1984 General Election: Difference between revisions
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'''General elections''' were held in [[Singapore]] on 22 December 1984. The result was a victory for the [[People's Action Party]], which won 77 of the 79 seats, marking the first time since [[1963 Singaporean general election|1963]] that at least one opposition candidate was elected to parliament, although the first presence of opposition was in [[1981 Anson by-election|1981]]. | '''General elections''' were held in [[Singapore]] on 22 December 1984. The result was a victory for the [[People's Action Party]], which won 77 of the 79 seats, marking the first time since [[1963 Singaporean general election|1963]] that at least one opposition candidate was elected to parliament, although the first presence of opposition was in [[1981 Anson by-election|1981]]. | ||
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Minister of Finance [[Hon Sui Sen]] died during his term on 14 October 1983 and his seat of Havelock was vacated, but no by-election was held on the constituency, and announced to be merged into Delta constituency. [[Tony Tan]] succeeded Hon as the new Finance Minister. | Minister of Finance [[Hon Sui Sen]] died during his term on 14 October 1983 and his seat of Havelock was vacated, but no by-election was held on the constituency, and announced to be merged into Delta constituency. [[Tony Tan]] succeeded Hon as the new Finance Minister. | ||
PM Lee's son [[Lee Hsien Loong]] (who went on to become the nation's third (and current) Prime Minister) made his debut in the [[Teck Ghee Single Member Constituency|seat of Teck Ghee]], while PAP stalwarts Dr [[Goh Keng Swee]] and [[Ong Pang Boon]] stepped down. In the only election among several preceding and succeeding ones, the election deposit ($1,500) remained unchanged. The [[Workers' Party | PM Lee's son [[Lee Hsien Loong]] (who went on to become the nation's third (and current) Prime Minister) made his debut in the [[Teck Ghee Single Member Constituency|seat of Teck Ghee]], while PAP stalwarts Dr [[Goh Keng Swee]] and [[Ong Pang Boon]] stepped down. In the only election among several preceding and succeeding ones, the election deposit ($1,500) remained unchanged. The [[Workers' Party]] (WP) secretary-general J. B. Jeyaretnam successfully retained the [[Anson Single Member Constituency|Anson]] constituency with an increased majority, while the [[Singapore Democratic Party]] made its first in-road into Parliament with the victory of [[Chiam See Tong]], who would serve the [[Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency]] for the next 26 years until 2011; this also began a continuing trend whereas three political parties were represented in Parliament (regardless of status as a NCMP or an elected MP) with the exception of 1986-88 (due to the disqualification of sole-WP candidate [[J. B. Jeyaretnam]] in 1986), and 2015-20 (all the nine minimum opposition seats were awarded to a single party of WP, with three being NCMPs). | ||
===[[Non-Constituency Member of Parliament]] scheme=== | ===[[Non-Constituency Member of Parliament]] scheme=== | ||
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|align=left|[[People's Action Party]]||568,310||64.8||77||+2 | |align=left|[[People's Action Party]]||568,310||64.8||77||+2 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|bgcolor={{Workers' Party | |bgcolor={{Workers' Party/meta/color}}| | ||
|align=left|[[ | |align=left|[[Workers' Party]]||110,868||12.6|||1||+1 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|bgcolor={{Democratic Progressive Party (Singapore)/meta/color}}| | |bgcolor={{Democratic Progressive Party (Singapore)/meta/color}}| | ||
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|[[John Cruz Corera]] | |[[John Cruz Corera]] | ||
|align=right|6,053 | |align=right|6,053 | ||
|{{composition bar|33.21|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|33.21|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|[[Aljunied Single Member Constituency|Aljunied]] | |[[Aljunied Single Member Constituency|Aljunied]] | ||
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|'''[[Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam]]''' | |'''[[Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam]]''' | ||
|align=right|9,909 | |align=right|9,909 | ||
|{{composition bar|56.81|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|56.81|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{SG/PAP}} | |{{SG/PAP}} | ||
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|[[Mohd Taib bin Saffar]] | |[[Mohd Taib bin Saffar]] | ||
|align=right|4,270 | |align=right|4,270 | ||
|{{composition bar|33.73|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|33.73|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="2" |[[Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency|Bukit Batok]] | | rowspan="2" |[[Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency|Bukit Batok]] | ||
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|[[Chan Keng Sieng]] | |[[Chan Keng Sieng]] | ||
|align=right|10,720 | |align=right|10,720 | ||
|{{composition bar|44.35|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|44.35|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{SG/UPF}} | |{{SG/UPF}} | ||
