Keep up with changing needs

IT IS hard to imagine a neighbourhood without wet markets. Their wet floors, friendly vendor banter and little idiosyncrasies make them almost a unique cultural attraction on their own.

To remain relevant, though, they should be open to change.

How about diversifying its fresh products, perhaps with food like frog or octopus meat? Or follow Hong Kong's lead, introducing thematic workshops on cooking Chinese soups and meats, maybe consider running public health talks on maintaining a balanced diet?

These special events will appeal especially to homemakers. Festive promotions are also a possibility.

Having lower prices and giving out freebies once every few weeks, as supermarkets do, could drum up some much-needed buzz - all will go a long way to helping wet markets thrive alongside air-conditioned giants.

Alex Liam, 20, has a place to read business administration at the National University of Singapore.

Better service, greater convenience

MENTION 'wet market' and I am reminded of how I usually walk with trepidation on the slippery and grimy floors of the Lorong 6 Toa Payoh wet market.

Definitely not something I relish, but still memorable for its diverse range of cheap food produce for sale and, most of all, the personal touch.

Admittedly, it has been a year since I have stepped into a wet market, and I find myself turning to cleaner, air-conditioned outlets for convenience, freshness and affordability.

But I'd still return, if wet markets offer more personalised service. If, for instance, customers have the option to phone or e-mail their orders and have food produce delivered to households or businesses within a 2km radius.

This will cater to individuals with hectic work schedules who simply cannot spare the time and energy to make the trip, and retain more customers.

Rachel Chan, 25, is a recent graduate and manager at the Workforce Development Agency.

Integrated concept offering more

I WANT my wet market to be a one-stop outlet for all my daily needs - not just food.

My Filipino friend, Jennifer, suggested that wet markets here can adopt an integrated concept similar to Masinag Wet and Dry Market near Manila, which has it all: hairdressing and postal services, remittance, shoe repair, even tailoring.

If local wet markets merge with neighbourhood shops, large economies of scale might be achieved, and bring down the costs of products and services. That would benefit the lower income group the most.

Nicholas Lim, 20, has a place to read business at Nanyang Technological University.

Keep them as they are

I'VE always regarded wet markets as a place for family bonding, discovery and simple childhood fun.

Be it going around one, fascinated at the sight of various fresh produce, or learning from my dad how to select the right meats for my Home Economics practical lessons, wet markets hold a special place in my life.

I still go there with him once every two months when he has a lot of shopping to do for big family get-togethers.

We already have supermarkets in abundance, so I'd be disappointed to see the wet ones make way for more of them. Instead, wet markets should stay where they are, as they are - uniquely humid, noisy, with strange odours.

I plan to take my children there in future and show them how to seek out the right produce - just as my dad did. Call me a sucker for the old-fashioned, but my idea of the wet markets I'd be proud of are the ones already among us.

Bryan Toh, 17, is a second-year mass communications student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Hygiene risks, not national icons

I HAVE never stepped into a wet market, and no wonder - health standards are a pertinent concern and, unless wet markets clean up their act, they will become a thing of the past.

Damp and warm conditions provide fertile breeding ground for germs. The stereotyping - that wet markets are unhygienic - is not unfounded.

If not for the food poisoning scandal at Geylang Serai earlier this year, we might not have embarked on a witch hunt (or rather, rat hunt) that unravelled the rodent infestation in the wet market next door.

Our wet markets are far from being national icons - they're nothing compared in scale and variety to other international markets such as Tokyo's Tsujiki fish market. If traditionalists insist on keeping their 'heritage', they should have good reasons to justify it.

Chew Zhi Wen, 22, is a second-year law student at NUS.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.