Constituencies in Central Singapore

IF I were the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee

When you look at the GRCs in Central Singapore, almost all of them are sprawling, and group together locations that could be better off apart; like Buona Vista and Tanjong Pagar in Tanjong Pagar GRC, Moulmein and Kallang in Moulmein - Kallang, and parts of Seng Kang and Upper Thompson in Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Moulmein - Kallang seems to be unnecessarily unwieldy, sprawling over 4 highways (PIE, CTE, ECP and KPE), and requiring a 16 min drive on the PIE to get from Aljunied Road (at one end) to Eng Neo Avenue (on the other end).

The 2 SMCs (Radin Mas and Whampoa) also have a strange feature of putting together 2 areas separated by an expressway (CTE running through Whampoa, and AYE separating the 2 halves in Radin Mas).

Telok Blangah SMC

Single Member Constituency (SMC)

I have a bachelor friend that lives at Telok Blangah way. One year, for Chinese New Year, we decided to celebrate CNY with a steamboat at his house. Upon reaching his place, we realized that as a bachelor living alone, his kitchen was bereft of common kitchen utensils, including vegetable peeler/ shredder needed to prepare yu sheng. So I hopped into another friend's car, and we drove down the street trying to find a market or a neighbourhood shop where we can purchase one. We eventually found one at a market 5 mins away, at Telok Blangah Drive. To me, this is the essence of what makes a good constituency; easy to travel within it, and sharing amenities that the surrounding area uses.

Looking at the current electoral boundaries, I found it incredible strange that the Telok Blangah Drive/ Heights area is a different constituency from Telok Blangah Way/ Rise area, and even more that the latter is in the same SMC as the Bukit Merah estate across the AYE. Even transportation wise, the Bukit Merah estate might find it better to be serviced by the Redhill and Tiong Bahru MRT stations, while the Telok Blangah Way/ Rise area use Harbourfront MRT and Bus Interchange.

I then decided to create a very straightforward SMC: Telok Blangah, bounded by the AYE/ Keppel Viaduct to the north, and Alexandra Road to the west. The main transportation and retail centre would be the Harbourfront area, which includes the MRT station, Bus Interchange, Harbourfront and Vivocity shopping centre, among others.

How Likely will we see the formation of this GRC in GE 2015/2016

Possible. No strong reason against the formation of this SMC. The PAP can continue to field Sam Tan, who is the incumbent in Radin Mas SMC, and expect to win by a large margin. Since the NSP contested Radin Mas in 2011, it is possible that they will do so here.

Pasir Panjang SMC

Single Member Constituency (SMC)

Comprising of part of Telok Blangah Consitiuency in the east, and West Coast in the West, Pasir Panjang can possibly be an new SMC. Although Pasir Panjang does not have much infrastructure to work with currently, there is potential for development along Pasir Panjang road, especially between Pasir Panjang and Labrador MRT, where such development would also benefit the commercial buildings like the massive Mapletree Business City.

The northern and eastern boundaries would be the AYE and Alexandra Road respectively. the western boundary would be an imaginary running from South Buona Vista road to the sea. excluding Haw Par Villa and Haw Par Villa MRT from this SMC, and including the residential areas around Pasir Panjang Road/ Pasir Panjang Hill/ Zehnder Road

How Likely will we see the formation of this SMC in GE 2015/2016

50/50 Chance. If the West Coast GRC breaks up, there is no reason why this SMC would not form. The PAP candidate here could be S Iswaran, the previous MP for Telok Blangah. Additionally as a minister in the PMO, as well as being the 2nd minister for both Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, He would very likely be elected over a possible RP opponent.

Downtown GRC

5 - Member Group Constituency (GRC)

One of the sacred cows in Singapore's Politics is to revere all things Lee Kwan Yew. This includes the Tanjong Pagar GRC, which the late Mr Lee had represented since 1955. Hence, the breakup of this GRC is slaying one of the Sacred Cowss, which the EBRC is highly unlikely to do. Thankfully, this is a mental exercise, and as an anonymous voice on the internet, I can kill as many cows as I can (as long as there is good reason for it).