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|[[Peter Chua Chwee Huat]] | |[[Peter Chua Chwee Huat]] | ||
|align=right|5,614 | |align=right|5,614 | ||
|{{composition bar|41.28|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|41.28|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="2" |[[Eunos Single Member Constituency|Eunos]] | | rowspan="2" |[[Eunos Single Member Constituency|Eunos]] | ||
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|[[Chon Koon Cheong]] | |[[Chon Koon Cheong]] | ||
|align=right|6,793 | |align=right|6,793 | ||
|{{composition bar|41.20|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|41.20|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|[[Hong Kah SMC|Hong Kah]] | |[[Hong Kah SMC|Hong Kah]] | ||
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|[[Anathan Balakrishnan]] | |[[Anathan Balakrishnan]] | ||
|align=right|5,100 | |align=right|5,100 | ||
|{{composition bar|35.57|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|35.57|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="2" |[[Jalan Kayu Single Member Constituency|Jalan Kayu]] | | rowspan="2" |[[Jalan Kayu Single Member Constituency|Jalan Kayu]] | ||
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|[[Madai Puthan Damodaran Nair]]{{efn|Elected [[Non-constituency Member of Parliament|NCMP]] on 24 December 1984 but rejected to take the seat on 4 January 1985. Seat declared vacant on 4 March 1985.|name=|group=}} | |[[Madai Puthan Damodaran Nair]]{{efn|Elected [[Non-constituency Member of Parliament|NCMP]] on 24 December 1984 but rejected to take the seat on 4 January 1985. Seat declared vacant on 4 March 1985.|name=|group=}} | ||
|align=right|11,414 | |align=right|11,414 | ||
|{{composition bar|48.78|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|48.78|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|[[Joo Chiat SMC|Joo Chiat]] | |[[Joo Chiat SMC|Joo Chiat]] | ||
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|[[A. L. Sundram]] | |[[A. L. Sundram]] | ||
|align=right|6,075 | |align=right|6,075 | ||
|{{composition bar|35.05|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|35.05|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="2" |[[Kampong Chai Chee SMC|Kampong Chai Chee]] | | rowspan="2" |[[Kampong Chai Chee SMC|Kampong Chai Chee]] | ||
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|[[Mohamed Jufrie bin Mahmood]] | |[[Mohamed Jufrie bin Mahmood]] | ||
|align=right|3,023 | |align=right|3,023 | ||
|{{composition bar|35.05|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|35.05|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="2" |[[Kampong Ubi Single Member Constituency|Kampong Ubi]] | | rowspan="2" |[[Kampong Ubi Single Member Constituency|Kampong Ubi]] | ||
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|[[Royston George Scharenguivel]] | |[[Royston George Scharenguivel]] | ||
|align=right|9,311 | |align=right|9,311 | ||
|{{composition bar|42.09|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|42.09|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
| rowspan="2" |[[Kreta Ayer Single Member Constituency|Kreta Ayer]] | | rowspan="2" |[[Kreta Ayer Single Member Constituency|Kreta Ayer]] | ||
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|[[George Benjamin Armstrong]] | |[[George Benjamin Armstrong]] | ||
|align=right|4,559 | |align=right|4,559 | ||
|{{composition bar|33.16|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|33.16|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|[[MacPherson Single Member Constituency|MacPherson]] | |[[MacPherson Single Member Constituency|MacPherson]] | ||
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|[[John Gan Eng Guan]] | |[[John Gan Eng Guan]] | ||
|align=right|6,022 | |align=right|6,022 | ||
|{{composition bar|38.36|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|38.36|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|Angkatan Islam Singapura | |Angkatan Islam Singapura | ||
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|[[Wong Hong Toy]] | |[[Wong Hong Toy]] | ||
|align=right|8,590 | |align=right|8,590 | ||
|{{composition bar|46.22|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|46.22|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|[[River Valley Single Member Constituency|River Valley]] | |[[River Valley Single Member Constituency|River Valley]] | ||
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|[[Rajaratnam Murugason]] | |[[Rajaratnam Murugason]] | ||
|align=right|8,299 | |align=right|8,299 | ||
|{{composition bar|44.98|100|{{Workers' Party | |{{composition bar|44.98|100|{{Workers' Party/meta/color}}}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
|[[Thomson Single Member Constituency|Thomson]] | |[[Thomson Single Member Constituency|Thomson]] | ||
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[[Category:Elections]] | [[Category:Elections]] | ||
{{Navbar-elections}} |
Latest revision as of 13:22, 11 February 2025
General elections were held in Singapore on 22 December 1984. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party, which won 77 of the 79 seats, marking the first time since 1963 that at least one opposition candidate was elected to parliament, although the first presence of opposition was in 1981.
