1963 Singaporean general election

1963 Singaporean general election

21 September 1963
All 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly 26 seats needed for a majority
Registered	617,750
Turnout	95.11% ( 5.04pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Lee Kuan Yew Lee Siew Choh Ong Eng Guan Party PAP BS UPP Last election 54.08%, 43 seats – – Seats won 37 13 1 Seat change 6 New New Popular vote 272,924 193,301 48,785 Percentage 46.93% 33.24% 8.39% Swing 7.15pp New New
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Lee Kuan Yew PAP Prime Minister after election Lee Kuan Yew PAP

General elections were held in Singapore on 21 September 1963, five days after Singapore became part of Malaysia. Voters elected all 51 members of the Legislative Assembly. The elections were the only ones to date with no boundary changes to any existing constituencies prior to the elections. The result was a victory for the People's Action Party (PAP), which won 37 of the 51 seats, while the majority of the remaining seats were won by Barisan Sosialis (BS).

The ruling party of Malaysia, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), contested the elections as part of the Singapore Alliance Party (SAP) in an attempt to oust the PAP, violating a previous agreement not to do so and straining relations between the two parties. The Alliance lost all seven seats which it held prior to the elections. Their participation in the elections prompted the PAP to contest seats in Peninsula Malaysia in the next federal election held in 1964, further adding to more tension between the two ruling parties.

As Singapore would gain independence in 1965, the elections were the only ones held as a state of Malaysia. After independence, the elected members of the Legislative Assembly would then become Members of the inaugural Parliament of Singapore.

A total of 210 candidates contested the elections – making it the largest slate of candidates to contest ever in Singapore's history. The ruling PAP – 51 candidates, its breakaway parties BS – 46 candidates and UPP – 46 candidates and the Alliance, the Singapore branch of the Malaysian federal ruling coalition – 42 candidates all vied to form the next government. This also marked the last time that any other party than the PAP would field candidates in more than half the total parliamentary seats. With two breakaway factions of the PAP fielding nearly full slate of candidates, this was the most hard fought election in Singapore's history and particularly for the ruling PAP.

This was the most recent general election in which the PAP received less than half of the popular vote, at only 47%. It was also the last general election in which an incumbent minister was defeated until 2011 and the last general election in which all seats were contested until 2015.

Background

Although the People's Action Party (PAP) had won 43 seats in the 1959 elections, they lost four seats in 1961 (two were from the by-election defeats, and two defected to the new United People's Party (UPP)). A further 13 legislators were expelled from PAP for voting against the government in a no-confidence motion on 20 July 1961; the dissidents subsequently formed a new party, the Barisan Sosialis (BS), alleging PAP as a communist front. The combination of by-election defeats, defections and expulsions reduced the PAP by 17 seats down to 26, leaving PAP with a one-seat majority.

On 3 July 1962, while the integration referendum debate was in procession, the PAP lost its majority following the resignation of legislator Ho Puay Choo (who later joined BS on 11 August). Five days later, UPP legislator S. V. Lingam returned to PAP fold, giving it back its one-seat majority. However, the PAP lost its majority again five days later after health minister Ahmad Ibrahim died from liver cancer. BS initially planned to field its iconic leader, Lim Chin Siong, in the vacated seat, but the Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew opted against a by-election, and instead called a fresh election.

On 31 August 1963, Singapore was declared independent from the United Kingdom with PAP declared as trustees until the merger with Malaysia could be complete. On 3 September, Lee dissolved the Legislative Assembly in accordance with procedure, and called for elections to be held on 21 September.

Timeline

3 September	Dissolution of 2nd Legislative Assembly
12 September	Nomination Day
21 September	Polling day
22 October	Opening of 3rd Legislative Assembly

Campaign

The elections, held in the midst of Singapore's merger with Malaysia, are remembered as the PAP's hardest-fought as the party faced intensive challenges from three other parties that fielded nearly full slates. BS collated with Parti Rakyat, and fielded candidates in all but two seats, while UPP had an unusually large number of candidates. The PAP government launched Operation Coldstore on 2 February 1963 and detained several BS leaders, including Lim.

On the final night of campaigning, PAP officials warned that should BS win the election and defeat PAP, the Malaysia Federal government could send troops into Singapore to invoke emergency powers in place of the incoming government led by the new pro-communist party, leaving no opportunity for BS to respond. This was said to have accounted for the eventual victory of the PAP the following day.

