The Anson by-election of October 1981 was a landmark poll that ended the People’s Action Party’s (PAP's) monopoly of parliament.[1] Anson has been a hotly contested constituency since the 1950s.[2] In February 1979, C. V. Devan Nair, then secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), contested a by-election in the Anson constituency to fill the vacancy left by the death of PAP's Member of Parliament P. Govindaswamy.[3] Nair retained his seat during the 1980 parliamentary general election but had to resign as member of parliament when he was elected as Singapore's third president in October 1981.[4]
On 31 October 1981, a by-election was held to fill the vacant parliamentary Anson seat.[5] The three candidates who contested were PAP's Pang Kim Hin, United People’s Front’s Harbans Singh, and J. B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers’ Party.[6] In the first opposition victory in more than 13 years, Jeyaretnam garnered 7,012 votes or 51.93 percent of the valid votes cast to become member of parliament for Anson.[7] He retained his seat in the 1984 parliamentary general election but was forced to vacate it in 1986 due to a criminal conviction.[8] Various explanations were offered for PAP’s defeat in Anson. Some felt that the PAP made the wrong decision in fielding Pang against an opposition heavyweight – J. B. Jeyaretnam.[9] Pang’s wealthy family background and his officer rank in the army were also some of the factors that worked against him. To make matters worse, Pang did not connect effectively with the working-class constituents and failed to use Anson's grassroots leaders in his campaign, choosing instead his own friends, who were professionals, to assist him.[10]
References
1. Fong, L., et. al. (1981, November 1). Jeyaretnam takes Anson. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Government of Singapore. (2013, October 8). 1981 parliamentary by-election results. Retrieved November 29, 2013, from Singapore Elections Department website: http://www.eld.gov.sg/elections_past_by1981.html
2. Mauzy, D. K., & Milne, R. S. (2002). Singapore politics under the People’s Action Party (p. 149). London: Routledge. Call no.: RSING 320.95957 MAU.
3. Devan leads the PAP pack as he pulls in 84 pc… (1979, February 1). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Fong, L. (1981, October 13). Devan to be president. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. The Straits Times, 1 Nov 1981, p. 1.
6. Government of Singapore. (2013, October 8). 1981 parliamentary by-election results. Retrieved November 29, 2013, from Singapore Elections Department website: http://www.eld.gov.sg/elections_past_by1981.html
7. Government of Singapore, 8 Oct, 2013.
8. Singapore. Parliament. Parliamentary Debates: Official Report. (1986, December 9). Disqualification of member for Anson. (Vol. 48, cols. 833–834). Retrieved November 29, 2013, from Parliament of Singapore website: http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/topic.jsp?currentTopicID=00060244-ZZ¤tPubID=00069525-ZZ&topicKey=00069525-ZZ.00060244-ZZ_1%2Bid004_19861209_S0007_T00241-speaker%2B
9. Fong, L., Ahmad Osman & Wee, E. (1981, November 9). Why Pang was the wrong man for the job. The Straits Times, p. 16. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
10. The Straits Times, 9 Nov 1981, p. 16.
The information in this article is valid as at 2011 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.