2001 Singaporean general election

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2001 Singaporean general election
Flag of Singapore.svg
  1997 3 November 2001 2006  

All 84 directly elected seats in Parliament (and up to 3 NCMPs)
Registered2,036,923 [a]
Turnout94.61% (Decrease2.svg 1.30pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  GohChokTong-WashingtonDC-20010614.jpg ChiamSeeTong-SDARally-20060502.jpg Low Thia Khiang 4 (3x4 cropped).jpg
Leader Goh Chok Tong Chiam See Tong Low Thia Khiang
Party PAP SDA WP
Leader's seat Marine Parade GRC Potong Pasir SMC Hougang SMC
Last election64.98%, 81 seats14.17%, 2 seats
Seats won8221
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 1NewDecrease2.svg 1
Popular vote470,76575,24819,060
Percentage75.29%12.03%3.05%
SwingIncrease2.svg 10.31ppNewDecrease2.svg 11.12pp

Map of the results of the 2001 Singaporean general election.svg
Results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Goh Chok Tong
PAP

Prime Minister after election

Goh Chok Tong
PAP

General elections were held in Singapore on 3 November 2001 to elect all 84 members of Parliament. They were the eleventh general elections since the introduction of self-government in 1959 and the ninth since independence in 1965. The number of parliamentary seats increased from 83 to 84 following adjustments to electoral boundaries. With 55 seats won uncontested by the People's Action Party (PAP), the outcome of the elections was effectively determined before polling day for the third consecutive election.

Contents

The ruling PAP secured a landslide victory and retained its supermajority by winning all but two of the 84 parliamentary seats, while also increasing its popular vote share for the second consecutive election to 75.29%, its strongest showing since the 1980 election. The only opposition candidates elected were Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), who retained his seat in Potong Pasir SMC, and Low Thia Khiang of the Workers' Party (WP), who retained his seat in Hougang SMC. As the opposition secured two elected seats, one Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat was offered to Steve Chia of the SDA in Chua Chu Kang SMC, who was the best-performing losing opposition candidate. He accepted the seat.

This was Goh Chok Tong's last election as prime minister before he handed over to deputy prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is the son of Lee Kuan Yew, in 2004. Voter turnout in contested constituencies stood at 94.61%, slightly lower from the preceding general election. This election was the first in which the total eligible voter population exceeded 2 million, although only one third of them (675,306 of the 2,036,923 eligible voters) were able to vote due to the large number of walkovers. As of 2025, it remains the most recent general election in which the WP was not the leading opposition party represented in Parliament.

Background

A seat in Jalan Besar GRC was vacated in 1999 following the conviction of People's Action Party (PAP) MP Choo Wee Khiang for cheating. However, no by-election was held, as the vacancy occurred within a group representation constituency (GRC). The responsibilities of Choo's division were instead redistributed among the remaining MPs in the GRC. Under Singapore law, a by-election can only be called in a GRC if all of its seats are vacated. The last instance of this occurring was the Marine Parade GRC by-election in 1992.

Global situation

The ruling PAP government led by prime minister Goh Chok Tong had initially planned to hold the election as scheduled in 2002. However, it was brought forward after Singapore experienced an economic slowdown linked to the lingering effects of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the dot-com bubble and the early 2000s recession, which were further worsened by the September 11 attacks in the United States. The 2001 election had the shortest election period in Singapore's history, lasting only 17 days from the release of the electoral boundaries report and the certification of the registers of electors towards polling day. Seeking to renew his mandate swiftly, Goh aimed to secure public confidence amid the downturn. The election deposit was also raised sharply by S$5,000 from $8,000 to $13,000, marking one of the largest increases to date. [1]

Non-PAP political parties

Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA)

For the first time since the 1963 election, a formal opposition coalition was formed. Known as the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), comprised four parties: the leading Singapore People's Party (SPP), the National Solidarity Party (NSP), the Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS) and the Singapore Justice Party (SJP). It was led by SPP secretary-general Chiam See Tong. The SDA fielded 13 candidates in the election, with the NSP contributing nine, the SPP four and the PKMS providing the required Malay minority candidate.

All but one of their contests were straight fights; the sole exception being Bukit Timah SMC, which saw the only three-cornered contest of the election involving the SDA and an independent candidate. According to the SDA, four other opposition parties declined invitations to join the coalition, including the more established Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the Workers' Party (WP). The other two were the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Singapore National Front (SNF), the latter of which had not yet contested any election since its founding in 1991.

