My Take : Marine parade needs Tin Pei Ling's Army of elderly
becuase they almost lost to our Nicole Seah, issues due to higher density of certain EP holders.. (Tanjong Rhu )
In simple English:
Marine Parade GRC, will see big changes in its boundaries for the next election. It will absorb MacPherson SMC (a single-seat area) completely, take in a small part of Mountbatten SMC, and also gain some areas from Potong Pasir SMC due to population growth in new housing developments. At the same time, Marine Parade GRC will lose some parts of Chai Chee and Siglap to East Coast GRC.
Because of these changes, Marine Parade GRC will be renamed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC to better represent the areas it covers. Its number of voters will slightly decrease from the previous election.
This constituency was closely contested in the last election, and another competitive race is expected. The People's Action Party (PAP), which previously won this area, recently lost a key member, Tan Chuan-Jin. MacPherson's current MP, Ms Tin Pei Ling, who has strong support, will now rejoin Marine Parade GRC.
Long winded version
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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