The old Tanjong Pagar GRC, as well as the old Moulmein - Kallang GRC were too large and unwieldy. However, when I chose to ignore pre-existing boundaries for a moment, and just focus at the area at hand, I saw the potential to create a cohesive and relative compact GRC.

Bounded by the Kallang river to the east, the CTE to the north-west, and the keppel viaduct to the south, I created a GRC, with the various historical districts at its core. (Note: the the small estate around York Hill, Jalan Minyak and Jalan Kukoh is included in the GRC despite being west of the CTE, and the small area bounded by Jalan Bukit Merah, Kampung Bahru Road, AYE and CTE are considered not part of this GRC)

The 5 constituencies I created are Kampong Glam (previously from Moulmein - Kallang), Chinatown (taking over most of the previous Kreta Ayer - Kim Seng Constituency), Little India (stretching from Fort Canning to Farrer Park), Tanjong Pagar (previously from Tanjong Pagar GRC) and Boon Keng (all areas north of Balestier Road/ Lavender Street).

Despite having no specific centre/hub, this area has a common identity of being part of the  the various historical districts, and have the second role as the central commercial area of Singapore (previously known as the CBD). Additionally, if I'm not wrong, these areas comprise of much older estates. Hence MPs here have the common goal of upgrading old estates and preserving historical elements of Singapore, among their many duties.

How Likely will we see the formation of this GRC in GE 2015/2016

Highly unlikely. The EBRC is unlikely to breakup Tanjong Pagar GRC. If this GRC appears though, it is unlikely to contain the Tanjong Pagar  constituency. We can possibly see the PAP team led by Yaacob Ibrahim going up against the WP, who had a strong showing in 2011 with 41.44% of the votes in Moulmein - Kallang GRC. However this is contingent on the absence of three-cornered fights, which almost happened in 2011 when the NSP also expressed interest in contesting Moulmein - Kallang.

Commonwealth - Tiong Bahru GRC

3- Member Group Constituency (GRC)

With Tanjong Pagar and most of Kreta Ayer- Kim Seng going to the Downtown GRC, Tanglin - Cairnhill to Dunearn - Bukit Timah GRC, and Part of Buona Vista to Clementi GRC, the remaining area can be rearranged into 3 constituencies; Commonwealth, Queenstown and Tiong Bahru; each named for the MRT station that service each area. Although this remaining area is originally made up of 1 3/4 original constituencies, I believe that the bulk of voters in the previous Tanjong Pagar GRC came from this area, and unless proven through more accurate numbers (that the real EBRC would have access to), I believe that this area would contain more than 60,000 voters, enough to justify a 3-member GRC.

Despite not having a central hub to service as a transportation hub or a commercial centre, this GRC's relative small size coupled with the MRT line running through this GRC, makes it a slightly better GRC configuration, than most of the current GRCs we gained in 2011

How Likely will we see the formation of this GRC in GE 2015/2016

Very unlikely. The formation of this GRC is dependant on too many unlikely factors: the re-introduction of 3-membered GRCs, the breakup of Tanjong Pagar GRC and the creation of a HDB estate-focused GRC without an affluent constituency (like Tanglin - Cairnhill) added to it. With a walkover here in the past 5 election, It is difficult to assess which way the voters here will lean, an additional reason why the PAP will not favor such a GRC. On the other hand, there is very little opposition presence in this area.

Balestier SMC

Single Member Constituency (SMC)

Similar to Radin Mas SMC, Whampoa has a strange characteristic of grouping 2 estates divided by a highway. To make it easier to manage, I decided to remove the portion south of the CTE, and instead add the area east of Thompson Road.

This new SMC would have the clear boundaries of the PIE, the CTE and Thompson Road. With this new configuration, I felt it was better to rename it Balestier SMC, to better reflect Balestier Road running through this SMC.