The sole Workers' Party (WP) legislator David Marshall resigned from the party he founded and became the only independent. Another participant was Singapore Alliance, an extension of the ruling federal Alliance Party in Malaysia, which was a coalition consisting of the Singapore People's Alliance (SPA) along with the local branches of UMNO, the Malayan Chinese Association and Malayan Indian Congress. However, former Chief Minister and leader Lim Yew Hock opted not to run in the elections, citing a defamation campaign by the PAP.

Results

Main article: Results of the 1963 Singaporean general election

The PAP won a landslide victory, securing a two-thirds majority, an outcome that had been in doubt or unexpected in the lead-up to the vote. However, the party's vote share was its lowest-ever at just under 47%. Despite the BS and UPP winning a combined 14 seats, both parties failed to win most of the seats they contested, due to the split of the anti-PAP vote. A total of 92 candidates lost their deposits.

The Singapore Alliance lost all seven seats it had held before dissolution, losing even in core support areas such as Malay constituencies Kampong Kembangan, Geylang Serai and Southern Islands.

Nine incumbent members failed to be re-elected, among which the defeats of Kenneth Michael Byrne and Tan Kia Gan (in the seats of Crawford and Paya Lebar, respectively) marked the first time a higher-ranked PAP cabinet minister had been defeated in their constituencies. This would not happen again until the 2011 elections, 48 years and 11 elections later, where cabinet ministers Lim Hwee Hua and George Yeo were defeated in his constituency of Aljunied.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Action Party	272,924	46.93	37	–6
	Barisan Sosialis	193,301	33.24	13	New
	Singapore Alliance	48,967	8.42	0	–3
	United People's Party	48,785	8.39	1	New
	Partai Rakyat	8,259	1.42	0	0
	Pan-Malayan Islamic Party	1,545	0.27	0	0
	United Democratic Party	760	0.13	0	New
	Workers' Party	286	0.05	0	0
	Independents	6,788	1.17	0	–1
Total		581,615	100.00	51	0
Valid votes		581,615	99.01
Invalid/blank votes		5,818	0.99
Total votes		587,433	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		617,450	95.14
Source: Singapore Elections

