General Election by numbers: Which MPs could step down?

SINGAPORE — As speculation intensifies over who will be the new faces of the next Singapore Parliament, there is equal buzz over which Members of Parliament might be stepping down ahead of the upcoming General Election (GE).

Last Friday (July 24), Mr Inderjit Singh of the People’s Action Party (PAP) became the first Member of Parliament to confirm his retirement from politics, posting via Facebook that he would not contest in the next GE.

Past elections have seen around a quarter of MPs step down from office each time, PAP organising secretary Dr Ng Eng Hen said in an interview on Sunday.

"In every election, there will be about a quarter who will be new candidates, and it will be the same in this round," Dr Ng said.

If that proportion holds, that would mean about 22 MPs, leading to speculation over who will step down in the lead-up to Nomination Day.

Mr Singh, 55, has served four terms — all representing Ang Mo Kio GRC — since he was first elected in 1996. Among the current crop of 89 MPs (including Non-Constituency MPs, but excluding Nominated MPs), Mr Singh is one of 18, or 20.22 per cent, who have served four or more terms.

“In the case of PAP MPs, the higher the number of terms served, the higher the possibility there is for retirement,” Joo Chiat MP Charles Chong told Channel NewsAsia.

Asked to comment on rumours of his retirement, Mr Chong — at 62 a veteran of six terms since 1988 — said: “I can understand the basis of the speculation. However, as in every GE I've witnessed, there will likely be some surprises. The reality is that nothing is certain until there is an official announcement.”

He added: “Nearly all incumbent MPs naturally prefer to be retained in the same wards where they have spent time and effort working their ground. Invariably some will be re-deployed due to boundary changes or for strategic reasons. The rest get retired."

Mr Chong is one of only six MPs who have served at least six terms, a group which includes Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong — the longest-serving MP since he was elected in 1976.

At 74 years old, ESM Goh is also the oldest MP around, after Mr Lee Kuan Yew passed away earlier this year. More than half the current batch of MPs (51 of 89, or 57.3 per cent) are aged above 50. At the same time, most (57 of 89, or 64.04 per cent) are also relatively fresh, having spent no more than two terms in office.

WHEN THE CURRENT MPs TOOK OFFICE:

1976 GENERAL ELECTION

Goh Chok Tong, 74

1984 GENERAL ELECTION

Lee Hsien Loong, 63

Wong Kan Seng, 68

1988 GENERAL ELECTION

Charles Chong, 62

Mah Bow Tan, 66

K Shanmugam, 56

1991 GENERAL ELECTION

Lim Hng Kiang, 61

Low Thia Khiang, 58

1992 BY-ELECTIONS

Teo Chee Hean, 60

1997 GENERAL ELECTION

Hawazi Daipi, 61

Inderjit Singh, 55

Lim Swee Say, 61

Lily Neo, 61

Seng Han Thong, 65

Teo Ho Pin, 55

S Iswaran, 53

Yaacob Ibrahim, 59

Yeo Guat Kwang, 64

2001 GENERAL ELECTION

Arthur Fong, 51

Cedric Foo Chee Keng, 55

Halimah Yacob, 60

Heng Chee How, 54

Indranee Rajah, 52

Khaw Boon Wan, 62

Amy Khor Lean Suan, 57

Raymond Lim Siang Keat, 56

Penny Low, 48

Ng Eng Hen, 56

Irene Ng Phek Hoong, 51

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 58

Vivian Balakrishnan, 54

Zainudin Nordin, 52

2006 GENERAL ELECTION

Baey Yam Keng, 44

Christopher De Souza, 39

Fatimah Lateef, 49

Grace Fu, 51

Hri Kumar Nair, 49

Lam Pin Min, 45

Lee Bee Wah, 54

Ellen Lee, 58

Lee Yi-Shyan, 53

Liang Eng Hwa, 51

Lim Biow Chuan, 52

Sylvia Lim, 50

Lim Wee Kiak, 47

Lui Tuck Yew, 53

Masagos Zulkifli, 52

Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, 47

Denise Phua Lay Peng, 55

Seah Kian Peng, 53

Sam Tan Chin Siong, 57

Jessica Tan Soon Neo, 49

Josephine Teo, 47

Teo Ser Luck, 47

Alvin Yeo, 53

Zaqy Mohamad, 40

2011 GENERAL ELECTION

Ang Hin Kee, 49

Ang Wei Neng, 48

Chan Chun Sing, 45

Chen Show Mao, 54

Chia Shi-Lu, 45

Lina Chiam, 66

Foo Mee Har, 49

Gan Kim Yong, 56

Gan Thiam Poh, 51

Gerald Giam, 37

Heng Swee Keat, 54

Intan Azura Binte Mokhtar, 39

Janil Puthucheary, 42

Desmond Lee, 39

Low Yen Ling, 40

Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, 50

Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap, 40

David Ong Kim Huat, 54

Ong Teng Koon, 38

Pritam Singh, 38

Sim Ann, 40

Sitoh Yih Pin, 51

Tan Chuan-Jin, 46

Patrick Tay Teck Guan, 43

Tin Pei Ling, 31

Edwin Tong Chun Fai, 45

Vikram Nair, 37

Lawrence Wong, 42

Alex Yam Ziming, 34

Yee Jenn Jong, 50

Zainal Bin Sapari, 49

2012 BY-ELECTIONS

Png Eng Huat, 53

2013 BY-ELECTIONS

Lee Li Lian, 37

(All ages based on details listed in the Parliament website.) CHANNEL NEWSASIA