General Election 2025

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Marine Parade GRC to absorb MacPherson SMC, cede parts of Chai Chee, Siglap​

The renamed group representation constituency will have 131,493 electors, down from 139,738 registered voters in 2020.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Joyce Lim
Mar 11, 2025, 09:57 PM

SINGAPORE - The boundaries of Marine Parade GRC will change significantly at the next general election, with the five-member constituency absorbing all of MacPherson SMC.

It will also take in an adjacent polling district from Mountbatten SMC and cede polling districts from the Chai Chee Housing Board estates and Siglap private estates to East Coast GRC.

In its report released on March 11, the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee also recommended moving some polling districts from Potong Pasir SMC to Marine Parade GRC, given the new HDB developments in Bidadari that have increased the population in the single-seat constituency.

Marine Parade GRC will be renamed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC to better reflect the identities of the geographical areas in the constituency, the committee said. The renamed group representation constituency will have 131,493 electors, down from 139,738 registered voters in 2020.

Marine Parade GRC was hotly contested in the 2020 General Election, with the People’s Action Party garnering 57.76 per cent of the vote against the Workers’ Party (WP). Political observers expect another keen fight this round, with the WP set to contest again and the PAP team losing former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, who resigned in 2023 after an extramarital affair.

The polling districts in Chai Chee and Siglap that will become part of East Coast GRC are currently overseen by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong. Siglap falls under the Joo Chiat ward where Mr Tong serves as the MP.

He stepped in as first adviser to the grassroots organisations in the Kembangan-Chai Chee ward after Mr Tan’s resignation in 2023.

PAP’s new face Choo Pei Ling, an assistant professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology’s health and social sciences cluster, is the second adviser.

The other MPs in the GRC – Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, Mr Seah Kian Peng and Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman – also helped to cover the former Speaker’s duties.

The boundaries of Marine Parade GRC have shifted over the years after its formation in 1988.

In 1997, it absorbed the Braddell Heights single seat, while MacPherson was carved out.

Today, the five-member GRC comprises five wards – Joo Chiat, Geylang Serai, Braddell Heights, Kembangan-Chai Chee and Marine Parade.

The latest boundary changes see MacPherson returning to the GRC’s fold. It is helmed by Ms Tin Pei Ling, who received 71.74 per cent of the vote during the 2020 election.

When asked for comment, Ms Tin told The Straits Times: “I have grown alongside MacPherson over the past 14 years. My heart is with my residents, and I will continue to do my best to serve MacPherson, regardless of the boundaries, if I’m given the chance to do so.”

The PAP’s vote share in Marine Parade dropped from 64.07 per cent in 2015 to 57.76 per cent in 2020, following the retirement of Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who helmed the GRC for decades.

Mr Goh, who was Singapore’s second prime minister from 1990 to 2004, had represented Marine Parade for 44 years, starting in 1976, when it was a single-member constituency.

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Hot wards of GE 2020 rejigged, parties ‘cannot fight old battles’ in potential May GE: Observers​

The EBRC report’s release on March 11 sets the stage for a potential May election, concurred a majority of the observers.PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Goh Yan Han and Anjali Raguraman
Mar 11, 2025

SINGAPORE - The hottest constituencies of 2020 have been rejigged ahead of the 2025 general election, with some new battlegrounds to watch out for in Jurong and Punggol, noted observers.

These changes from the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s report released on March 11 may scupper the plans of the opposition parties who fought the closest contests in constituencies such as East Coast GRC, West Coast GRC and Bukit Batok SMC the last round, they said.

The adjustments could also affect the incumbent People’s Action Party, given that the sitting MPs will have to manage the changes, they pointed out.

While it seems clear that large population shifts in certain regions had sparked some boundary redrawings, the changes might feel politically-driven to some voters, said observers ST spoke to.

They noted that for the first time in decades, the committee took pains to explain the rationale behind the redrawing of the boundaries, adding that this was a positive step that could help Singaporeans better understand the changes.