By constituency

Constituency	Electorate	Party		Candidate	Votes	%
Aljunied	16,152		People's Action Party	S. V. Lingam	7,745	50.90
			Barisan Sosialis	Thio Kheng Lock	4,624	30.39
			Singapore Alliance Party	Lim Koon Teck	1,681	11.05
			United People's Party	Woo Kong Seng	1,165	7.66
Anson	9,192		People's Action Party	P. Govindasamy	3,957	46.90
			Barisan Sosialis	Chan Chong Keen	3,123	37.02
			Singapore Alliance Party	A. K. Isaac	543	6.44
			Independent	David Marshall	416	4.93
			United People's Party	Vythalingam V.	306	3.63
			Workers' Party	Chiang Seok Keong	91	1.08
Bras Basah	10,678		People's Action Party	Ho See Beng	4,926	51.80
			Barisan Sosialis	Leong Kwan Fai	3,831	40.28
			United People's Party	Pan Cheng Luan	335	3.52
			Singapore Alliance Party	Wong Chin Sen	304	3.20
			Workers' Party	Chua Chin Kiat	114	1.20
Bukit Merah	12,225		Barisan Sosialis	Lim Huan Boon	4,963	42.84
			People's Action Party	Sellappa Ramaswamy	4,520	39.02
			United People's Party	Poon Weng Ying	1,129	9.75
			Singapore Alliance Party	Shums Tung Tao Chang	740	6.39
			Independent	Ngon Eng Kok	232	2.00
Bukit Panjang	12,997		Barisan Sosialis	Ong Lian Teng	5,679	46.45
			People's Action Party	Lee Khoon Choy	4,940	40.41
			Singapore Alliance Party	Loo Bah Chit	999	8.17
			United People's Party	Thuan Paik Phok	607	4.97
Bukit Timah	12,502		Barisan Sosialis	Lee Tee Tong	6,173	52.39
			People's Action Party	Chor Yeok Eng	4,982	42.28
			United People's Party	Ong Tiong Kuan	628	5.33
Cairnhill	12,340		People's Action Party	Lim Kim San	7,749	66.46
			Barisan Sosialis	Lim Ang Chuan	2,443	20.95
			Singapore Alliance Party	Lee Ah Seong	1,467	12.59
Changi	11,866		People's Action Party	Sim Boon Woo	4,808	42.78
			Barisan Sosialis	Siek Shing Min	3,425	30.48
			Singapore Alliance Party	Dato Syed Esa	1,975	17.57
			United People's Party	Abdullah Masood	935	8.32
			Independent	M. N. Yahya	95	0.85
Chua Chu Kang	8,198		Barisan Sosialis	Chio Cheng Thun	3,753	48.59
			People's Action Party	Lim Kim Hian	2,429	31.45
			United People's Party	Sim Chit Giak	800	10.36
			Singapore Alliance Party	Neo Guan Choo	396	5.13
			Independent	Goh Tong Liang	345	4.47
Crawford	10,949		Barisan Sosialis	T. Bani	4,400	42.75
			People's Action Party	K. M. Byrne	4,207	40.88
			United People's Party	Lau Tok Keong	1,032	10.03
			Singapore Alliance Party	S. A. Hsieh	571	5.55
			Workers' Party	Goh Tong Liang	81	0.79
Delta	14,037		People's Action Party	Chan Choy Siong	5,417	40.53
			Barisan Sosialis	Wee Toon Lip	5,354	40.07
			United People's Party	Chen Chia Kuang	2,233	16.71
			Independent	Wong Kui Yu	359	2.69
Farrer Park	10,189		People's Action Party	S. Rajoo	5,365	55.71
			Barisan Sosialis	Lee Chin Siang	2,619	27.20
			Singapore Alliance Party	Arumugam Ponnu Rajah	1,232	12.79
			United People's Party	Wee Kia Eng	414	4.30
Geylang East	16,014		People's Action Party	Ho Cheng Choon	7,165	47.28
			Barisan Sosialis	Phua Soon Lian	5,389	35.56
			Singapore Alliance Party	Ng Cheng Chwee	1,467	9.68
			United People's Party	Tan Peng Seah	1,134	7.48
Geylang Serai	15,302		People's Action Party	Rahamat bin Kenap	6,722	48.01
			Singapore Alliance Party	Ahmad b. Hj. Taff	5,019	35.85
			Pan-Malayan Islamic Party	M. Taha Suhaimi	1,201	8.58
			Independent	Darus Shariff	1,059	7.56
Geylang West	15,386		People's Action Party	Yong Nyuk Lin	6,288	43.63
			Barisan Sosialis	Un Hon Kun	5,670	39.34
			United People's Party	Kum Teng Hock	1,541	10.69
			Singapore Alliance Party	Mohd. B. Hj. Yacob	914	6.34
Havelock	15,159		Barisan Sosialis	Loh Miaw Gong	6,304	44.05
			People's Action Party	Wong Chun Choi	4,157	29.05
			United People's Party	Ng Chee Sen	3,209	22.42
			Singapore Alliance Party	Lim Ser Puan	641	4.48
Hong Lim	12,003		United People's Party	Ong Eng Guan	5,066	44.47
			People's Action Party	Seah Mui Kok	3,789	33.27
			Barisan Sosialis	Lim Chien Sen	2,344	20.58
			Singapore Alliance Party	Sam Tai Guan	191	1.68
Jalan Besar	13,764		People's Action Party	Chan Chee Seng	6,686	51.87
			Barisan Sosialis	Ng Ngeong Yew	5,172	40.12
