Bukit Gombak Single Member Constituency

Bukit Gombak
Single-member constituency for the Parliament of Singapore
Region	West Region, Singapore
Electorate	26,427
Current constituency
Created	1988;37 years ago (1988)
Seats	1
Party	People's Action Party
Member	Low Yen Ling
Town Council	Chua Chu Kang
Merged	2001
Merged into	Hong Kah GRC
Reformed	2025
Reformed from	Chua Chu Kang GRC

Bukit Gombak Single Member Constituency is a single-member constituency (SMC) in western Singapore. It is managed by Chua Chu Kang Town Council. The current Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency is Low Yen Ling from the governing People's Action Party (PAP).

Electoral history

First existence (1988–2001)

Creation (1988)

Bukit Gombak SMC was first created for the 1988 general election; ^[1] PAP candidate Seet Ai Mee defeated Ling How Doong, candidate for the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), with 53.46% of the vote. ^[2] While campaigning, she washed her hands after interacting with a fishmonger, drawing negative publicity. ^[3]

Loss to SDP (1991)

Ling challenged Seet again in the 1991 general election, defeating her with 51.82% of the vote. ^[4] During a PAP rally, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong attempted to defend Seet in her handwashing incident, saying that she had washed her hands habitually and not out of disrespect. His comments were reported in the media and reignited the incident, with the Singaporean public later attributing Seet's defeat to it. ^[3] In a 2011 interview with The Straits Times (ST), Seet said that she had wanted to clean her hands before meeting Muslim residents, having shaken hands with pork sellers; a PAP activist attempted to defend her in an ST opinion piece after the election with the same claim. ^{[3] [5]} She also wished that Goh had clarified the incident with her before referencing it at the rally. ^[3]

PAP regainment (1997)

During the 1997 general election, Ling stood for reelection in Bukit Gombak SMC. He was defeated by PAP candidate Ang Mong Seng with 65.14% of the vote. ^{[3] [6]}

Abolition

During the 2001 general election, Bukit Gombak SMC was abolished. It was divided between the three group representation consituencies (GRCs) of Hong Kah, Holland–Bukit Panjang and Jurong. ^[7]

Second existence (2025–present)

In the leadup to the 2025 general election, Bukit Gombak SMC was recreated from Chua Chu Kang GRC, comprising estates in Bukit Gombak and Hillview. The recreation was officially attributed to population growth in Tengah, which had been absorbed by the same GRC, and a goal of retaining the same seat count in GRCs. ^{[8] [9]}

The PAP fielded Low Yen Ling, the incumbent MP for the Bukit Gombak division of Chua Chu Kang GRC, to stand for reelection in the SMC. ^[10] She defeated Harish Pillay from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) with 75.81% of the vote. ^{[11] [12]}

Member of Parliament

Year	Member	Party
Formation
1988	Seet Ai Mee		PAP
1991	Ling How Doong		SDP
1997	Ang Mong Seng		PAP
Constituency abolished (2001 – 2025)
2025	Low Yen Ling		PAP

Electoral results

Note: The Elections Department does not include rejected votes when calculating the vote shares of candidates. Hence, all candidates' vote shares will total to 100% at any given election (may not appear so in multi-way contests due to rounding).

Elections in 1980s

General Election 1988 ^{[2] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PAP	Seet Ai Mee	12,661	53.46
	SDP	Ling How Doong	11,024	46.54
Majority			1,637	6.92
Total valid votes			23,685	98.34
Rejected ballots			401	1.66
Turnout			24,086	95.50
Registered electors			25,221
	PAP win (new seat)

Elections in 1990s

General Election 1991 ^{[4] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP	Ling How Doong	12,037	51.39	4.85
	PAP	Seet Ai Mee	11,383	48.61	4.85
Majority			654	2.78	4.14
Total valid votes			23,420	98.08	0.26
Rejected ballots			459	1.92	0.26
Turnout			23,879	95.67	0.17
Registered electors			24,961		1.03
	SDP gain from PAP		Swing	4.85

General Election 1997 ^{[6] [15]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PAP	Ang Mong Seng	15,229	65.14	16.53
	SDP	Ling How Doong	6,643	28.42	22.97
	SPP	Syed Farid Wajidi	1,506	6.44	N/A
Majority			7,080	36.72	33.92
Total valid votes			23,378	98.15	0.07
Rejected ballots			441	1.85	0.07
Turnout			23,819	95.62	0.08
Registered electors			24,909		0.21
	PAP gain from SDP		Swing	16.53

Elections in 2020s

General Election 2025 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	PAP	Low Yen Ling	17,946	75.81
	PSP	Harish Pillay	5,726	24.19
Majority			12,220	51.62
Total valid votes			23,672	98.76
Rejected ballots			298	1.24
Turnout			23,970	90.70
Registered electors			26,427
	PAP win (new seat)

References

1. "13 GRCs for next general election". The Straits Times. 15 June 1988. Retrieved 20 October 2025– via NewspaperSG.
2. "ELD | 1988 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
3. Seet, Ai Mee (19 March 2011). "Why I lost in Bukit Gombak". preshigh.edu.sg (republication from The Straits Times). Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
4. "ELD | 1991 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
5. Tan, Bee Bee (7 September 1991). "Why Dr Seet needed to wash her hands". The Straits Times. Retrieved 20 October 2025– via NewspaperSG.
6. "ELD | 1997 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
7. "Gombak: From single seat to GRC". The Straits Times. 18 October 2001 – via NewspaperSG (only viewable at NLB multimedia stations).
8. "GE2025: Six new SMCs created as the EBRC lays out changes to constituencies". CNA . Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
9. Koh, Fabian (11 March 2025). "GE2025: Extensive changes to electoral boundaries due to population shifts; only 5 GRCs, 4 SMCs left intact". CNA. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
10. "GE2025: Low Yen Ling to represent PAP in newly formed Bukit Gombak SMC". CNA. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
11. "GE2025: PAP retains Chua Chu Kang GRC with 63.59% of votes; wins 75.83% of votes in Bukit Gombak SMC". The Straits Times. 4 May 2025. Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
12. "ELD | 2025 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
13. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1988 > Bukit Gombak". sg-elections.com. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
14. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1991 > Bukit Gombak". sg-elections.com. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
15. "Singapore Parliamentary General Election 1997 > Bukit Gombak". sg-elections.com. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
16. "Statement of Poll for the Electoral Division of Bukit Gombak" (PDF). 16 May 2025.