Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency

Potong Pasir
Potong Pasir
Single Member constituency; for the Parliament of Singapore
Region	Northeastern Singapore
Electorate	17,407
Current constituency
Created	1968
Member(s)	Sitoh Yih Pin
Town Council	Jalan Besar

Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency (Chinese: 波东巴西单选区; Template:Lang-ms; Template:Lang-ta) is a Single Member Constituency (SMC) in the central region of Singapore. Established in 1968, this constituency encompasses the town of Potong Pasir, Blocks 210 to 224 of Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, the Sennett and Tannery private estates, as well as the Alkaff Neighborhood of the upcoming Bidadari estate. The People's Action Party (PAP)'s Sitoh Yi Pin has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Potong Pasir SMC since 2011. It carved out of Aljunied in 1968.

History

The constituency's most famous MP is Mr Chiam See Tong, currently leading the Singapore People's Party. Back when he was with the Singapore Democratic Party, he defeated the People's Action Party's candidate, Mah Bow Tan (who would later become a Cabinet Minister and MP for Tampines GRC) in the 1984 general election.

Between 2001 and 2011, this seat was one of only two opposition seats in the Parliament of Singapore (the other being Hougang SMC, held by the Workers' Party's Low Thia Khiang). Since Chiam entered Parliament in 1984, this makes him the longest-serving opposition MP in Singapore's history.

The seat was a hotly contested seat in the general elections. In the 2001 general election, Chiam won the seat by 751 votes to Sitoh, clinching 52.4% of the votes. Chiam subsequently improved his winning margin to 55.8% in the 2006 general election.

In 2011, Chiam, as well as Low, experimented with leading a team to contest a nearby GRC (in Chiam's case, the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC). Unlike Low and his party (who won both the GRC they contested as well as his original seat), Chiam and his party were defeated by the PAP in both constituencies. Not only were Chiam and his team defeated in Bishan-Toa Payoh, they also lost Potong Pasir to the PAP's Sitoh, who defeated Chiam's successor (and wife), Lina Loh Woon Lee on a marginal percentage of 0.72%. After that election, Mrs Lina Chiam became a Non-constituency MP (NCMP), having been the best performing loser at the polls.

In 2015, Sitoh retained his seat, this time with 66.41% of the votes, again defeating Mrs Lina Chiam. With Chiam illegible for a seat as an NCMP since she was not one of the best performing losers at that year's polls, this concluded a 31-year long streak of the SPP's presence in Parliament.

The next general election might see changes due to the development of Bidadari, and parts of Potong Pasir SMC will see their move to other constituencies.

Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament	Party		Dates	Notes
Sellappa Ramaswamy	bgcolor=Template:People's Action Party/meta/color \|	PAP	1968 – 1972
Baptist Ivan Cuthbert	bgcolor=Template:People's Action Party/meta/color \|	PAP	1972 – 1979
Howe Yoon Chong	bgcolor=Template:People's Action Party/meta/color \|	PAP	1979 – 1984
Chiam See Tong		SDP	1984 – 1996
		SPP	1996 – 2001
		SDA	2001 – 2011
		SPP, SDA	2011 – 2011
Sitoh Yih Pin	bgcolor=Template:People's Action Party/meta/color \|	PAP	2011 –	Incumbent

Candidates and results

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	10,581	66.41	+16.05
	SPP	Loh Woon Lee Lina	5,353	33.59	−16.05
Majority			5,228	32.10	+31.30
Rejected ballots			224	1.39
Turnout			16,158	92.82
Registered electors			17,407
	PAP hold		Swing	+16.05

General Election 2011: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	7,992	50.4	+6.2
	SPP	Loh Woon Lee Lina	7,878	49.6	−6.2
Majority			114	0.8	+12.4
Turnout			16,112	93.0	−1.1
	PAP gain from SPP		Swing	+6.2

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2006: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDA	Chiam See Tong	8,245	55.8	+3.4
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	6,527	44.2	−3.4
Majority			1,718	11.6	+6.8
Turnout			14,958	94.1	−4.8
	SDA hold		Swing	+3.4

General Election 2001: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDA	Chiam See Tong	8,107	52.4	−2.8
	PAP	Sitoh Yih Pin	7,356	47.6	+2.8
Majority			751	4.8	−5.6
Turnout			15,463	98.9	+3.8
	SDA hold		Swing	-2.8

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SPP	Chiam See Tong	9,709	55.2	−14.4
	PAP	Andy Gan Lai Chiang	7,895	44.8	+14.4
Majority			1,814	10.30	N/A
Turnout			17,884	95.1
	SPP gain from SDP		Swing	-14.4

General Election 1991: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP	Chiam See Tong	12,582	69.6	+6.5
	PAP	Andy Gan Lai Chiang	5,486	30.4	−6.5
Majority			7,096	39.2	+13.0
Turnout			18,325	95.1	−0.3
	SDP hold		Swing	+6.5

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1988: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP	Chiam See Tong	11,804	63.1	+2.8
	PAP	Kenneth Chen Koon Lap	6,893	36.9	−2.8
Majority			4,911	26.2	+5.6
Turnout			18,697	95.4	+0.1
	SDP hold		Swing	+2.8

General Election 1984: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP	Chiam See Tong	10,128	60.3	+19.3
	PAP	Mah Bow Tan	6,674	39.7	−19.3
Majority			3,454	20.6	+38.6
Turnout			17,078	95.3	+1.1
	SDP gain from PAP		Swing	+19.3

General Election 1980: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Howe Yoon Chong	5,509	59.0	−7.9
	SDP	Chiam See Tong	3,821	41.0	+7.9
Majority			1,688	18.0	−31.6
Turnout			9,486	94.2	+0.6
	PAP hold		Swing	-15.8

Elections in the 1970s

By Election 1979: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Howe Yoon Chong	9,056	66.9	−7.9
	Independent	Chiam See Tong	4,491	33.1	+33.1
Majority			4,565	33.7	−15.8
Turnout			13,845	94.2	+0.6
	PAP hold		Swing	-7.98

General Election 1976: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Ivan Cuthbert Baptist	9,667	74.8	+8.6
	WP	Quek Doh Lam	3,252	25.2	−3.7
Majority			6,415	49.6	+12.3
Turnout			13,255	93.6	+2.1
	PAP hold		Swing

General Election 1972: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Ivan Cuthbert Baptist	7,772	66.2	+66.2
	WP	Rajaratnam Murugason	3,391	28.9	+28.9
	United National Front	Harnek Singh	573	4.9	+4.9
Majority			4,381	37.3
Turnout			11,990	91.5
	PAP hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1968: Potong Pasir
Party		Candidate	Votes
	PAP	Sellappa Rawasamy	Walkover
Majority
Turnout			11,782
	PAP win (new seat)

References