There have been many complaints about the high rent for a stall at the Geylang Serai Ramadan bazaar.
Many prospective stallholders have been turned away by the high rental cost, with 200 of the 700 stalls left vacant.
One of the more vocal stallholders Stephen Suriyah, founder of The Original Vadai, says that he pays S$18,000 rent for a stall space – up from around S$8000 to S$10,000 8 years ago.
However, Stephen, who is a bazaar regular of 30 years, has gone on to rent 5 stall spaces at the bazaar.
This would put his rent for the month-long event at roughly S$90,000.
Some critics like local makan guru KF Seetoh have slammed the high rents charged by organisers, calling saying that this would be “the world’s most expensive pasar malam stall”.
Others have questioned why some bazaar regulars like Stephen would pay such an exorbitant fee for stall spaces if they are not confident of turning a profit.
