SINGAPORE – Election fever is back, and this time, all eyes are watching the impending battle for single-ward Bukit Batok.
The fight for the single member constituency (SMC) is beginning to hot up as some supporters of the Workers’ Party (WP) have been quick to urge the party to contest the upcoming by-election there after People’s Action Party (PAP) MP David Ong Kim Huat resigned last Saturday.
If the party decides to enter the fray, there is a possibility of a three-cornered fight – like how it was fought only six months ago in the General Election. Or will it be a crowded ring?
Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan gave his strongest indication at a walkabout yesterday (March 13) that there is a “possibility” that he will be their candidate, while the National Solidarity Party (NSP) said on Facebook on Saturday (March 12) that it would announce its decision whether to contest soon.
The PAP, which has been ruling the ward since it was created in 1972, has yet to name its candidate after Mr Ong resigned abruptly over an alleged extramarital affair with another party member, 41-year-old Wendy Lim.
Some WP supporters said the party, which is the only opposition party with elected and non-constituency representatives in Parliament, should join in the battle for Bukit Batok.
“Now WP can go hammer Bukit Batok,” urged one supporter in the party’s Facebook page.
Said another: “Stand in Bukit Batok by-election! WP will win there.”
Another enthusiastic supporter hopes the party will field a female candidate, like what it did in the Punggol East by-election in 2013, which saw its candidate Lee Li Lian winning the single-seat.
Suspicions that WP might see Bukit Batok as a tempting prospect have got some SDP fans barking at its door.
An SDP supporter bluntly told the party on WP’s Facebook page to “stay away”.
“I am sick..tired of seeing plenty of crowd for your rallies but lesser of them voting for you guys…let Dr Chee come in,” he said.
Said another SDP supporter: “Many of us hope that the arrogance of the WP will not rear its ugly head again, as seen in the last GE. Hope that WP will stay out of this by-election.”
SDP supporters also urged the NSP to stay out of the fray on its Facebook page.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is also the Secretary-General of PAP, said on Sunday that he plans to hold a by-election in “due course” when accepting Mr Ong’s resignation on Saturday.
Bukit Batok began as a single ward when it was formed in 1972.
PAP’s Chai Chong Yii was the first MP of Bukit Batok, where he won three elections between 1972 and 1984. There was a walkover in 1980. Its next MP was Dr Ong Chit Chung who won the seat in 1988 and 1991, beating SDP’s Kwan Yue Keng in close fights.
Dr Ong also looked after the area when the ward became part of two group representative constituencies (GRCs) when electoral boundaries were redrawn – first, Bukit Timah GRC in 1997 after a walkover, and then, Jurong GRC when the PAP team won in the 2001 election.
When Dr Ong died suddenly of a heart attack in July 2008, his seat was then part of a five-seat Jurong GRC. Veteran opposition leader and former Workers’ Party chief J. B. Jeyaretnam, who had just formed Reform Party, pressed the government to call a by-election but he too died two months later in September.
The Bukit Batok seat was left vacant until the 2011 when Mr David Ong and his team-mates won Jurong GRC in the General Election.
Bukit Batok was carved out of the GRC and returned to being a single ward in the last General Election. Mr Ong triumphed in the three-corner fight, against SDP candidate Sadasivam Veriyah and an independent candidate, winning 73 per cent of the votes.
If Dr Chee decides to stand in Bukit Batok SMC, it will mean his voice will be heard loudly there again. Dr Chee made his presence there last September when he spoke at a rally during the hustings.
He tried to rouse support by dedicating his whole speech to Mr Jeyaretnam, who had been needling the government to hold a by-election there in 2008 although the ward was looked after by the other Jurong GRC MPs following the death of Dr Ong.
Following Mr Ong’s resignation last weekend, the ward is now placed under the care of Jurong GRC MP Desmond Lee, who is also Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development untill the by-election, which is expected to be held within a few months.
Related:
Ong had to step down as PAP has standards to uphold
Chee Soon Juan, SDP’s ‘possible’ candidate
chenj@sph.com.sg
The Straits Times, Berita Harian, Shin Min Daily News
