PREPARING History AND Custom
The loss of customs has sparked concerns among the fair organizers.
The organizer of the Gemilang Kampong Gelam 2025 market, Mr. Kamal Rouzie, said:” Ramadan is the time when we should be focusing on history because we have always been on the current effect, the modern effect.”
However, he noted that having additional kiosks besides the conventional ones can help draw in a new segment of buyers to the market.  ,
Just three out of ten food stalls at the Kampong Gelam market, which opened its doors on February 19, serve traditional dishes like satay and otak-otak.  ,
These have been replaced by stores selling contemporary goods like cheese-wheel pasta and pastries.
The market owner has been working to strike a balance between offering more contemporary offerings and attempting to keep as much of the past as possible while catering to the masses.
” Kampong Gelam has always been a major location and a historic location that draws a lot of customers in, whether they are citizens or visitors,” said Mr. Burhan Jumadi, strategy director at Gemilang Kampong Gelam 2025.  ,
” I think visitors come here every year for the food, the interesting programming happening, and for the opportunity to really unwind during Ramadan,” says one visitor.