General elections were held in Singapore on 2 January 1997 to elect all 83 members of Parliament. They were the tenth general elections since the introduction of self-government in 1959 and the eighth since independence in 1965. The number of parliamentary seats increased from 81 to 83 following adjustments to electoral boundaries. With 47 seats won uncontested by the People's Action Party (PAP), the outcome of the elections was effectively determined before polling day for the second consecutive election.
As the opposition secured two elected seats, one Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat was offered to the WP team in Cheng San GRC, which was the best-performing losing opposition team.[1][2]J. B. Jeyaretnam was selected, marking his return to Parliament for the first time since 1986, albeit as a NCMP.[1][2] The 1997 election was the only one to span two calendar years, with nomination day held on 23 December 1996 and polling day on 2 January 1997. In this election, the size of Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) was also expanded from four members to between four and six, with six-member constituencies remaining in place for two decades until their removal in the 2020 election.
In 1993, the largest opposition party, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), experienced a major internal conflict when party founder and Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong clashed with the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC), which included assistant Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan as well as chairman and Bukit Gombak MP Ling How Doong, over Chee's behaviour. The CEC supported Chee, and Chiam resigned from the Secretary-General post of his own party. He remained in the SDP for a time, successfully blocking an attempted expulsion by the CEC through a court case on procedural grounds, before resigning on his own accord in 1996 shortly before the general election to join the Singapore People's Party (SPP), a splinter group formed in 1994 by members of the SDP who backed him.
Shortly after taking control of the SDP as its Secretary-General, Chee traveled abroad to speak to foreign media, especially in Western countries, about what he saw as "limits to democracy" in Singapore. He also published his second book, Dare to Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore, criticising the PAP government and its ministers.[3] In response to criticisms of his book by then deputy prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, Chee wrote a letter to The Straits Times. Marine Parade GRC MP Matthias Yao replied, sparking a two-month exchange of letters in the newspaper that concluded with Chee challenging Yao to contest him in a SMC at the next general election. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong agreed to separate Yao's MacPherson division from Marine Parade GRC at this general election so that he could accept the challenge.
Ultimately, although Chiam had initially invited Chee to the SDP, they clashed over personality and approach. He opposed Chee's confrontational style and harsh criticism of the PAP especially when done abroad, which he considered counterintuitive to the SDP's cause and opposition politics in general, particularly since Chee did not hold a seat in Parliament and voiced his criticisms from outside the House and the country.[2]
The 8th Parliament was dissolved on 16 December 1996, with nominations held a week later. At the close of nominations, 122 candidates were fielded, and the PAP secured a return to power for the second consecutive and third overall election in which a majority of seats were uncontested. In total, 47 seats went uncontested, including Tampines GRC, where the National Solidarity Party (NSP) team was disqualified after one candidate was found to have been struck off the electoral rolls for failing to vote in 1991.
Meanwhile, Chia Shi Teck became the first former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) to contest in general election, running as an independent candidate in a rare four cornered fight in Chua Chu Kang SMC. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), previously known as the Singapore United Front (SUF), was represented by a father and son duo consisting of Tan Soon Phuan and Tan Lead Shake, the latter of whom later joined the NSP.
