Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency
The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central and Western Singapore. The five divisions consists of Buona Vista, Queenstown, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru and Henderson-Dawson. The current MPs are Indranee Rajah, Chan Chun Sing, Joan Pereira, Eric Chua and Alvin Tan.
| Tanjong Pagar | |
|---|---|
| Group Representation Constituency for the Parliament of Singapore | |
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| Region | Central Region, Singapore |
| Electorate | 134,642 |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1991 |
| Seats | 5 |
| Party | |
| Member(s) | Chan Chun Sing Indranee Rajah Joan Pereira Eric Chua Alvin Tan |
| Town Council | Tanjong Pagar |
| Created from | |
History
This GRC came into formation in 1991, when it absorbed the Tiong Bahru GRC, Telok Blangah SMC and Tanjong Pagar SMC. Since the formation of the GRC, the ward was notable for its repeated walkovers until the ward faced its inaugural contest on the 2015 elections by Singaporeans First, whose candidates included former SDP members Tan Jee Say and Ang Yong Guan. In the 2020 elections, the PAP had its worst showing in Tanjong Pagar GRC, winning with just 63.13% of the votes. It was the first time in many decades that the constituency was seriously contested by an opposition party - Progress Singapore Party.
The most recent walkover was in 2011 when Tanjong Pagar GRC became the only constituency to be uncontested following the disqualification of a team of independent candidates (which led by Ng Teck Siong) as they submitted their nomination papers 35 seconds late.[1]
Several former ministers had cut their teeth in Tanjong Pagar before moving on to other constituencies. Among them, the following:
- Lim Hng Kiang made his debut in the Telok Blangah ward in 1991, where his ward was absorbed into West Coast GRC in 1997. Prior to his retirement from the cabinet in 2018, he was the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade). He retired from politics in 2020.
- Lim Swee Say made his debut in 1997 as MP for the Buona Vista ward. His ward was redrawn into Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC in 2001, and then to Holland–Bukit Timah GRC in 2006, before leaving the ward and contest East Coast GRC in 2011. Prior to his retirement from the cabinet in 2018, he was the Minister for Manpower. He retired from politics in 2020.
- Khaw Boon Wan served as MP for the Moulmein ward from 2001, when he made his debut, to 2006, when he moved to Sembawang GRC. He is currently the Chairman of PAP, the Co-ordinating Minister for Infrastructure, as well as the Minister for Transport. He retired from politics in 2020.
- Lui Tuck Yew also made his debut in the Moulmein ward (in place of Khaw) during the 2006 general elections, after which he held the portfolio of Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts. His ward was redrawn into the Moulmein–Kallang GRC in the 2011 elections, after which he became the Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Defence. In 2015, following Lui's retirement, a majority of his ward was returned to Tanjong Pagar GRC, while the remaining were subsumed into Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC, Holland–Bukit Timah GRC and Jalan Besar GRC. He retired from politics in 2015.
Currently, these two ministers are deployed in these constituencies following the death of Lee Kuan Yew on 23 March 2015:
- Indranee Rajah also made her debut in 2001 as the MP for the Tanglin-Cairnhill ward (now Moulmein-Cairnhill and Henderson-Dawson). She is currently the MP for Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru ward (which previously led by the late Lee Kuan Yew), and was now the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, and Second Minister for Education and Finance.
- Chan Chun Sing made his debut in the Buona Vista ward (in place of Lim) in 2011; the ward had been returned to Tanjong Pagar GRC from the downsized Holland–Bukit Timah GRC. He is currently the Minister for Trade & Industry as of today.
Koo Tsai Kee substituted Lee for his Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS) when the latter became senior minister and subsequently minister mentor.[2] After the 2011 election, Lee retired from the cabinet but remained as MP for Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru until his death in 2015; Indranee Rajah, who substituted Koo for the MPS at the time, became the ward's successor; her ward of Tanglin-Cairnhill was divided into Henderson-Dawson and Moulmein-Cairnhill wards and were helmed by Joan Pereira and Melvin Yong, respectively.
Town Council
Tanjong Pajar Town Council are operating under the Radin Mas SMC and Tanjong Pajar GRC.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Division | Members of Parliament | Party | |
| 1991 |
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PAP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 |
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| 2001 |
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| 2006 | ||||
| 2011 |
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| 2015 |
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| 2020 | ||||
^ Lee died on 23 March 2015 due to pneumonia. No by-elections were called as it was a GRC and Rajah served as a temporary MP for the ward until the general elections in September that year.
Electoral results
Note : Elections Department Singapore do not include rejected votes for calculation of candidate's vote share. Hence, the total of all candidates' vote share will be 100%.
Elections in 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Lee Kuan Yew S Vasoo Koo Tsai Kee Lim Hng Kiang |
Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 86,944 | ||||
| PAP win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Lee Kuan Yew Ow Chin Hock S Vasoo Chay Wai Chuen Koo Tsai Kee Lim Swee Say |
Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 141,520 | ||||
| PAP hold | |||||
Elections in 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Lee Kuan Yew Koo Tsai Kee Indranee Rajah Lui Tuck Yew Baey Yam Keng Sam Tan |
Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 148,141 | ||||
| PAP hold | |||||
Elections in 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Lee Kuan Yew Chay Wai Chuen Koo Tsai Kee Khaw Boon Wan Indranee Rajah Chong Weng Chiew |
Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 141,150 | ||||
| PAP hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Lee Kuan Yew Lily Neo Indranee Rajah Chan Chun Sing Chia Shi-Lu |
Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 139,771 | ||||
| PAP hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Chan Chun Sing Indranee Rajah Chia Shi-Lu Joan Pereira Melvin Yong |
90,448 | 77.71 | N/A | |
| SingFirst | Tan Jee Say Ang Yong Guan Chirag Praful Desai Melvyn Chiu Weng Hoe Mohamad Fahmi Bin Ahmad Rais |
25,943 | 22.29 | N/A | |
| Majority | 64,505 | 55.42 | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 130,752 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 2,405 | 2.02 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 118,796 | 90.86 | N/A | ||
| PAP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Chan Chun Sing Indranee Rajah Joan Pereira Eric Chua Swee Leong Alvin Tan Sheng Hui |
78,079 | 63.13 | ||
| PSP | Wendy Low Harish Pillay Michael Chua Abas Kasmani Terence Soon |
45,609 | 36.87 | N/A | |
| Majority | 32,470 | 26.26 | |||
| Registered electors | 134,642 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 1,930 | 1.54 | |||
| Turnout | 125,618 | 93.30 | |||
| PAP hold | Swing | ||||
References
- Chua, Lee Hoong (28 April 2011). "Singapore heads to history-making polls on May 7". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- Elgin, Toh (30 March 2011). "MPs Koo Tsai Kee and Ong Ah Heng to retire".