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) fielded 11 candidates across three constituencies. Its secretary-general Chee Soon Juan and his sister, Chee Siok Chin, led the party's team in the newly created Jurong GRC. Former MPs Cheo Chai Chen (Nee Soon Central SMC) and Ling How Doong (Bukit Gombak SMC), both of whom had served in the 8th Parliament after being elected in the 1991 election, contested in Hong Kah GRC and Nee Soon Central SMC respectively in an effort to return to Parliament.

Workers' Party (WP)

Former Workers' Party (WP) Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, who lost his seat in July 2001 after being declared bankrupt following defamation lawsuits filed by PAP leaders, resigned from the party citing disagreements with its current leadership. The party's only MP, Low Thia Khiang, subsequently assumed the position of secretary-general. On nomination day, the WP was successfully nominated in only two constituencies, Hougang SMC and Nee Soon East SMC. [2]

Its proposed team for Aljunied GRC, comprising chairman Tan Bin Seng, second vice-chairman Huang Seow Kwang (both of whom had contested in Cheng San GRC in 1997) and new members Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman, James Gomez and Yaw Shin Leong, was disqualified for submitting incomplete nomination papers. Plans to contest in Ang Mo Kio GRC, East Coast GRC and Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC were also later withdrawn after the party's teams failed to appear at their respective nomination centres. Low described the Aljunied team's disqualification as an "oversight" and accepted responsibility for the error. The election marked the fewest number of seats contested by the WP in over three decades since the 1968 election, when the party also fielded candidates in only two constituencies during a period when most opposition parties boycotted the polls. [3]

Timeline

DateEvent
17 OctoberPublication of Electoral Boundaries report; Certification of Registers of Electors
18 OctoberDissolution of 9th Parliament; Writ of Election issued
25 OctoberNomination Day
26 October to 2 NovemberCampaigning Period
3 NovemberPolling Day
25 March 2002Opening of 10th Parliament

Electoral boundaries

The report of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) for the 2001 general election was published on 17 October 2001, only a day before the dissolution of Parliament. The 10th Parliament was to return 84 elected Members of Parliament, comprising nine single member constituencies (SMCs), nine five-member group representation constituencies (GRCs) and five six-member GRCs, with all previous four-member GRCs eliminated.

The election saw the introduction of Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC, Jurong GRC (restructured from most of Bukit Timah GRC, with Bukit Timah itself restored as an SMC) and Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (renamed from Pasir Ris GRC and expanded to include the Punggol and Sengkang areas from the dissolved Cheng San GRC). Bukit Timah GRC, Cheng San GRC and Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC were dissolved and their divisions reorganised into new constituencies.

Two SMCs, Bukit Timah and Joo Chiat, were reinstated, while Boon Lay, Bukit Gombak and Kampong Glam were absorbed into neighbouring GRCs. For the first time, certain GRCs retained their exact boundaries from the previous election; specifically Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC and Marine Parade GRC, a pattern that has since recurred in subsequent elections.

ConstituencyChanges
Aljunied GRC Absorbed the southern Punggol divisions from Cheng San GRC, and Lorong Halus area/Paya Lebar Air Base from Pasir Ris GRC
Kampong Kembangan division was split into Aljunied-Kembangan and Kembangan-Punggol divisions (the latter absorbed with Punggol East from Cheng San GRC), while Punggol South division was renamed to Aljunied–Hougang
Carved out Changi-Simei division to East Coast GRC and Aljunied division to Marine Parade GRC
Ang Mo Kio GRC Ward upsized to six members
Absorbed Cheng San and Jalan Kayu divisions from Cheng San GRC
Ang Mo Kio division was absorbed into Yio Chu Kang and Teck Ghee divisions
East Coast GRC Absorbed Changi-Simei division from Aljunied GRC
Carved out Joo Chiat division into SMC
Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC New Constituency
Formed with Ulu Pandan, Bukit Panjang and Buona Vista divisions from Bukit Timah GRC, Sembawang GRC and Tanjong Pagar GRC, respectively
Bukit Panjang divisions was split to include Cashew and Zhenghua divisions, while some of Zhenghua division was split from Tanglin division
Hong Kah GRC Absorbed Bukit Gombak SMC, and a portion of Chua Chu Kang SMC (to form Keat Hong division)
Carved out Hong Kah East division to Jurong GRC
Hong Kah West was merged into Nanyang division
Jalan Besar GRC Ward upsized to five members
Absorbed Kampong Glam SMC, Kreta Ayer and Kim Seng divisions (which would merge into Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng division) from Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC
Geylang West division was absorbed into Kolam Ayer and Jalan Besar divisions
Jurong GRC New Constituency
Formed from a majority of Bukit Timah GRC (except for Bukit Timah division, which carved into SMC), and Hong Kah East division from Hong Kah GRC
Jurong division was split into Pioneer and Taman Jurong divisions, while Bukit Batok East division was formed from portions of Bukit Batok, Bukit Gombak & Bukit Timah divisions
Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC New Constituency
Formed from Pasir Ris GRC (except for the Pasir Ris South division, which was absorbed into Tampines GRC) and northern Punggol divisions of Cheng San GRC (Punggol Central, North and South)
Sembawang GRC Carved out Nee Soon East division into SMC, and Bukit Panjang division into Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC
Sembawang and Woodlands division were split to include Canberra and Admiralty divisions respectively
Tampines GRC Ward upsized to five members
Absorbed Pasir Ris South division from Pasir Ris GRC (renamed to Tampines North)
Tanjong Pagar GRC Absorbed Moulmein and Tanglin (renamed to Tanglin-Cairnhill) divisions from Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC
Carved out Buona Vista division to Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC
Leng Kee division was absorbed into Queenstown, Radin Mas and Tanglin-Cairnhill divisions
West Coast GRC Ward upsized to five members
Absorbed Boon Lay SMC and some of Bukit Timah GRC (Jurong, Joo Koon, Gul Circle and Tuas)
Pasir Panjang division was dissolved into Telok Blangah and West Coast divisions