The hot wards of GE 2020, contested then by the Workers’ Party, Progress Singapore Party and Singapore Democratic Party, had their boundaries significantly redrawn, following changes to adjacent constituencies that had rapid population growth.

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) senior research fellow Gillian Koh said that the three parties “cannot fight the old battles of GE 2020” in these areas in the upcoming election.

“In the revision of the boundaries, the PAP will be able to incorporate some of its stronger wards,” she added.

The opposition parties will have to strategise within themselves and across the parties, given talk of competing claims to constituencies, she noted.

For example, the new Jalan Kayu SMC has already seen the People’s Alliance for Reform, People’s Power Party and Red Dot United staking their claims.

IPS Social Lab research fellow Teo Kay Key pointed out that the west region of Singapore had seen quite a number of changes in the boundaries.

These include a new West Coast-Jurong West GRC that takes in parts of the current Jurong GRC while ceding areas in Dover and Telok Blangah to Tanjong Pagar GRC.

The rest of Jurong GRC has also been redistributed into a new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, new Jurong Central SMC and into the existing Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

With parties like PSP and SDP contesting previously in constituencies that are no longer around or have been absorbed into other constituencies, there might be a lot of manoeuvring among these parties that have already been walking the ground there, she said.

On the other hand, former PAP MP Inderjit Singh, who retired from politics in 2015, said that even if the changes benefit the ruling party with its two weakest constituencies from the last election being redrawn, the opposition parties could have also anticipated the moves.

“There was information on the population changes that were announced sometime ago and at that time some of us predicted changes on the west and the east and it has happened,” he said.

“The opposition parties could have also anticipated this and focused on building their ground around the areas and not relied on (there being) no changes to the boundaries,” he added.

Another boundary change that may appear to have a harder impact on the opposition is the Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, that absorbs Bukit Batok SMC, where SDP chief Chee Soon Juan had won 45.2 per cent of the vote in 2020. Dr Chee had earlier publicly announced his intention to return to the ward.

Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said Dr Chee may view this move as one that severely disadvantages him.

“But the EBRC cannot take into account party-specific particularities on the ground; otherwise, it would effectively be dictated to on where changes can or cannot be made,” he said.

With the redistribution of Jurong GRC creating new battlegrounds in the west, other changes in the east could also see unpredictable results.

Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, highlighted the creation of Punggol GRC out of the existing Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC as a “political banana skin” for the ruling party, as a newly-formed GRC could have an unpredictability factor.

This was seen in the 2020 election, where the PAP lost Sengkang GRC - a newly-created constituency that round - to the WP, he added.

More details on boundary changes a good move​

Singaporeans - and opposition parties - have over the years called for more clarity and transparency on the redrawing of boundaries.

“The redrawing of boundaries of hotly-tested constituencies such as West Coast, East Coast and Marine Parade will certainly give rise to the political perception that these changes are likely to favour the incumbent more than the opposition,” said Dr Mustafa.

This is why more transparency is key, with the details given in the latest report demonstrating that boundaries were redrawn for demographic reasons, rather than political ones, said observers.

A case in point is the minor tweak to Aljunied GRC - an opposition-held constituency that typically does not have any changes to its boundaries - that will lose some of its polling districts to the neighbouring Tampines GRC.

This change aligns better with the name of the constituency, said Dr Teo, while independent political observer Felix Tan said that the shift could show that the EBRC does not want to be seen as favouring any particular constituencies and is making its decisions based on rational considerations like voter numbers.

IPS’ Dr Koh noted that the “major recasting” of boundaries for GE2025 is “ostensibly for good reasons of wanting to ensure adequate representation of voters, population shifts, and bringing the GRC system closer to its rationale of adequate ethnic representation”.

This was also a trust building exercise of sorts with the electorate.

