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SDP will contest in Bukit Batok SMC, Chee Soon Juan confirms

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Democratic Party will contest in Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency, according to Secretary-General Dr Chee Soon Juan.

SDP's Chee Soon Juan said the party will contest the Bukit Batok by-elections. File Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

SDP's Chee Soon Juan said the party will contest the Bukit Batok by-elections. File Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — The Singapore Democratic Party will contest in Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency, according to Secretary-General Dr Chee Soon Juan.

Dr Chee was speaking to reporters after the party’s walkabout at Bukit Batok this morning (July 26). The area is one of three Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) that were reintroduced to the political landscape when the electoral boundaries report was released on Friday.

Why Bukit Batok? Dr Chee said the party was “coming home”.

“You know that the SDP has been here before, before this constituency got redrawn into Jurong GRC. So in a way we are coming home. This has been our place. We’ve been running a campaign, and you will probably also remember that we won Bukit Gombak here and when we contested Bukit Batok, we did very well.

“We feel very good that we are stepping into this single seat again.”

In 1988 and 1991, People’s Action Party candidate Ong Chit Chung saw off the SDP’s Kwan Yue Keng in two close fights, winning by 55.9 and 51.8 per cent of the vote, respectively. That translated to an 858-vote margin in 1991, the last election at the SMC before it was dissolved ahead of the 1997 GE.

The party is also considering contesting in the same areas as it did in the last election, Dr Chee said. SDP had contested in Holland-Bukit Timah and Sembawang Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) as well as Bukit Panjang and Yuhua SMCs in 2011.

But he remained mum on which constituency he will personally contest in. He was barred from running at the 2006 and 2011 elections because he was a bankrupt.

“The most important thing really, for me, is to get into Parliament. To press, push for these fresh alternatives and to ensure we have that kind of intelligent, substantive debate in Parliament. And I am relishing this opportunity right now,” he said. CHANNEL NEWSASIA

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