Background
In his 1983 National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew lamented that declining birth rates and large number of graduate women remaining single or not marrying their intellectual equal could see Singapore's talent pool shrink. The PAP government then proceeded to launch the "Graduate Mother Scheme" to entice graduate women with incentives to get married and grant graduate mothers priority in the best schools for their third child.[1] The proposal was met with anger by the Singapore public (including many female graduates) and the PAP government drew accusations of elitism. Notably, prominent PAP stalwarts like Deputy Prime Minister S. Rajaratnam and also ex-minister Toh Chin Chye expressed opposition to the proposal.[2][3]
In March 1984, Health Minister Howe Yoon Chong released a controversial proposal to raise the age for the withdrawal of Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings from 55 to 60 years. At a news conference on 26 March 1984, Howe reasoned that Singaporeans could not depend only on their children in their old age. That suggestion, part of the 54-page report of the Committee on the Problems of the Aged[4] which he chaired, was eventually dropped. Taking up the suggestions in the report, the Singapore Government subsequently introduced the Minimum Sum scheme. This allows workers to withdraw some of their CPF funds at age 55, setting aside a certain minimum sum which can only be withdrawn at retirement age, currently at 62 years.[5][6]
These controversial proposals sparked debate and uproar in the Singapore electorate and were said to have contributed to a big dip in PAP's support and its share of votes plunged by 12.9% to below 64.8%, the biggest fall and the lowest for PAP since the 1963 General Election (this remains the largest anti-PAP swing ever in a seriously contested general election as of 2020). In his memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew recalled that the swing against the PAP was larger than what he expected.
New candidates/outgoing incumbents
Minister of Finance Hon Sui Sen died during his term on 14 October 1983 and his seat of Havelock was vacated, but no by-election was held on the constituency, and announced to be merged into Delta constituency. Tony Tan succeeded Hon as the new Finance Minister.
PM Lee's son Lee Hsien Loong (who went on to become the nation's third (and current) Prime Minister) made his debut in the seat of Teck Ghee, while PAP stalwarts Dr Goh Keng Swee and Ong Pang Boon stepped down. In the only election among several preceding and succeeding ones, the election deposit ($1,500) remained unchanged. The Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general J. B. Jeyaretnam successfully retained the Anson constituency with an increased majority, while the Singapore Democratic Party made its first in-road into Parliament with the victory of Chiam See Tong, who would serve the Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency for the next 26 years until 2011; this also began a continuing trend whereas three political parties were represented in Parliament (regardless of status as a NCMP or an elected MP) with the exception of 1986-88 (due to the disqualification of sole-WP candidate J. B. Jeyaretnam in 1986), and 2015-20 (all the nine minimum opposition seats were awarded to a single party of WP, with three being NCMPs).
Non-Constituency Member of Parliament scheme
A new Non-Constituency Member of Parliament scheme was introduced whereby between three and six seats, the exact number which was decided by the President of Singapore, would be offered to unsuccessful opposition candidates with the best scores and who garner at least 15% of the votes if any one party wins all the seats, subtracting one NCMP seat for every one opposition MP elected. Opposition parties dismissed the scheme for misleading voters into thinking that they could have opposition MPs without voting for them. M.P.D. Nair of WP who contested Jalan Kayu was the first to be offered but declined. The offer was then made to Singapore United Front's Tan Chee Kien who contested Kaki Bukit, who also declined, and no further offers were made.
Timeline
Date | Event |
---|---|
4 December | Dissolution of the 5th Parliament |
12 December | Nomination Day |
22 December | Polling day |
25 February 1985 | Opening of 6th Parliament |
Electoral boundaries
Template:See also The newer constituencies are those with rapid developments of Ang Mo Kio, Tampines, Jurong East, Bedok & Jurong West (smaller developments), while other constituencies were dissolved, which was reflected in the table:
Constituency | Changes |
---|---|
New Constituencies | |
Bo Wen | Formed from Ang Mo Kio, Kebun Baru & Yio Chu Kang |
Changkat | Formed from Tampines & Kaki Bukit |
Eunos | Formed from Kaki Bukit & Tampines |
Fengshan | Formed from Bedok, Kampong Chai Chee & Tanah Merah |
Hong Kah | Formed from Boon Lay |
Teck Ghee | Formed from Ang Mo Kio & Chong Boon |
Yuhua | Formed from Boon Lay & Bukit Timah |
Defunct Constituencies | |
Bukit Ho Swee | Absorbed to Tiong Bahru and Kim Seng |
Havelock | Absorbed to Delta |
Katong | Absorbed to Joo Chiat and Mountbatten |
New/Outgoing MP
Outgoing MPs | New MPs |
---|---|
Retiring
Deceased
|
|
Template:Note: A caret indicates that the constituency was removed and absorbed to other wards.
Results
Chua Chu Kang SMC United People's Front candidate Teo Kim Hoe who garnered only 196 votes, or 0.81% of the valid votes cast, set a worst-scoring result for any candidates in the history of the election until the 2013 by-election where Desmond Lim surpassed the record with 168 votes or 0.53% of the valid votes;[7] not counting by-elections, the record has also be broken by independent candidate Samir Salim Neji in the 2015 general election, with 150 votes or 0.60% of the valid votes.
Excluding the 30 uncontested constituencies, the voter turnout was 95.6%, with 63.2% of the total electorate casting their votes.[8]
By constituency
References
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