“The members of the EBRC, arguably, are obliged to be politically neutral in their decisions, and respond objectively to the terms of reference they are given, and in the report, these are clearly set out,” she said.

“Ensuring their trust and support for this system is key and it was therefore extremely useful that the EBRC put in more effort to explain its recommendations, referring to the terms of reference that they were given.”

For instance, there will be 97 elected MPs, up from 93, which is in line with the EBRC’s terms of reference to keep the average ratio of electors to elected MPs similar to the last GE.

May election most likely on the cards​

The EBRC report’s release on March 11 sets the stage for a potential May election, concurred a majority of the observers.

Prof Tan noted that the current 14th Parliament is the longest-serving one in Singapore’s history, “so time is of the essence for all parties to get their election machinery roaring”.

He suggested that Parliament could have the final sitting of its term in the first week of April before it is dissolved, putting close to eight weeks between the release of the EBRC report in March and a potential Polling Day in early May.

Dr Terence Ho, adjunct associate professor in practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, pointed to recent GEs since 2006 that have been held around two months from the date of the EBRC report’s release - excluding GE 2020 - making May a reasonable guess.

Mr Singh suggested that while a May date is possible, June or July may also be a possibility.

However, given the usual time period between the report’s release and the election being called, the earliest GE would be called would be in May, said Dr Teo.

 

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Opposition parties stake early claims over GE2025 constituencies, hours after release of boundaries report​

Chin Soo Fang and Kok Yufeng
Mar 11, 2025, 10:36 PM

SINGAPORE - Five opposition parties have staked their claims on various constituencies ahead of Singapore’s next general election on the same day that the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report was released on March 11.

Already, there are four Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) and four Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) where more than one opposition party has said they are prepared to contest in the upcoming polls, due by November.

The five parties are the National Solidarity Party (NSP), People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR), People’s Power Party (PPP), Red Dot United (RDU), and the Singapore People’s Party (SPP).

The newly created Jalan Kayu SMC has had the most interest, with three parties - PAR, PPP and RDU - saying they will contest there.

The other electoral districts with overlapping claims are the SMCs of Radin Mas, Potong Pasir and the new Tampines Changkat, and the GRCs of Jalan Besar, Nee Soon, Tampines and Tanjong Pagar.

Overall, at least 11 SMCs and 10 GRCs will be contested at the next election based on what has been said so far, though the parties also said these were preliminary announcements.

The Workers’ Party (WP), Progress Singapore Party and Singapore Democratic Party have not yet said where they intend to contest.

Analysts had earlier told The Straits Times that an unprecedented number of multi-cornered fight could feature in GE2025, though the staking of early claims by opposition parties should be seen as a strategy to secure bargaining chips for the inevitable horse-trading exercise that takes place once electoral boundaries are set.

PAR, an alliance formed by Peoples Voice (PV), the Reform Party (RP) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said it will contest the new Jalan Kayu SMC, as that was part of Ang Mo Kio GRC in which PAR’s component party, RP, had contested for the last three general elections.

The alliance will also be contesting the new Queenstown SMC, which was carved out of Tanjong Pagar GRC where PV has been active since 2018, said its secretary-general, Mr Lim Tean. This new SMC also borders Radin Mas SMC, which has been contested by RP for the past two polls, he added.

In all, Mr Lim said PAR will contest two GRCs and eight SMCs.

In a statement, RDU expressed “deep disappointment” with the EBRC report, which it said drastically altered the political landscape in the west of Singapore, particularly Jurong GRC where the party had built strong relationships with residents over the years.

Jurong GRC will be split into four constituencies for the upcoming polls.

For now, it intends to contest in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, Jurong Central SMC, Nee Soon GRC, Jalan Kayu SMC, Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas SMC.

RDU said it will engage in discussions with other opposition parties to understand their election intentions. “Our best efforts will be made to avoid three-cornered fights, which would only benefit the ruling party,” it added.