How Likely will we see the formation of this GRC in GE 2015/2016

Possible. Although the incumbent MP, Heng Chee How, should be able to win here with a comfortable margin. His opponent sould be NSP's Ken Sun, who had contested in Whampoa twice; once in 2011 and in 1988.

Bishan - Toa Payoh GRC

5 - Member Group Constituency (GRC)

Among all the GRCs in the 2011 Election, I felt that only 2 of them made any sense. Bishan - Toa Payoh was one of them, being relatively compact with obvious boundaries, and having a primary in Bishan Central (A train and bus interchange, with a major Shopping mall, Junction 8) and other facilities, and secondary centre in Toa Payoh Central (with an MRT station and a retail/service hub)

Although this is made of clearly 2 self-contained areas (Bishan and Toa Payoh), both of them enjoy geographical proximity: it is very easy to travel from one hub to another via MRT, and both of them are separated by a single road (Bradell road). By comparison Pasir Ris and Punggol, although being in the same GRC, are geographically far (5km apart), and require at least a 6 minute drive on the TPE to get from the 2 nearest points. Furthermore, as one would have to rely on buses, it is not as easy to travel from Pasir Ris to Punggol.

With the execption of 2 minor additions, the boundaries of this GRC is relatively unchanged. The 2 additions include the Mount Pleasant area (bounded by Lornie Road, PIE and Thompson Road), and the small sliver of land west of the CTE, that previously belonged to Potong Pasir SMC.

The updated  Bishan - Toa Payoh GRC as a whole still have clear boundaries; Bishan Park/ Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 to the north, the CTE to the East, the PIE to the south and Lornie Road/Upper Thompson Road to the west (although this GRC includes the Thomson area west/below Upper Thompson Road).

How Likely will we see the formation of this GRC in GE 2015/2016

Very likely. As a GRC in the 2011 GE, there is no reason why we will not see it this election. The PAP should see a victory here, even though their result here in 2011 is slightly lower than PAP's national average. The current team is led by Dr Ng Eng Hen. In the previous election, we saw the SPP, led by ex-MP Chiam See Tong contest here. However, due to Chiam See Tong's current frail condition, and the absence of any other strong candidates in the SPP after Benjamin Pwee's departure, leave the prospect of the SPP contesting this GRC in the upcoming GE rather uncertain.

Ang Mo Kio GRC

5 - Member Group Constituency (GRC)

Looking at this area of Singapore, I can easily see clear boundaries for this GRC; SLE to the north, CTE to the east, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 to the south, and Upper Thompson Road to the west. 

Previously I felt that Ang Mo Kio unnecessarily included parts of Seng Kang, Hougang and Serangoon in the form of the Jalan Kayu constituency and parts of  and the Cheng San - Seletar Constituency. With these new boundaries, the Jalan Kayu constituency is taken out, as well as the Seletar portion of the Cheng San - Seletar Constituency, leaving us with a Cheng San ward. 

This leaves us with a more compact (and manageable) GRC with Ang Mo Kio MRT, Bus Interchange and AMK Hub at the centre.

How Likely will we see the formation of this GRC in GE 2015/2016

Very very unikely. The PAP will be unhappy with the configuration of this GRC for 2 main reasons; firstly, it is said that the PAP use the larger GRCs to protect key people. (The larger the GRC, the harder it is for the opposition to assemble a team with that many strong candidates to contest that GRC). Since the current Prime Minister is fielded here, any configuration other than a 6 - member GRC is unfavorable. Secondly, Lee Hsein Loong is a strong candidate, and is able to pull in votes from undecided and the neutral voters, and even winning over some opposition supporters. Hence the PAP would want to see the GRC he is in to take districts or even constituencies from the opposition-leaning areas of Hougang, Seng Kang and Serangoon. So to create such a GRC, would be to slaughter a sacred cow that the EBRC is sure not to touch.

In this configuration, the PAP team should be led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and is expected to win an overwhelming victory here. This GRC was contested by the Reform Party in 2011.