During the campaigning period, Tang Liang Hong, who stood on the Workers' Party (WP) ticket alongside its secretary general J. B. Jeyaretnam in Cheng San GRC, came under heavy attack by the governing PAP. The PAP accused Tang of being an "anti-ChristianChinese chauvinist", which became a major controversy of the election and shaped much of the national debate during the campaign.[4]
New six-member Group Representation Constituencies (GRC) were formed in the election, while six existing GRCs were absorbed into neighboring GRCs.[5] Divisions of each constituencies which were either absorbed or carved out Single Member Constituencies (SMC), or creating smaller divisions, were reflected in the table:
Ward upsized to five members Absorbed Eunos from Eunos GRC, Changkat South division from Tampines GRC (renamed to Changi-Simei), and portions of Serangoon Gardens division from Thomson GRC
Ward upsized to five members Absorbed Nee Soon South SMC, portions of Chong Boon division from Cheng San GRC, and portions of Serangoon Gardens division from Thomson GRC
New Constituency Formed with Thomson GRC (and a small portion of Serangoon Gardens division) and Toa Payoh GRC, with Boon Teck and Kim Keat divisions absorbed to Toa Payoh Central division, and Kuo Chuan to Toa Payoh East division
Ward upsized to five members Punggol division was split into Punggol Central, Punggol East and Punggol South divisions Carved out Chong Boon division to Ang Mo Kio GRC and Cheng San division
New Constituency Absorbed Joo Chiat division from Marine Parade GRC, Kaki Bukit division from Eunos GRC, Changi SMC and Bedok GRC Changi division was absorbed into Changi-Simei and Siglap divisions
Ward upsized to five members Absorbed a portion of Chua Chu Kang SMC (forming Yew Tee division) and Jurong SMC Hong Kah West division was split to include Nanyang division (which also absorbed a portion of Jurong SMC)
Ward upsized to six members Absorbed Braddell Heights and Mountbatten SMC, and portions of Serangoon Gardens division from Thomson GRC (forming Serangoon division) Carved out MacPherson division into SMC, and Joo Chiat division into East Coast GRC
New Constituency Absorbed Pasir Ris and portions of Tampines North division (renamed to Pasir Ris South) from Eunos GRC, while Pasir Ris division was split into Pasir Ris Central, Pasir Ris East and Pasir Ris Loyang divisions
Tampines West division was split to include Tampines Central division Carved a portion of Changkat South division to Aljunied GRC, while the rest absorbed to Tampines Changkat division
Ward upsized to six members Absorbed Brickworks and Queenstown division from Brickworks GRC, as well as Bukit Merah, Buona Vista and Leng Kee SMCs Carved out Telok Blangah division to West Coast GRC Brickworks division was absorbed into Pasir Panjang & Queenstown divisions
New Constituency Formed with Telok Blangah division from Tanjong Pagar GRC, and Clementi & West Coast divisions from Brickworks GRC
New and retiring candidates
24 PAP candidates and 18 opposition candidates made their election debuts in this election, while 17 incumbent MPs retired prior to the polls. The lists are as follows:
Retiring Candidates
New Candidates
Ho Kah Leong (Jurong), 58 since 1966 Ch'ng Jit Koon (Tanjong Pagar GRC), 62 since 1968 Yeo Toon Chia (Ang Mo Kio GRC), 55 since 1970 Chin Harn Tong (Aljunied GRC), 59 since 1972 Lee Yiok Seng (Sembawang GRC), 57 since 1972 Ahmad Mattar (Brickworks GRC), 57 since 1972 Dhanabalan Suppiah (Toa Payoh GRC), 59 since 1976 Lau Teik Soon (Thomson GRC), 59 since 1976 Teo Chong Tee (Changi), 54 since 1976 Koh Lip Lin (Nee Soon South), 60 since 1979 Sitaram Chandra Das (Cheng San GRC), 57 since 1980 Yeo Ning Hong (Kampong Glam GRC), 53 since 1980 Wong Kwei Cheong (Kampong Glam GRC), 55 since 1980 Lau Ping Sum (Ang Mo Kio GRC), 55 since 1980 Zulkifi Mohammad (Jalan Besar GRC), 48 since 1984 Arthur Beng (Bedok GRC), 47 since 1984 Peter Sung (Buona Vista), 56 since 1988 Umar Abdul Hamid (Ang Mo Kio GRC), 36 since 1991
On Polling Day, several PAP ministers, including Goh Chok Tong, Tony Tan and Lee Hsien Loong, were present within the precinct of polling stations in Cheng San GRC even though they were not candidates in the constituency. The WP argued that this was a violation of the Parliamentary Elections Act, as unauthorised personnel are prohibited from polling stations under election law to prevent undue influence and harassment of voters and staff.