Mr Goh Meng Seng, secretary-general of the PPP, said his party is prepared to contest Tampines GRC, Tampines Changkat SMC, Nee Soon GRC, Ang Mo Kio GRC and Jalan Kayu SMC.

On the EBRC report, he said it is “nothing short of massive gerrymandering in plain sight”.

NSP secretary-general Spencer Ng made a similar comment about the boundary changes, adding that his party intends to contest seven constituencies, including Tampines and Jalan Besar GRCs, as well as Tampines Changkat and Sembawang West SMCs.

Mr Desmond Lim, chairman of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA), said the splitting up Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC is expected to have a “significant impact” on the party’s plans.

Noting that the new Punggol GRC is centred around the former Punggol West SMC, which the WP contested in 2020, he said SDA will speak “honestly and sincerely” with the WP about the boundary changes.

The Singapore People’s Party (SPP) said it is prepared to contest Potong Pasir SMC and Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, where it stood in 2020. “We’ll need some time to review the report and its recommendations before providing a detailed response,” it added.

 

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GE2025: WP, PSP and SDP to reveal election plans later after studying boundary changes​

WP added that it will share more information with the public in due course on the likely constituencies it will contest and its potential candidates.PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Chin Soo Fang
Mar 12, 2025

SINGAPORE - The confirmation of electoral boundaries is a critical part of election preparations and the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report contains some brief justifications for redrawing boundaries, the Workers’ Party (WP) said.

The WP, in a statement after the EBRC report was released on March 11, said these justifications include population growth of certain electoral districts.

“We note there are significant changes to areas where WP has been working consistently for the last few years,” it said, without naming the areas.

It added that it will share more information with the public in due course on the likely constituencies it will contest and its potential candidates.

The WP has been walking the ground in at least eight constituencies, including Tampines GRC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

Three polling districts in Tampines West, comprising 3,834 voters, will be moved from the WP-held Aljunied GRC to the People’s Action Party-held Tampines GRC in the upcoming general election.

Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC – both held by the WP – were left largely intact after the latest redrawing of boundaries.

The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) said the EBRC has “somewhat disclosed more of the reasoning behind its decisions”, compared to its previous report in 2020.

However, it added that much of the EBRC’s decision-making remains unexplained, and the committee could have accounted for population shifts without making drastic changes to existing major electoral boundaries.

For instance, population changes in Hong Kah North SMC – with the development of the new Tengah estate – could have been dealt with by merging it with Yuhua SMC and Bukit Batok SMC to form a new GRC, said PSP.

Instead, population shifts were used to justify changing the electoral boundaries of Jurong GRC, West Coast GRC, Chua Chu Kang GRC, Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas SMC, it added.

PSP said it will study the report and make further announcements on where it will be contesting in the general election in due course.

PSP founder and chairman Tan Cheng Bock, who intends to contest the next election, had earlier said the party expects West Coast GRC’s boundaries to change before the polls. However, it will contest the seat regardless, he added.



The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) said it is “obviously disappointed” with the disappearance of Yuhua and Bukit Batok SMCs.

“It seems coincidental that this happened so soon after the highly successful fundraisers for the SDP campaign in Bukit Batok,” it said in a statement on March 11.

SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan had staked an early claim on Bukit Batok SMC in February, posting a video on his Facebook page about a fundraising dinner for the party’s Bukit Batok campaign.

SDP said: “The whole process of redrawing electoral boundaries lacks transparency, done without open discussion among stakeholders. We have had to contend with this for the last few decades.”

It added that it will press on and do its best to give Singaporeans the chance to vote for SDP candidates – men and women who will hold the Government accountable, it said.

SDP said it will have to study the details of all the changes carefully and consolidate its plans.

“While municipal issues are important, Singaporeans everywhere are hurting from the pressures associated with the rising cost of living and the Government’s inability to take meaningful action beyond simply handing out vouchers periodically,” it added.