New and retiring candidates

A total of 40 candidates made their political debut in 2001, including 25 from the PAP. Notable newcomers included Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Halimah Yacob, both of whom would later serve as President of Singapore. Twenty-four incumbent MPs retired before the election was announced. Among the 15 new opposition candidates were Chee Siok Chin, sister of SDP leader Chee Soon Juan; Desmond Lim, who would later head the SDA; and Ooi Boon Ewe, who went on to become a perennial candidate in subsequent elections.

New candidatesOutgoing MPs
  • Chee Siok Chin, 35 (SDP)
  • Fong Chin Leong, 32 (SDA)
  • Foo Kok Wah, 30 (SDA)
  • Mohamad Isa bin Abdul Aziz, 43 (SDP)
  • Desmond Lim Bak Chuan, 34 (SDA)
  • Lim Boon Heng, 25 (SDP)
  • Arthero Lim Tung Hee, 46 (SDP)
  • Ng Kee How, 47 (SDA)
  • Ooi Boon Ewe, 60 (IND)
  • Poh Lee Guan, 40 (WP)
  • Mohamad Rahizan bin Yaacob, 45 (SDA)
  • Tan Kim Chuang, 55 (IND)
  • Sebastian Teo Kway Huang, 53 (SDA)
  • Tong Meng Chye, 53 (SDA)
  • Vincent Yeo Boon Keng, 48 (SDP)
  • Aline Wong (Tampines GRC)
  • Bernard Chen Tien Lap (West Coast GRC)
  • Chng Hee Kok (East Coast GRC)
  • Eugene Yap (Marine Parade GRC)
  • Goh Chee Wee (Boon Lay)
  • Goh Choon Kang (Marine Parade GRC)
  • Harun Abdul bin Ghani (Hong Kah GRC)
  • Heng Chiang Meng (Cheng San GRC)
  • Ho Tat Kin (Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC)
  • Ibrahim Othman (Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC)
  • Kenneth Chen Koon Lap (Hong Kah GRC)
  • Ker Sin Tze (Aljunied GRC (Paya Lebar))
  • Lew Syn Pau (Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC)
  • Ow Chin Hock (Tanjong Pagar GRC)
  • Peh Chin Hua (Jalan Besar GRC)
  • Peter Chen (Hong Kah GRC)
  • Richard Hu (Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC) 1
  • S Vasoo (Tanjong Pagar GRC)
  • Sidek bin Saniff (Aljunied GRC)
  • Sinakruppan Ramasamy (Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC)
  • Tang Guan Seng (Ang Mo Kio GRC)
  • Toh See Kiat (Aljunied GRC)
  • Wan Soon Bee (West Coast GRC)
  1. ^ Richard Hu initially announced that he would seek another term in leading a team for the new Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC, but he changed his mind and was replaced by Gan Kim Yong.

Results

The PAP won a landslide victory, marking its best performance since 1980 and its third highest result since it first gained power in 1959. The PAP secured 75.29% of the vote, reflecting strong public support for its leadership during a period of global uncertainty and economic recession. However, this election also recorded the highest number of walkovers since 1968, reflecting the opposition's unwillingness to mount a serious challenge against the PAP that year. Chong Weng Chiew and Penny Low of the PAP became the first MPs born in post-independence Singapore.

