Cheng San Group Representation
Constituency (Simplified
Chinese: 静山集选区) is a now defunct Group Representation
Constituency in the north-eastern region in
Singapore
. The GRC consisted of the eastern part of
Ang Mo
Kio
, Jalan Kayu, Seletar
Hills, part of Serangoon North, a large
part of Hougang
, Buangkok
, and the
whole of Sengkang New
Town
and Punggol New Town
.
The GRC was formed in 1988, and absorbed the constituencies of
Cheng San, Chong Boon and
Jalan
Kayu. In the
1991
general election, the constituency was enlarged to include the
former
Punggol Constituency.
For the
general
election in 1997, parts of the Chong Boon division of the GRC,
bounded by
Ang Mo Kio Avenue
10,
Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3,
Central Expressway and
Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, were transferred to
Ang Mo Kio
GRC. The GRC was an opposition favourite in the 1991 election,
and was hotly contested in the 1997 general election between
People's Action Party and
Workers' Party.
The GRC was absorbed into three GRCs in the
2001 general election. The
GRCs which absorbed Cheng San GRC were
Ang Mo Kio GRC,
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and
Aljunied GRC due to
redrawing of electoral districts by the
Elections Department.
The
Elections Department gave the explanation that the growing
population in Sengkang
and Punggol
necessitated
the redrawing.
Due to the unclear separation of power between the
Prime Minister's Office and the
Elections Department, the
Opposition has often criticised the
absorption of Cheng San GRC as
gerrymandering on the part of the ruling
party.
Ang Mo Kio GRC and
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC are both
6-member GRCs, making it increasingly harder for the
Opposition the contest these
constituencies. The two
GRCs are currently helmed by
Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong and
Defence
Minister Teo Chee Hean
respectively.
Cheng San GRC in the 1997 general election
Cheng San GRC became the most hotly contested seat in the Singapore
1997 General Election, and the most widely watched constituency in
the whole general election. The People's Action Party team led by
Lee Yock Suan, a former minister,
faced the contest by a Workers' Party team led by
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, a
former opposition
Member of
Parliament in Singapore. The Workers' Party team included
Tang Liang Hong, a senior
lawyer.
Having been automatically 're-elected' due to walkovers in their
own constituencies, then-
Prime Minister of Singapore
Goh Chok Tong and his two deputies
from the People's Action Party (PAP) campaigned on behalf for the
PAP's candidates in the Cheng San GRC. Goh described himself as "a
special candidate" of the
constituency
and declared that his
credibility and
reputation as Prime Minister were at
stake in the contest. The PAP campaign took on a two-pronged focus.
Firstly,
the PAP accused Tang of being anti-Christian and a Chinese
chauvinist,
labelling him a "dangerous man". Secondly, the Prime
Minister told Cheng San voters that if they returned PAP candidates
to power in the election, they would get a host of benefits. These
included access to better transport facilities such as the MRT and
LRT, new housing projects, such as Punggol 21, and opportunities to
upgrade their HDB apartments and public housing estates. The PAP
emphasised that constituencies that failed to return PAP candidates
to power would not receive priority in government upgrading
programmes and might end up becoming slums.
The Workers' Party's rallies in Cheng San GRC attracted huge
crowds. On the eve of Polling Day, 50,000 people attended the
Workers' Party rally at
Yio Chu
Kang Stadium. However, the news coverage of this astounding
turnout was disproportionately understated, causing much online
criticism of the Straits Times in reporting objectively.
On Polling Day, several top PAP Ministers were within the precinct
of polling stations in Cheng San GRC, although they were not
themselves candidates in the constituency. The Workers Party
believed that this violated the
Parliamentary Elections
Act. Although Workers' Party's candidates filed police
reports, their complaints were, on the advice of the
Attorney-General, not prosecuted by the
police. The Attorney-General advised that remaining within a
perimeter of 200 meters from the external walls of the polling
station, as opposed to being within the polling station itself, was
not an offence. Later, the Workers' Party renewed its call for a
multi-party Election Commission to ensure fair play in the conduct
of Parliamentary elections.
The Workers' Party lost in Cheng San GRC, obtaining 44,132 votes,
which was 45.2% of the valid votes in the constituency of
approximately 98,000 voters. This was a remarkable result for the
opposition, in light of the PAP's aggressive campaign in the
GRC.
After the 1997 election, Cheng San GRC was redrawn into several
different constituencies, causing many to accuse (in a rather
well-founded manner) the PAP of
gerrymandering. Election gimmicks and
promises of flat upgrading were used again during the
2006 election and have
been labelled as vote-buying. The latter is nevertheless quite
ineffective as contested constituencies Hougang and Potong Pasir
remain in opposition hands.
Divisions
- 1988 - 3 seats: Cheng San, Chong Boon, Jalan Kayu
- 1991 - 4 seats: Cheng San, Chong Boon, Jalan Kayu, Punggol
- 1997 - 5 seats: Cheng San, Jalan Kayu, Punggol South, Punggol
Central, Punggol East
Members of Parliament
Candidates and results
See also
Wikis
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