The voter turnout in contested constituencies was 95.91%, the highest recorded in Singapore's electoral history. Kampong Glam's PAP candidate Loh Meng See achieved the best result of the election with 74.52% of the valid votes. Only two candidates, Tan Soo Phuan of the DPP and Syed Farid Wajidi of the SPP, forfeited their election deposits. This election was also the last general election to feature a four-cornered contest in one of its constituencies until the 2025 election, not counting the 2011 Singaporean presidential election or the 2013 Punggol East by-election, which were also four-cornered contests.[6]
After the election, the WP candidates at Cheng San GRC filed police reports against the PAP over the presence of PAP ministers within the precinct of polling stations in Cheng San GRC,[7] citing the violation of two sections of the Parliamentary Elections Act:
Section 82(1)(d): "No person shall wait outside any polling station on polling day, except for the purpose of gaining entry to the polling station to cast his vote".
Section 82(1)(e): "No person shall loiter in any street or public place within a radius of 200 metres of any polling station on polling day."
Their complaints were not prosecuted by the police, on the advice of the Attorney-General (AG) Chan Sek Keong.[8] The Attorney-General, in his letter to the Minister of Law, interpreted the statute as being "irrelevant to people" within the polling station, and that remaining within the polling station itself, as opposed to being within a perimeter of 200 meters from the external walls of the polling station, was not an offence.[9] He added that "the possibility of a person inside a polling station influencing or intimidating voters in the presence of the presiding officer and his officials, the polling agents etc was considered so remote that it was discounted by the Act."[10]
The WP questioned whether the AG was suggesting that it was acceptable for people to enter and loiter on the grounds of the polling station rather than outside it, and subsequently renewed its call for the establishment of an independent election commission to ensure fair play in the conduct of elections in Singapore.[11]
Tang Liang Hong's self-imposed exile
After the election, Tang Liang Hong was sued for defamation by several of the PAP's leaders, including then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and then-Deputy Prime Ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Tony Tan, who accused him of making statements during the campaign which falsely questioned their integrity.[12] A total of 13 judgements were entered against Tang for defamation.[13] Tang left Singapore shortly after the election and moved to Australia. He hasn't been back to Singapore ever since.
Other constituencies
With upgrading schemes dangled as a pricy stake for voters living in public housing, the PAP reversed its electoral decline for the first time in four elections with a 4.01% increase in its vote share. This marked the first election since the 1963 general election in which the party managed to wrestle back opposition wards, regaining control of Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon Central, both of which had been captured in the previous election. Due to Chiam See Tong's defection to the SPP, the SDP failed to win any seats, ending its parliamentary presence that had lasted since 1984. The SDP has yet to return to Parliament since then.
The election saw two opposition MPs returned to the legislature, with Chiam representing the SPP and Low Thia Khiang the WP. In addition, one Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat was offered to the WP team in Cheng San GRC, which was the best performing losing opposition team with 45.2% of the vote. The WP accepted the offer and appointed its secretary general J. B. Jeyaretnam as NCMP, marking his return to Parliament for the first time since 1986.
In June 1997, when NMPs were appointed, the number of appointments was increased from six to nine. Later, on 6 September 1999, the 9th Parliament was relocated to the newly constructed Parliament House situated within the Civic District facing North Bridge Road. The former Parliament House was closed following the move and subsequently reopened on 26 March 2004 as The Arts House, repurposed as a venue for the arts and cultural events.
Notes
1 2 1,115,679 of the 1,881,011 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies, leaving 765,332 voters able to vote.
↑ "Tony Tan also suing Tang for defaming him in report". The Straits Times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. 25 January 1997. p.1. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. The suits over Mr Tang's police report are separate from the three defamation actions by PM Goh, SM Lee, and six other PAP members for his comment that they had concocted lies against him.
↑ "Tang's case". The Straits Times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. 9 March 1997. p.4. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. 13 defamation suits filed against him by 11 People's Action Party
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