 

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GE2025: Reading between the electoral battle lines as much an art as science​

Tham Yuen-C

The EBRC’s recommendations will see boundaries redrawn in 22 out of the current 31 constituencies.PHOTO: ST FILE
Mar 12, 2025

SINGAPORE – Before every general election, there seems to always be dissatisfaction over how the battle lines are drawn.

It was no different on March 11 after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) released its latest recommendations on boundary changes. Within hours of the report being made public, it had provoked reactions from various quarters.

The Workers’ Party noted the significant changes to areas where it had been walking the ground for the last few years, while the Progress Singapore Party asked if the committee could have accounted for population shifts without making drastic changes.

The angst is understandable. Judging from past elections, the committee’s work can have a significant impact on the upcoming polls.

Past committees have redrawn boundaries, chopped and changed entire constituencies, wiped them off the map, and also created new ones, resulting in more seats in Parliament.

This time around, the EBRC’s recommendations, which Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has already accepted, will see boundaries redrawn in 22 out of the current 31 constituencies.

Some constituencies will disappear – Bukit Batok, MacPherson, Yuhua, Hong Kah North and Punggol West SMCs – while others have been recast comprehensively, such as the current Jurong, West Coast, East Coast and Marine Parade GRCs.

New ones were also formed, like Punggol GRC, among others.

Just five group representation constituencies and four single-member constituencies remain unchanged from the last election.

While these changes may be of little significance to ordinary Singaporeans, for politicians, they can determine whether they will have a seat at the next opening of Parliament.

For one thing, the shifts, whether marginal or major, can change the voter profile and affect an MP’s electoral machinery. This means a candidate will have to cultivate the ground all over again, often with a different team and much less time to do so.

For another, improvements an MP has spent time pushing for can also end up in somebody else’s turf. Whether for the incumbent or the newcomer, the upshot is that it can be hard work down the drain.



Given the implications, one question that often comes up is how the lines are drawn.

The usual practice for some five decades has been for the committee to publish a report, in the form of a White Paper, which sets out the terms of reference that it was given as well as the range of electors per MP that it relied on to draw up boundaries.

But in a departure from this brevity, the committee this time around provided its rationale for some of the main recommendations, though it did not delve into the details for every change.

First, it explained that some of the revisions were necessary due to population changes.

With new housing developments and therefore an infusion of residents in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, Sembawang GRC and Tampines GRC, and Hong Kah North SMC, the constituencies had seen a significant growth in the number of electors.

While the committee did not provide the lower and upper limits for the number of electors for each constituency, based on the current number of 93 parliamentary seats and 2,753,226 electors, and an allowable variation of 30 per cent, each SMC should range from about 20,700 to about 38,500.

By these limits, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and Hong Kah North SMC would have busted their ideal size.

Sembawang GRC and Tampines GRC had also seen significant growth in the number of electors, the committee said.

Pasir Ris-Punggol was thus cut up, with the Punggol estates carved out to merge with Punggol West SMC to form a new four-member Punggol GRC.

Meanwhile, parts of Hong Kah North were subsumed into Chua Chu Kang GRC, while parts of Sembawang and Tampines GRCs were carved out to form two new SMCs.

With population changes an ongoing process, electoral maps rightfully need to be updated to reflect them.

In these areas, where it is the numbers that have necessitated the changes, the drawing of the boundaries comes down to more of a science, and even the most cynical politician is likely to agree that there is little room for gerrymandering.

Where there will likely be more contention, though, is in the second category of changes, which the committee described as consequential changes due to changes to adjacent boundaries.

For instance, the creation of the new Punggol GRC cascaded down to changes in East Coast GRC as well as Marine Parade GRC.

Based on the committee’s recommendations, parts of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC will be merged with adjacent polling districts from East Coast GRC to form a new four-member Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.

Meanwhile, East Coast GRC will take in adjacent polling districts from Marine Parade GRC, and Marine Parade GRC will absorb polling districts from Potong Pasir SMC, Mountbatten SMC as well as the entire MacPherson SMC to remain as a five-member GRC.

