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Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency
Constituency of Singapore From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency is a Single Member Constituency (SMC) in the central region of Singapore. It is managed by Jalan Besar Town Council. The current Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency is Alex Yeo from the People's Action Party (PAP).
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2025) |
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History
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Potong Pasir Constituency was created in 1968. It was held by the PAP for its first 16 years of existence.
In 1979, as part of the 7 by-elections that year, eventual MP Chiam See Tong contested in Potong Pasir as an independent candidate against PAP newcomer Howe Yoon Chong. After submitting his nomination papers for the by-election, Howe dismissed opposition candidates as "court jesters" who had arrived "to provide comic relief".[1] Howe eventually beat Chiam with almost 67% of the votes to retain Potong Pasir for the PAP.[2][3]
SDP era
Ahead of the 1980 general election on 23 December, Chiam founded the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on 6 August of the same year and rematched against Howe in the constituency under the SDP banner.[4] In an election rally, Howe disparaged Chiam on his professional competence and was subsequently sued by Chiam for defamation.[5] In response, Howe offered compensation which Chiam accepted; leading to the lawsuit being dropped.[5] Howe retained his seat with a decreased 59.05% of the vote.[6][7]
During the 1984 general election, Chiam contested as an SDP candidate in the constituency again. Howe retired from politics that year and did not contest the constituency; PAP newcomer Mah Bow Tan was sent to contest it.[8] In the lead-up to the election, then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew compared Chiam and Mah's GCE Ordinary Level results in a rally speech: "Mah Bow Tan, age 16, took his O Levels — six distinctions, two credits. Mr Chiam, age 18 — six credits, one pass." The Prime Minister's Office later conveyed an apology from Lee for making an error about Chiam's results; Chiam had actually gotten seven credits.[9] Chiam eventually won the election with 60.28% of the vote against Mah's 39.72%,[10][11] and was elected as the MP for Potong Pasir Constituency.
In 1988, the constituency was renamed Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency with the creation of group representation constituencies (GRCs).[12]
SPP era
In December 1996, when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the 1997 general election, Chiam left the SDP and joined the Singapore People's Party (SPP), formed from a pro-Chiam former SDP faction which had left in 1994. He assumed leadership of the SPP and stood for reelection in Potong Pasir SMC under its banner, becoming the first SPP MP after winning 55.15% of the vote against PAP candidate Andy Gan.[13][14]
Post-SPP PAP era
In the 2011 general election, Chiam did not contest his seat but led an ultimately defeated five-member team to contest the neighbouring Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC.[15] His wife, Lina Loh, became the SPP candidate for the SMC and contested for the seat against Sitoh Yih Pin from the PAP. Loh lost the election on a marginal percentage of 0.72%.[16] Being the best-performing defeated opposition candidate, she was offered the first of three non-constituency MP (NCMP) seats at the election and accepted it. While Chiam stated his opposition to the NCMP scheme, the SPP reasoned that it was "critical" to ensure an "alternative voice in Parliament", to allow the party to "remain engaged in national issues", and to be publicly visible until the next election due by 2016. Loh also claimed that she was "influenced by the wishes of Potong Pasir residents" and that she accepted the post as her losing margin was too small.[17]
In the 2015 general election, Sitoh retained his seat with 66.41% of the vote in a rematch against Loh.[18]
Following the release of the report of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) for the 2020 general election, the Toa Payoh estates under this SMC were transferred into the 4-member Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC; in return, the SMC absorbed the Joo Seng and Woodleigh neighbourhoods from the neighbouring Geylang Serai division of Marine Parade GRC.[19] Sitoh defeated SPP candidate Jose Raymond with a vote count of 60.67% vs 39.33%, winning a third term in Potong Pasir SMC.[20]
For the 2025 general election, after an increase in population due to new developments in the Bidadari area under the SMC, the EBRC returned part of the SMC to the new Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC, the successor to the now-defunct Marine Parade GRC.[21]
On 16 April, it was announced that Sitoh would retire from Parliament and that he would be replaced by Alex Yeo, a former branch chair for the PAP in the Paya Lebar division of Aljunied GRC, held by the opposition Workers' Party (WP).[22] On 22 April, SPP announced that party treasurer Williamson Lee would contest the constituency.[23] On nomination day, Lim Tean, secretary-general of the coalition People's Alliance for Reform (PAR) and leader of constituent party Peoples Voice (PV), was also nominated to contest the constituency, resulting in a three-way fight between PAP, SPP and PAR.[24] Yeo proceeded to win with 69.2% of the vote against Lee's 22.46% and Lim's 8.33%; Lim subsequently lost his electoral deposit for not winning at least 12.5% of the vote.[25][26][27]
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Member of Parliament
Electoral results
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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 1960s
Elections in 1970s
Elections in 1980s
Elections in 1990s
Elections in 2000s
Elections in 2010s
Elections in 2020s
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References
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