SINGAPORE: As a street vendor, Jason Goh was known to sell some unusual wares. There were antiques, a collection of Burmese jade, and fossilised elephant sperm.
But recently, some vendors like Goh have set up shop not far away. And they are trying to keep memories of the place alive.finds out how what has happened to them since 2017 and how they are picking up the pieces, in a series on places Singaporeans will miss.Singapore’s oldest and largest flea market began in the 1930s as a trading spot by the banks of Rochor River. From the 1940s onwards, it became popular for its cheap goods.
“I remember going to Sungei Road, the original Thieves’ Market, in my primary school days. My brother said, ‘I’ll bring you somewhere that you’ve never been.’ So I was very excited,” recalls the 57-year-old. It is important that they have a place of their own, Khoo notes. “Their internal being is elevated because ‘hey, I’ve something to look forward to instead of I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow’.”It is also “very important” to preserve the “heritage of where these people came from”, he adds.
“We explained how it was the most important thing to keep this kind of trade alive, because I think it’s not just for them, it’s for everyone else,” he says. And that was how Market Gaia Guni was born.“The charm has changed because one major factor is that we can’t play music. Over at Sungei Road, we could blast Hokkien, Tamil and Bangladeshi music,” he cites.