Likewise, the changes in Hong Kah North SMC also had knock-on effects on Jurong GRC and West Coast GRC.

With Jurong GRC having to absorb parts of Hong Kah North SMC, the GRC has been mostly carved up, with parts of it in a new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, and other parts merged with the adjacent West Coast GRC, renamed West Coast-Jurong West GRC.

As a consequence, parts of the existing West Coast GRC had to be carved out to merge with Radin Mas SMC so that the new West Coast-Jurong West GRC remains a five-member constituency.

That West Coast, East Coast and Marine Parade were among the most hotly contested constituencies in the last election has sparked some allegations that the changes were due to political considerations.

Based on the committee’s recommendations, these constituencies will see changes in at least 25 per cent of its voters, granted West Coast GRC has been reincarnated as the new West Coast-Jurong West GRC, and Marine Parade GRC has had its name changed to Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.

With the winning margins in the last election between 1.7 per cent and 7.7 per cent of all votes in these three constituencies, these changes can therefore have a significant impact.

But to the accusations of gerrymandering, Jurong GRC perhaps provides the counterfactual, since it has been the best-performing constituency for several elections.

For these consequential revisions that flow from the changes in neighbouring constituencies, the committee will no doubt have more leeway to exercise its discretion while taking into consideration the terms of reference and various factors, and the redrawing can be said to be more an art than a science.

After all, there are probably other ways to accommodate the adjacent shifts.

Therefore, in this first electoral boundaries report under PM Wong, it is notable that there is greater elaboration on the committee’s thinking, which will go some way towards building a more well-informed electorate – and squelch some of the more extreme conspiracy theories.

Ultimately, the effect of boundary changes has an element of unpredictability. What is clear, however, is that from today, the battle lines are drawn, and the race is on to win the hearts of voters.

 

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Boundary changes to Yuhua SMC expected due to declining number of voters: Grace Fu​

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu speaking at the official opening of Rainforest Wild Asia on March 12.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Chin Hui Shan
Mar 12, 2025

SINGAPORE - Boundary changes to the Yuhua single-member constituency in Jurong were expected, as it is a mature estate with a declining number of voters, said Ms Grace Fu, who is the MP for the area, on March 12.

“I expected boundary changes to happen in Yuhua because Yuhua, as you know, is actually the smallest SMC, and because it’s quite a mature estate, the number of voters actually has been on a decline,” said Ms Fu, who is Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations.

“On the other hand... across the expressway, the town in Bukit Batok West is actually growing very quickly,” she added.

Ms Fu was responding to questions from the media on the recently announced changes to electoral boundaries. Under the changes announced on March 11, parts of Yuhua SMC will merge with the Jurong group representation constituency, Bukit Batok SMC, Hong Kah North SMC to form a new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.

Yuhua SMC has the lowest voter count of 20,525 among the SMCs.

Asked if she will be the anchor minister for the GRC, which currently does not have an anchor minister, Ms Fu said: “That’s a decision for the Prime Minister to make.”

The anchor minister of Jurong GRC had been President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who represented the area for over two decades while he was an MP, until he stepped down in 2023 to contest the presidential election.

“I hope to be able to stand if he thinks that I have something to offer in the coming election, and if I’m being fielded, I hope to stay in where I’m familiar with and that’s in Yuhua,” Ms Fu added.

She was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the official opening of Rainforest Wild Asia – Singapore’s fifth wildlife park – where she was guest of honour.

Ms Grace Fu (centra) officiating at the launch of Singapore’s fifth wildlife park on March 12.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Ms Fu entered politics in 2006 and has been representing Yuhua since then. At that time, Yuhua had been a ward under the Jurong GRC.

It became an SMC in 2011 and remained a single-member seat in the 2015 and 2020 general elections.

“It’s really a full circle for me because I came from Jurong GRC the first term and it’s great to be returning back to the family,” Ms Fu said.

