Potong Pasir - Political History

Political History

Potong Pasir is currently managed by Sitoh Yih Pin of the People's Action Party.

Singapore's longest serving opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Chiam See Tong, managed it from 1984 to 2011. The Singapore People's Party, of which he is a member, is part of the Singapore Democratic Alliance, which is in turn made up of four opposition parties.

Elections in Potong Pasir have always been hotly contested as the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) seeks to unseat Mr Chiam. The current PAP candidate, Sitoh Yih Pin, has much support from the party, although the last PAP candidate, Andy Gan, failed in his bid to wrangle Potong Pasir from Chiam in the general election in 1997, even with the support the PAP gave him.

In the 2006 General Elections, the PAP promised extensive upgrading for Potong Pasir estate if Sitoh Yih Pin got elected as MP for the seat of Potong Pasir. Despite that, Chiam won for the 6th consecutive term by a larger margin compared to the 2001 General Election.

In the 2011 General Elections, Mrs. Lina Chiam, who took over the reins from incumbent Mr. Chiam See Tong, lost to twice-unsuccessful challenger Sitoh Yih Pin of the PAP by a mere 114 votes in a close 7973-7859 vote count.

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