Tampines halal street food bazaar causes confusion

SINGAPORE — An ongoing bazaar located near Tampines MRT Station has caused confusion among residents, with people mistakenly believing that non-halal food was being sold at the halal-only bazaar.

Bazaar Lambak, which advertises itself as selling halal street food, has come under scrutiny after visitors spotted stalls selling non-halal food such as pork sausages.

Facebook user Moe Haimin, who visited the bazaar on Wednesday (10 May), expressed his concern in a Facebook post, noting that he found the bazaar’s banner “very misleading.” He also urged Muslim visitors to be more cautious when purchasing food at the bazaar.

The incident has led to a debate on the Facebook post’s comment section, with many questioning why there were non-halal stalls in the section.

Speaking to Yahoo Southeast Asia, Haimin called for organisers of such bazaars to be more sensitive to the issue of having non-halal options. “I am offended because I feel that they should treat Halal with more respect and not use the word halal carelessly,” he added.

Haimin also pointed out that he thought organisers would be more careful after the incident in March when some stalls at the Bazar Raya Utara, a Ramadan bazaar in Woodlands, were found selling pork products.

Organiser explains differentiation of halal, non-halal areas

When Yahoo Southeast Asia contacted Adex International, the organiser of Bazaar Lambak, it clarified that the bazaar is divided into two areas, one selling halal food and the other selling non-halal food.

Abdul Rani Mustafa, the founder of Adex International, explained that visitors could differentiate between the halal and non-halal areas based on the carpets. The halal area has a grey carpet, while a black carpet marks the non-halal area.

Responding to concerns, Rani said they had worked with the company in charge of non-halal food a few times, such as during their Admiralty bazaar in March.

He insisted that there is no mixing of halal and non-halal food within his section, saying: “When it is under my section, everything is halal. And when it is in the other section, it is non-halal.”

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However, he assured visitors that they are working on making the differentiation more evident in the future.

“We are looking at coming up with another bazaar in Jurong after this. So I told the company that the halal section would go through with me under one tentage, and the non-halal section would be in another so people can differentiate between halal and non-halal,” he added.

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