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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Electoral boundary will change again</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">6:50 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 3) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>9161.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Electoral boundary changes: Chatter on the ground
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Li Xueying, Political Correspondent
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->AMID rumours of an early election, activists from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) are bracing themselves for possible electoral boundary changes.
The latter are recommended by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, which comprises civil servants in the Prime Minister's Office. Among the factors taken into account are population changes and movements.
This however has not stopped speculation over the years that electoral boundaries are politically-motivated. Cynics point to the disappearance of Cheng San GRC after the 1997 poll. The PAP scored 54.8 per cent of the votes there then.
This time round, speculation swirls around the constituencies of Aljunied GRC, Ang Mo Kio GRC and Sembawang GRC.
One PAP activist from Ang Mo Kio GRC reasoned that since the PAP did not do well in Aljunied GRC in 2006, the weakest link there could be moved out and put into Ang Mo Kio GRC - 'which, no matter what, is still much stronger'.
The PAP team captured 56.1 per cent of the valid votes in Aljunied GRC, with the middle-class ward of Serangoon Gardens faring the worst, according to activists.
The conventional wisdom that middle-class voters tend to support the ruling party did not pan out as expected then, noted one party activist.
If Serangoon Gardens is indeed moved to the six-member Ang Mo Kio GRC, then the ward of Nee Soon South may be moved out, activists speculate.
Indeed, some think it may become part of a new GRC in the north of Singapore.
This new GRC may include the two single-seat wards - Nee Soon Central and Nee Soon East - in the area, as well as parts carved out of the existing Sembawang GRC.
As it stands now, Sembawang GRC is Singapore's biggest constituency, with 184,804 voters looked after by six MPs.
More notably, it has two heavyweight ministers - Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Law Minister K. Shanmugam. Both are popular with the ground, and are expected to remain in politics for a long time more.
'We think that Mr Shanmugam may be transferred out to head a new GRC, comprising Nee Soon South, Nee Soon East, Nee Soon Central and, possibly, Canberra,' said one Sembawang GRC grassroots leader.
Should Nee Soon Central and Nee Soon East be absorbed into GRCs, at least one new single-seat ward will need to be created as the Parliamentary Elections Act stipulates that there must be at least eight single-seat wards. There are now nine.
Contacted by Insight, MP Lee Bee Wah, who takes care of the Nee Soon South ward in Ang Mo Kio GRC, said she had not heard of the speculation.
'Wherever it is, if my service is required, I'll serve 100 per cent,' she said.
Mr Shanmugam dismissed the speculation, saying: 'I give it little credence.'
Another area under scrutiny is Hong Kah GRC, which has been anchored by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Water Resources, since Mr Yeo Cheow Tong stepped down as Transport Minister three years ago.
The expectation is that single-seat ward Chua Chu Kang, under Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, would be absorbed into the GRC, while Dr Khor would move out to helm a single-seat constituency, said an activist.
Political observer and former Nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin noted of these surmises: 'They are not inconsistent with the PAP principle that ministers have to carry their weight. The party has always had the principle that heavyweight ministers have to show leadership and lead the pack.'
Whatever boundary changes may be forthcoming, the PAP's preparations on the ground have not been affected much, said the PAP sources.
This is because much of the initial preparations are done by individual divisions, rather than at GRC level. During the last election, boundaries of 11 out of the 23 electoral divisions were tweaked.
[email protected]
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Li Xueying, Political Correspondent
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->AMID rumours of an early election, activists from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) are bracing themselves for possible electoral boundary changes.
The latter are recommended by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, which comprises civil servants in the Prime Minister's Office. Among the factors taken into account are population changes and movements.
This however has not stopped speculation over the years that electoral boundaries are politically-motivated. Cynics point to the disappearance of Cheng San GRC after the 1997 poll. The PAP scored 54.8 per cent of the votes there then.
This time round, speculation swirls around the constituencies of Aljunied GRC, Ang Mo Kio GRC and Sembawang GRC.
One PAP activist from Ang Mo Kio GRC reasoned that since the PAP did not do well in Aljunied GRC in 2006, the weakest link there could be moved out and put into Ang Mo Kio GRC - 'which, no matter what, is still much stronger'.
The PAP team captured 56.1 per cent of the valid votes in Aljunied GRC, with the middle-class ward of Serangoon Gardens faring the worst, according to activists.
The conventional wisdom that middle-class voters tend to support the ruling party did not pan out as expected then, noted one party activist.
If Serangoon Gardens is indeed moved to the six-member Ang Mo Kio GRC, then the ward of Nee Soon South may be moved out, activists speculate.
Indeed, some think it may become part of a new GRC in the north of Singapore.
This new GRC may include the two single-seat wards - Nee Soon Central and Nee Soon East - in the area, as well as parts carved out of the existing Sembawang GRC.
As it stands now, Sembawang GRC is Singapore's biggest constituency, with 184,804 voters looked after by six MPs.
More notably, it has two heavyweight ministers - Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Law Minister K. Shanmugam. Both are popular with the ground, and are expected to remain in politics for a long time more.
'We think that Mr Shanmugam may be transferred out to head a new GRC, comprising Nee Soon South, Nee Soon East, Nee Soon Central and, possibly, Canberra,' said one Sembawang GRC grassroots leader.
Should Nee Soon Central and Nee Soon East be absorbed into GRCs, at least one new single-seat ward will need to be created as the Parliamentary Elections Act stipulates that there must be at least eight single-seat wards. There are now nine.
Contacted by Insight, MP Lee Bee Wah, who takes care of the Nee Soon South ward in Ang Mo Kio GRC, said she had not heard of the speculation.
'Wherever it is, if my service is required, I'll serve 100 per cent,' she said.
Mr Shanmugam dismissed the speculation, saying: 'I give it little credence.'
Another area under scrutiny is Hong Kah GRC, which has been anchored by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Water Resources, since Mr Yeo Cheow Tong stepped down as Transport Minister three years ago.
The expectation is that single-seat ward Chua Chu Kang, under Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, would be absorbed into the GRC, while Dr Khor would move out to helm a single-seat constituency, said an activist.
Political observer and former Nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin noted of these surmises: 'They are not inconsistent with the PAP principle that ministers have to carry their weight. The party has always had the principle that heavyweight ministers have to show leadership and lead the pack.'
Whatever boundary changes may be forthcoming, the PAP's preparations on the ground have not been affected much, said the PAP sources.
This is because much of the initial preparations are done by individual divisions, rather than at GRC level. During the last election, boundaries of 11 out of the 23 electoral divisions were tweaked.
[email protected]
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