Marsiling–Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency

Marsiling–Yew Tee
Group Representation constituency
for the Parliament of Singapore
RegionNorth and West Regions, Singapore
Electorate117,176
Current constituency
Created24 July 2015; 9 years ago (2015-07-24)
Seats4
PartyPeople's Action Party
Member(s)Alex Yam
Hany Soh
Zaqy Mohamad
Lawrence Wong
Town CouncilMarsiling–Yew Tee
Created from

The Marsiling–Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north-western part of Singapore. The constituency encompasses Chua Chu Kang (Yew Tee), Sungei Kadut Industrial Area, Kranji, Woodlands Checkpoint, and the west part of Woodlands. The four divisions of the GRC are Limbang, Marsiling, Woodgrove and Yew Tee managed by Marsiling—Yew Tee Town Council. The current Members of Parliament are Alex Yam, Hany Soh, Zaqy Mohamad and Lawrence Wong from the People's Action Party (PAP).

History

On 7 August 2017, Halimah Yacob resigned as Member of Parliament (MP) and as Speaker of Parliament in order to contest in the 2017 Singapore presidential election,[1] and elected as the 8th President of Singapore due to a walkover on the nomination day on 13 September 2017.[2]

On 8 August 2017, Zaqy Mohamad, who is also an MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC, was appointed as grassroots advisor, before becoming MP for Marsiling 3 years later, under the government-linked People's Association, for Halimah's Marsiling ward.[3] His appointment has caused controversy, as Halimah was the sole minority MP for Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC and a grassroots advisor is not the same as having an MP elected by residents of the constituency. While the government maintains that it is legal to forgo the calling of a by-election,[3][4] one of the original purposes of the GRC system was to ensure minority representation. The High Court dismissed a bid by the Singapore Democratic Party assistant treasurer Wong Souk Yee for a by-election to be called. Justice Chua Lee Ming presided on the hearing.[5] The appeal was subsequently dismissed by the Court of Appeal.[6]

Members of Parliament

Election Division Members of Parliament Party
2015
  • Yew Tee
  • Woodgrove
  • Marsiling
  • Limbang
 PAP
2020

Electoral results

Note : Elections Department Singapore do not include rejected votes for calculation of candidate's vote share. Hence, the total of all candidates' vote share will be 100%.

Elections in 2010s

General Election 2015: Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
PAP Alex Yam
Ong Teng Koon
Halimah Yacob
Lawrence Wong 		68,485 68.73% N/A
SDP Wong Souk Yee
John Tan
Bryan Lim
Damanhuri Abas 		31,157 31.27% N/A
Majority 37,328 37.4% N/A
Rejected ballots 2,134 2.0% N/A
Turnout 101,776 94.59% N/A
PAP win (new seat)

Elections in 2020s

General Election 2020: Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
PAP Alex Yam
Hany Soh
Zaqy Mohamad
Lawrence Wong 		69,722 63.18 Decrease5.55
SDP Benjamin Pwee
Bryan Lim
Damanhuri Abas
Khung Wai Yeen 		40,641 36.82 Increase5.55
Majority 29,081 26.36
Rejected ballots 2,097 1.86
Turnout 112,460 95.98 Increase1.39
Registered electors 117,176
PAP hold Swing Decrease5.52

References

  1. ^ "PM Lee accepts Halimah Yacob's resignation from the PAP". Channel NewsAsia. 7 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  2. ^ Halimah Yacob to be sworn in as Singapore's 8th President on Thursday: PMO (Straits Times Newspaper) Retrieved September 13th, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh (9 August 2017). "Zaqy to take over Marsiling grassroots adviser role". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. ^ Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh (7 Feb 2017). "No by-election if minority MP leaves GRC, says Chun Sing". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  5. ^ "High Court throws out SDP assistant treasurer's bid for Marsiling–Yew Tee by-election". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  6. ^ Lim, Adrian (10 April 2019). "Court of Appeal dismisses bid for by-election to be called in Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC". The Straits Times. Retrieved 21 September 2019.