1997 Singapore General Election

General elections were held in Singapore on 2 January 1997 to elect members of Parliament. They were the eighth general election since independence in 1965. The number of directly elected seats increased from 81 to 83 following adjustments to electoral boundaries.

The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) retained power, winning 81 of the 83 seats and 64.98% of the valid votes. It was the first election under Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in which the PAP increased its popular vote share since the 1980 election. With 47 seats uncontested on Nomination Day, the PAP was returned to government before polling for the second consecutive election.

The two elected opposition members were Chiam See Tong of the Singapore People's Party (SPP), who retained Potong Pasir SMC, and Low Thia Khiang of the Workers' Party (WP), who retained Hougang SMC. A Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat was offered to the WP team in Cheng San GRC as the best-performing losing opposition team; the party nominated its Secretary-General J. B. Jeyaretnam, returning him to Parliament for the first time since 1986.

The 1997 election was the only one to span two calendar years, with Nomination Day on 23 December 1996 and Polling Day on 2 January 1997.

Background

The election was Goh Chok Tong's first as Prime Minister in which he sought a stronger mandate, following the PAP's relatively weaker showing in 1991, when its vote share had fallen to 61.0% and the opposition held four seats in the 8th Parliament.

At dissolution, two PAP seats in Eunos and Toa Payoh GRCs were vacant following the death of Tay Eng Soon and the resignation of former Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong, who stepped down to contest the 1993 presidential election; neither GRC held a by-election. The size of Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) was expanded from four members to between four and six.

Singapore Democratic Party conflict

In 1993 the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) experienced an internal conflict when its founder and Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong clashed with the party's Central Executive Committee, which included Chee Soon Juan and chairman Ling How Doong. Chiam resigned as Secretary-General, remained in the party for a time while contesting an attempted expulsion through the courts, and left in 1996 shortly before the general election to join the Singapore People's Party (SPP), a splinter group formed in 1994 by members who backed him.

Timeline

Date	Event
21 November 1996	Publication of Electoral Boundaries report
16 December 1996	Dissolution of 8th Parliament
23 December 1996	Nomination Day
2 January 1997	Polling Day
15 January 1997	Announcement of Non-Constituency Member of Parliament
26 May 1997	Opening of 9th Parliament

Nominations and campaigning

At the close of nominations, 122 candidates were fielded. The PAP was returned to government on Nomination Day for the third time overall, with 47 seats uncontested. These included Tampines GRC, where the National Solidarity Party (NSP) team was disqualified after one candidate was found to have been struck off the electoral roll for failing to vote in 1991.

Cheng San GRC controversy

During the campaign, Tang Liang Hong, who stood on the Workers' Party ticket alongside Secretary-General J. B. Jeyaretnam in Cheng San GRC, was accused by the PAP of being an anti-Christian Chinese chauvinist, which became a major issue of the campaign.

On Polling Day, Goh Chok Tong, Tony Tan and Lee Hsien Loong were present within the precincts of polling stations in Cheng San GRC although they were not candidates in the constituency. The WP lodged police complaints alleging breaches of the Parliamentary Elections Act; the Public Prosecutor, on the advice of Attorney-General Chan Sek Keong, found that no offence had been disclosed. The matter was later raised in Parliament during the Committee of Supply debate on the Ministry of Law.

Results

The voter turnout in contested constituencies was 95.91%, the highest recorded in Singapore's electoral history to that point. The PAP reversed its electoral decline of the previous four elections with a 4.01-point increase in its vote share, regaining Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon Central, which the opposition had won in 1991. The SDP, weakened by Chiam's departure to the SPP, lost all its seats.

