WHISTLEBLOWER REVEALS UNHYGIENIC PRACTICES OF PASAR MALAM FOOD STALLS

I used to love to go to pasar malam, buying my favourite Ramly burger, takoyaki, kebabs, twisted fries, tea leaf eggs etc. But not anymore after I got to see what have been going on behind the scene.

Just nice the school holiday start almost the same time with the Hari Raya Bazar at Geylang Seria. My uncle asked me to help him out at his stalls selling drinks. I agree and was very excited because the thought of being able to eat pasar malam food made me drool. Somemore, I can get to earn some pocket money.

As the first day of the Bazaar is a weekend Friday, things already get to start very busy. I was very excited because I was surrounded with many stalls selling my favourite food. There are also a lot of new and interesting food and drinks I have never see before.

Whenever my uncle’s drink stall is less busy, I will take the opportunity to buy some of my favourite food from the nearby stalls to eat. At the same time, I also get to know these stall workers when I talk to them. I am surprise that many of them are not Singaporeans. I thought they are local Malays but they told me they are from Indonesia. Because I don’t speak malay or Indonesia language, I couldn’t find out more even though I was curious.

Although the Bazaar was busy and full of people in the weekends, my uncle’s drink stall business wasn’t as good as those selling fancy drinks. I have a lot of free time wandering around and watch the people and I saw many things that the Indonesians do at the stalls disgusted me. I am disgusted not because of their nationality or their race, but the way they store, make and cook the food. Most of them don’t use the plastic gloves to handle the food. I am OK with that because making roti prata also have to make with bare hands. But what really disgusted me are because they also do other things besides making and preparing the food, such as digging their nose, wiping their sweat from the head and use back the same hands to continue handle the food. There was one time I saw one of them just turn around, pinch his nose, and blow his mucus without a tissue paper. The mucus of course stick onto his fingers and all he did was to flick it off onto the floor behind and wiped his fingers on his t shirt and continue to make the takoyaki with the same hands. He thought no customer at his stall can see him do that, but I can see loh! I also ever see another one at the other stall while making the food, he quickly stuffed his whole hand into his Bermuda and then quickly take it out and continue making the food with the same hand. He must be adjusting his penis with that hand loh! He thought hand in hand out very fast nobody see and pretend he didn’t do that and continue making his ramly burger. WTF!?

When the news about a deng deng stall not using halal meat appear in facebook, I actually think that is nothing compared to those unhygienic things I have seen those Indoensians done.

There is also this one big stall not very far from my uncle’s drink stall, selling many kind of food. There was this man sitting at the back, preparing don’t know what food that are made to be deepfried. I cannot tell whether he is Singaporean Malay or Indonesia Malay but he has several small lumps on his face, neck and arms that look like some kind of skin disorder or disease. Most customers probably couldn’t see him as he was sitting on a small stool behind the stall making the food. Probably the stall owner knows that no customer would buy his food if that Indonesian man is make to cook the food or take orders from the customers. I am also very disgusted at the way some stalls keep or store the food before cooking them. Some food are kept in dirty looking pails. Some are kept in cardboard boxes on the wet floor, and i could see how the cardboard boxes absorb the dirty water on the floor which could contaminate the food inside loh!

Then on Tuesday afternoon, I suddenly hear some shouting from far. Everybody around me were wondering what happened. While I tiptoe higher to look into the direction, I heard some say MOM come already, also heard some say police come catch people. Suddenly the stall besides me become empty. I also saw some run and some just walk away from their stalls. Some customers who were about to buy things from their stalls also wondering what happened they just leave hurriedly. There were a lot of gassing on whether it was Police or MOM or MUiS or NEA. Some uncles who stay and didn’t run were cursing and swearing vulgar language. After that then I hear from them that these Indonesians are actually working here without any work permit.

It was only the next 1 or 2 days then I find out from the news that it was police, MOM and NEA join together to raid the stalls for unlicence food handlers. I think they should really conduct more raid like this as I am really feel disgusted by how these indoneasian store and make and cook the food.