and sundry goods like Hwa Lee have been a fixture of HDB living for many decades.

But many of these businesses have shut, and operators who still run them say earnings have fallen over the years as they face growing pressure from supermarkets, chain convenience stores and online grocers.

Operators also say there are few candidates willing to take over their businesses as they approach retirement.

Newer HDB estates also have less expansive void decks which do not cater space for these stores, meaning the stores that remain could be the last mamak shops here.

Selling everything from soap and canned goods to toys, these void deck sundry stores were introduced by HDB in the 1970s. At their peak in the 1980s and 1990s, there were as many as 560 of such provision shops.

But figures from HDB show that the number of such shops has fallen over the years. In 2014, there were around 380; that number has fallen by more than a third to about 240 today.