By constituency

Results of 1997 Singapore general election
Constituency	Seats	Electorate	Party		Candidate(s)	Votes	Votes %
Aljunied GRC	5	103,466		Ker Sin Tze David Lim Sidek Saniff Toh See Kiat George Yeo	64,299	67.02%
				Aziz Ibrahim Kwan Yue Keng S. Kunalen Tay Hoon Wong Hong Toy	31,645	32.98%
Ang Mo Kio GRC	5	125,344		Lee Hsien Loong Seng Han Thong Inderjit Singh Tan Boon Wan Tang Guan Seng	Uncontested
Ayer Rajah SMC	1	22,025		Tan Cheng Bock	15,081	73.17%
				Sin Kek Tong	5,531	26.83%
Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC	5	122,256		Ho Tat Kin Ibrahim Othman Leong Horn Kee Davinder Singh Wong Kan Seng	Uncontested
Boon Lay SMC	1	20,014		Goh Chee Wee	12,407	66.10%
				Christopher Neo	6,362	33.90%
Bukit Gombak SMC	1	24,909		Ang Mong Seng	15,229	65.14%
				Ling How Doong	6,643	28.42%
				Syed Farid Wajidi	1,506	6.44%
Bukit Timah GRC	5	118,248		Foo Yee Shoon Lim Boon Heng Ong Chit Chung R. Ravindran Wang Kai Yuen	Uncontested
Cheng San GRC	5	103,323		Heng Chiang Meng Lee Yock Suan Michael Lim Yeo Guat Kwang Zainul Abidin Rasheed	53,553	54.82%
				Abdul Rahim Bin Osman Huang Seow Kwang J. B. Jeyaretnam Tan Bin Seng Tang Liang Hong	44,132	45.18%
Chua Chu Kang SMC	1	24,074		Low Seow Chay	14,141	61.92%
				Yip Yew Weng	5,040	22.07%
			Template:SG/Independent	Chia Shi Teck	3,210	14.06%
			Template:SG/DPP	Tan Soo Phuan	445	1.95%
East Coast GRC	6	142,201		Abdullah Tarmugi Chan Soo Sen Chew Heng Ching Chng Hee Kok S. Jayakumar Tan Soo Khoon	Uncontested
Hong Kah GRC	5	125,452		John Chen Kenneth Chen Peter Chen Min Liang Harun Abdul Ghani Yeo Cheow Tong	82,182	69.00%
				Steve Chia Patrick Kee Tan Chee Kien Wong Wee Nam Yadzeth Bin Hairis	36,920	31.00%
Hougang SMC	1	24,423		Low Thia Khiang	13,458	58.02%
				Heng Chee How	9,736	41.98%
Jalan Besar GRC	4	71,922		Choo Wee Khiang Lee Boon Yang Peh Chin Hua Yaacob Ibrahim	44,840	67.55%
				David Chew Gandhi Ambalam Jufrie Mahmood Low Yong Nguan	21,537	32.45%
Kampong Glam SMC	1	20,044		Loh Meng See	13,446	74.52%
			Template:SG/DPP	Tan Lead Shake	4,598	25.48%
Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC	4	75,126		Richard Hu Lew Syn Pau Lily Neo R. Sinnakaruppan	Uncontested
MacPherson SMC	1	20,734		Matthias Yao	12,546	65.14%
				Chee Soon Juan	6,713	34.86%
Marine Parade GRC	6	142,106		Goh Chok Tong Goh Choon Kang Lim Hwee Hua Mohamad Maidin Othman Haron Eusofe Eugene Yap	Uncontested
Nee Soon Central SMC	1	26,257		Ong Ah Heng	15,214	61.33%
				Cheo Chai Chen	9,591	38.67%
Pasir Ris GRC	4	85,908		Ahmad Mohamed Magad Charles Chong Ong Kian Min Teo Chee Hean	56,907	70.86%
				A. Balakrishnan A. Rahim Lim Chiu Liang Sim Say Chuan	23,404	29.14%
Potong Pasir SMC	1	18,759		Chiam See Tong	9,709	55.15%
				Gan Lai Chiang	7,895	44.85%
Sembawang GRC	6	154,402		Chin Tet Yung Hawazi Daipi Ho Peng Kee K. Shanmugam Tony Tan Teo Ho Pin	Uncontested
Tampines GRC	4	94,476		Aline Wong Mah Bow Tan Sin Boon Ann Yatiman Yusof	Uncontested
Tanjong Pagar GRC	6	141,520		Chay Wai Chuen Koo Tsai Kee Lee Kuan Yew Lim Swee Say Ow Chin Hock S. Vasoo	Uncontested
West Coast GRC	4	74,022		Bernard Chen Lim Hng Kiang S. Iswaran Wan Soon Bee	48,275	70.14%
				Mike Chan Anthony D'Cruz John Gan Ng Teck Siong	20,550	29.86%
Source: Elections Department Singapore

Aftermath

Non-Constituency Member of Parliament

As the opposition won two elected seats, one NCMP seat was offered to the best-performing losing opposition team, the WP slate in Cheng San GRC, which took 45.18% of the vote. The WP accepted and nominated Secretary-General J. B. Jeyaretnam, returning him to Parliament for the first time since 1986.

Tang Liang Hong defamation suits

After the election, Tang Liang Hong was sued for defamation by several PAP leaders over statements made during the campaign. He left Singapore for Australia shortly afterward and did not return before his death in 2025.

See also

• Cheng San GRC polling station controversy (1997)
• Cheng San Group Representation Constituency
• 9th Parliament of Singapore

References

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