The new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC will have 142,510 voters, incorporating 62,424 from the current Jurong GRC, according to the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee report released on March 11.

In addition to absorbing parts of the existing Jurong GRC, the new Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC will take in adjacent polling districts – Bukit Batok SMC, Yuhua SMC and Hong Kah North SMC.

Yuhua SMC will be split under the new changes. Parts of it will be absorbed into Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, while its remainder will become part of the new Jurong Central SMC.

The new Jurong Central SMC will be carved out from Jurong GRC, encompassing 29,620 voters, with 25,668 from the group representation constituency and the rest from Yuhua SMC.

Ms Fu said she is saddened that part of her SMC is moved into the Jurong Central SMC but assured her residents that she will continue to look after their interests.

With her constituency splitting into two parts, she said: “I have to really assure the residents that, you know, they don’t have to worry, and I’m sure my colleagues later on will look after their interests and have that interest at heart.”


Since the electoral boundaries were announced, opposition party Red Dot United has indicated that it will be contesting in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.

Asked her response to this, Ms Fu drew parallels between the General Election and a “major exam” which one has to work hard for and prepare over the years.

Ms Fu said: “I’m sure we will have to contest very hard. I have a lot of respect for my opposition. I’m sure they’ll put up a good fight.”

“... Also, I have a lot of respect for my residents, my voters, because I’m sure they want the best for their interest, and it is for us to work very hard to get their endorsement, get their trust and confidence again.”

 

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New Sembawang West SMC to be part of Sembawang family: Ong Ye Kung​

Health Minister and Sembawang GRC MP Ong Ye Kung said the new Sembawang West SMC’s upgrading and development plans will continue to be part of the GRC's town development plan.ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
Mar 12, 2025

SINGAPORE – Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the new Sembawang West SMC will remain an integral part of the Sembawang family.

The Sembawang GRC MP said in a Facebook post on March 12 that the single-member constituency’s upgrading and development plans will continue to be part of the group representation constituency’s town development plan.

Mr Ong said: “As an SMC, it will be able to have more autonomy and flexibility to implement initiatives to address the specific needs of its residents.”

The Elections Department said on March 11 that the Government accepted the report and recommendations submitted by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC).

The EBRC report said voter numbers have grown significantly in Pasir Ris-Punggol, Sembawang and Tampines GRCs, as well as in the single seats of Hong Kah North and Potong Pasir, due to population shifts and new housing developments in these areas.

Voter numbers in each of these constituencies have increased by more than 10,000 since the 2020 General Election, it added.

In his Facebook post, Mr Ong said: “The change is not surprising, as over the past few years, more residents have moved into Sembawang GRC, and the population has expanded considerably.

“Increasing the number of MPs from five to six in the area will help to better serve the needs of our residents.”

The EBRC recommended 33 electoral divisions: 15 SMCs, up from 14 previously, and 18 four-and five-member GRCs.

There will be eight four-member GRCs, up from six; and 10 five-member GRCs, down from 11.

Mr Ong said: “The key change for Sembawang GRC is that from a five-person GRC, it will become a five-person GRC plus an SMC, which is Sembawang West, with the 700 series blocks comprising six Resident Networks.”

It is not yet known if incumbent Sembawang West MP Poh Li San will take the lead for the new Sembawang West SMC.

Sembawang GRC comprises five MPs: Mr Ong, Ms Poh, Mr Vikram Nair, Mr Lim Wee Kiak and Ms Mariam Jaafar.

In February, Mr Ong said in a news report that he “expects at least one new member to be added to the People’s Action Party team at Sembawang GRC in the upcoming general election”.

He said it was part of the ruling party’s renewal process in every election cycle.

He also said he intends to assign Woodlands Galaxy Community Club (CC) – located in Woodlands Avenue 6 – to the SMC, even though the CC falls just outside the SMC’s boundaries.