Warong Nasi Pariaman's closure not due to high rent: Syed Harun

The closure of popular nasi padang eatery Warong Nasi Pariaman last month was not due to high rent, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development Syed Harun Alhabsyi in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 3). 

Dr Syed Harun was responding to questions from MPs Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) and Fadli Fawzi (Aljunied GRC) on concerns about protecting long-standing businesses in heritage districts such as Chinatown and Kampong Glam from rising rents. 

"It was reported in the media that the representative from the family clarified that the closure was not related to rental issues, and we should not wrongly conclude that this was due to a high level," he said. 

Warong Nasi Pariaman, which closed on Jan 31 after 78 years and was reportedly the oldest surviving nasi padang stall in Singapore, was located in a shophouse near Sultan Mosque. 

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on the same day that the median rents of shophouses in historic districts of Kampong Glam, Little India and Chinatown have increased at a "moderate" pace over the past two years. 

The increases of between 1 and 2.5 per cent were comparable with a conventional retail space in the Central Area of around 2 per cent a year, and "significantly below" nominal GDP growth of around 6.7 per cent a year over the same period, URA said. 

Dr Syed Harun on Tuesday told Parliament that the data cited in some media reports "may be based on anecdotal or incomplete data" and "may not be representative of the overall rental situation in Kampong Glam". 

"We note that the rental might not be homogeneous across the entire district… the Kampong Glam district is actually quite big." 

Dr Syed Harun said that while the median rents of shophouses there increased at a "moderate" pace, there is also a "small proportion" of businesses signed between 2023 and 2025 which saw high rental increases of 25 per cent or higher. 

These businesses are located in streets with high footfall, such as Haji Lane and Bali Lane, he added. 

"Some of these leases were previously contracted at below market rates, and therefore, subsequent to that, they may have experienced a larger increase from their low base when the rates normalised towards the prevailing market rate," he said. 

"Notwithstanding the rental increases, their rental rates remained around 20 per cent to 60 per cent below that of conventional retail spaces in the central area as a whole." 

Dr Syed Harun acknowledged the wide variety of stakeholders interested in Singapore's heritage and culture, and added that government agencies are in touch with Warong Nasi Pariaman to discuss how the business can continue should the owners decide to do so.

The inter-agency task force to help support heritage businesses, traditional activities and cultural life has also introduced new measures, such as marketing and business consultancy support under the SG Heritage Business Scheme by the National Heritage Board (NHB), according to Dr Syed Harun. 

These also include enhanced place management support to better showcase heritage trades and activities in each historic district.

42 businesses are currently designated under the scheme, including 21 in Kampong Glam and Chinatown. 

"It takes an entire village to be able to raise the awareness of heritage and value for our society, and it is something the government will continue to work towards," said Dr Syed Harun. 

[[nid:729131]]

chingshijie@asiaone.com