At the time, political apathy among Singaporeans towards a stronger opposition presence in Parliament appeared to be high, with only 29 out of 84 seats contested and the opposition narrowly winning just two of them. While the opposition-held constituencies of Hougang and Potong Pasir from the previous election were retained, both saw reduced majorities, each garnering less than 55% of the vote for the WP and the SDA respectively. The outcome raised concerns that an all-PAP elected Parliament and an "opposition wipeout" for the first time since 1980, which was the PAP's justification of introducing the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) scheme in 1984, was a distinct possibility. With two opposition seats in Parliament, a NCMP seat was offered to and accepted by Steve Chia of the SDA, making him the first NCMP since the scheme's introduction to not be from the WP.

Two candidates, Tan Kim Chuang and Tan Lead Shake, forfeited their $13,000 election deposits. The latter was involved in a straight fight in which Tan Cheng Bock recorded the election's highest contested result of 87.96% in Ayer Rajah SMC. This was the last election to date in which a forfeiture occurred outside a multi-cornered contest, and also the final election until 24 years later in 2025 where the PAP achieved more than 80% of the vote in a single member constituency. [4] [5]

Popular vote
  1. PAP (75.3%)
  2. SDA (12.0%)
  3. SDP (8.09%)
  4. Workers' (3.05%)
  5. Others (1.53%)

Aftermath

Chee–Goh hawker centre incident

During the campaigning period on 28 October, SDP leader Chee Soon Juan drew widespread public attention after an encounter with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at a hawker centre in Hong Kah. Using a megaphone, Chee shouted at Goh, "Where is the $17 billion that you have lent to Suharto?" Later that day at a election rally in Nee Soon Central, Chee referenced Lee Kuan Yew, who was serving as Senior Minister at the time. He concluded his speech with: "…I want to ask Mr Lee Kuan Yew … So Mr Lee Kuan Yew, I challenge you, tell us about the $17 billion you loaned to Suharto."

In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Singapore provided substantial financial assistance to Indonesia through billions of dollars in loans to stabilise the struggling Indonesian economy, with the country also seeing increasing civil unrest. The Singaporean government considered these loans necessary, as an unstable Indonesia was viewed as potentially having serious negative repercussions for Singapore. [6]

Goh and Lee later filed defamation suits against Chee shortly after the election. Chee lost his appeals in 2003 and was ordered to pay damages of S$300,000 to Goh and S$200,000 to Lee. Ahead of the 2006 general election, Chee was declared bankrupt on 10 February, rendering him ineligible to contest. He eventually returned to electoral politics in 2015 after being discharged from bankruptcy in 2012. [7] [8]

DPP's explusions

Following the election, the DPP announced the expulsion of Tan Soo Phuan and his son Tan Lead Shake from the party for breaching party directives. Tan Soo Phuan failed to inform the party of his decision to contest MacPherson SMC, while Tan Lead Shake ran in Ayer Rajah SMC instead of the designated Joo Chiat SMC. [9]

Notes

  1. 1 2 1,361,617 of the 2,036,923 voters were registered in uncontested constituencies, leaving 675,306 voters able to vote.
  2. Elected as NCMP on 5 November 2001.

References

  1. Peter M. Manikas; Keith Jennings (November 2001). "The Political Process and the 2001 Parliamentary Elections in Singapore" (PDF). ndi.org. National Democratic Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  2. "Taken at: Workers' Party (WP) election rally at the open …". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  3. "NewspaperSG Today 26 October 2001" . Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  4. Michelle Ng; Syarafana Shafeeq; Zachary Lim (4 May 2025). "GE2025: PAP scores big wins in newly formed Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, Jurong Central SMC". straitstimes.com. The Straits Times . Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  5. Hoon Jeng Jee; Kristy Chua (3 May 2025). "PAP's Eric Chua wins Queenstown SMC with 81.12% of votes over PAR's Mahaboob Batcha". asiaone.com. AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 12 May 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  6. Thomas Fuller (29 October 1997). "Singapore, Bypassing IMF, Pledges $10 Billion to Indonesia". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  7. "Lee Kuan Yew v Chee Soon Juan [2003] SGHC 78". elitigation.sg. High Court of Singapore: Integrated Electronic Litigation System of the judicial system of Singapore. 4 April 2003. Archived from the original on 11 October 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  8. "Goh Chok Tong v Chee Soon Juan [2003] SGHC 79". elitigation.sg. High Court of Singapore: Integrated Electronic Litigation System of the judicial system of Singapore. 4 April 2003. Archived from the original on 11 October 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  9. "DPP slipper man and father sacked". Today . 2 July 2002. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.