Chee Soon Juan to contest Bukit Batok SMC in coming GE

SINGAPORE — The secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Chee Soon Juan, said that he will be contesting in Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency (SMC) in the coming General Election (GE).

He confirmed this with TODAY on Sunday (June 21) during a walkabout at Bukit Batok West Shopping Centre.

Other SDP members and volunteers at the outreach were seen wearing T-shirts with the words, "Chee Soon Juan for Bukit Batok".

Along with Dr Chee, they were giving out SDP flyers with its “4Y1N” campaign slogan, which stands for "four yes, one no".

When TODAY asked if he will be contesting in Bukit Batok, Dr Chee said: “Confirm, double confirm (sic).”

The drumbeat for the next GE, which must be held by April 2021, is sounding louder with the Elections Department releasing new guidelines on campaigning activities last Thursday.

The guidelines state what political parties can and cannot do if the GE was called during the second phase of Singapore's reopening of its economy, which began on June 19.

Dr Chee last contested in Bukit Batok SMC during the 2016 by-election, which was called following the sudden resignation of People's Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament David Ong.

Dr Chee ran against PAP's Murali Pillai but lost, garnering 39 per cent of the vote.

During the 2015 GE, Dr Chee contested in Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency (GRC), along with SDP chairman Paul Tambyah, Mr Sidek Malek and Ms Chong Wai Fung.

PEOPLE’S POWER PARTY TO CONTEST ONE SMC

At the same time, the People's Power Party (PPP) announced in a Facebook post on Sunday that it will field Mr Goh Meng Seng, its secretary-general, in an SMC for the coming election.

When contacted by TODAY for more information, Mr Goh declined to reveal in which ward he will be contesting.

However, he said that his party will not be contesting in any other GRC as one of its “key candidates” was unable to return to Singapore from overseas due to travel restrictions imposed by the country where he is.

Mr Goh declined to reveal who this candidate is because he wanted to "respect his privacy".

In Sunday's post, PPP wrote that this will be the first time Mr Goh is contesting a single-seat ward.

During the last election in 2015, Mr Goh went up against the PAP team led by the current Minister for Health, Mr Gan Kim Yong, in contesting the four-member Chua Chu Kang GRC.

The PAP team won 76.89 per cent of the vote, while PPP received 23.11 per cent.

PPP said on Sunday that the coming election may be Mr Goh's last to "conclude his 20 years of participation and engagement in Singapore's politics".