			United People's Party	Yong Wan Kit	1,033	8.01
Jalan Kayu	9,164		Barisan Sosialis	Tan Cheng Tong	3,312	38.04
			People's Action Party	Teo Hup Teck	2,676	30.73
			United People's Party	Lui Boon Phor	1,146	13.16
			Singapore Alliance Party	M. P. D. Nair	1,057	12.14
			Independent	Ong Yu Thoh	516	5.93
Joo Chiat	14,966		People's Action Party	Fong Kim Heng	9,300	65.88
			Barisan Sosialis	Leong Keng Seng	3,737	26.48
			Singapore Alliance Party	Seow Peck Leng	1,078	7.64
Jurong	7,611		Barisan Sosialis	Chia Thye Poh	3,973	55.85
			People's Action Party	Ong Soo Chuan	2,268	31.89
			United People's Party	Soh U Loh	501	7.04
			Singapore Alliance Party	Wong Tuck Leong	371	5.22
Kallang	16,974		People's Action Party	Buang bin Omar Junid	8,479	52.21
			Barisan Sosialis	P. Oorjitham	5,215	32.11
			United People's Party	Mohd. Shariff B. D.	1,166	7.18
			Singapore Alliance Party	Tan Hock Lim	969	5.97
			Independent	Tan Hai Tong	411	2.53
Kampong Glam	10,186		People's Action Party	S. Rajaratnam	4,313	44.79
			Barisan Sosialis	Tan Jing Quee	4,093	42.50
			United People's Party	Harbans Singh	1,224	12.71
Kampong Kapor	11,672		People's Action Party	M. Awang	4,554	41.93
			Barisan Sosialis	Lim Hock Thiam	4,155	38.27
			United People's Party	Nalliah Karuppiah	1,143	10.53
			Singapore Alliance Party	Chia Ban Wei	1,006	9.27
Kampong Kembangan	15,787		People's Action Party	Ariff B. Suradi Mohamed	7,127	48.31
			Singapore Alliance Party	Ali Alwi	3,692	25.03
			Partai Rakyat	Saleha Binte Md. Shah	2,674	18.13
			United People's Party	Ibrahim B. Jaffar	914	6.20
			Pan-Malayan Islamic Party	Mohd. Dali B. Muin	344	2.33
Kreta Ayer	13,103		People's Action Party	Goh Keng Swee	8,059	65.47
			Barisan Sosialis	Lau Peter	3,646	29.62
			United People's Party	Loke Wan	604	4.91
Moulmein	10,670		People's Action Party	Avadai Dhanam Lakshimi-Devan Nair	5,856	58.00
			Barisan Sosialis	Tann Wee Tiong	3,051	30.22
			United People's Party	Neo Hay Chan	575	5.69
			Singapore Alliance Party	Koh Chiat Lim	542	5.37
			Independent	Soo Tho Siu Hee	73	0.72
Mountbatten	16,843		People's Action Party	Ng Yeow Chong	7,751	48.97
			Barisan Sosialis	Fung Yin Ching	5,158	32.59
			Singapore Alliance Party	Lee Kim Chuan	1,865	11.78
			Independent	Felice Leon-Soh	1,053	6.66
Nee Soon	10,064		Barisan Sosialis	Chan Sun Wing	4,914	51.33
			People's Action Party	How Kang Yong	3,329	34.77
			United People's Party	Goh Soo Ming	864	9.02
			Singapore Alliance Party	Yeo Teo Bok	364	3.80
			Independent	Lim Siak Guan	103	1.08
Pasir Panjang	6,721		People's Action Party	Othman Wok	2,879	45.30
			Barisan Sosialis	Tay Cheng Kang	1,887	29.69
			Singapore Alliance Party	Ahmad bin Rahmat	1,351	21.26
			United People's Party	Yong Ah Kau	238	3.75
Paya Lebar	13,544		Barisan Sosialis	Kow Kee Seng	6,152	47.96
			People's Action Party	Tan Kia Gan	5,402	42.11
			United People's Party	Yeo Keng Wee	858	6.69
			Singapore Alliance Party	Goh Yeow Dek	415	3.24
Punggol	10,294		People's Action Party	Ng Kah Ting	4,721	47.76
			Barisan Sosialis	Koh Chit Kiang	2,860	28.93
			Singapore Alliance Party	Tan Jin Hong	1,320	13.35
			United People's Party	Lee Jiak Seck	984	9.96
Queenstown	16,133		People's Action Party	Jek Yeun Thong	8,165	52.81
			Barisan Sosialis	Lee Ek Chong	5,589	36.15
			United People's Party	Ng Ho	909	5.88
			Singapore Alliance Party	Lee Khee Loong	798	5.16
River Valley	10,532		People's Action Party	Lim Cheng Lock	5,597	56.67
			Barisan Sosialis	Goh Lam San	2,668	27.01
			Singapore Alliance Party	Yap Pheng Geck	1,156	11.71
			United People's Party	Chung Kit Wong	455	4.61
Rochore	11,698		People's Action Party	Toh Chin Chye	5,015	45.56
			Barisan Sosialis	Lee Siew Choh	4,926	44.75
			United People's Party	Pan Tiek Tai	1,067	9.69
Sembawang	9,329		People's Action Party	Teong Eng Siong	3,745	42.17
			Barisan Sosialis	Chen Poh Chang	3,591	40.43
			Singapore Alliance Party	Appavoo P.	1,197	13.48
			United People's Party	Low Seng Wan	348	3.92
Sepoy Lines	10,046		People's Action Party	Wee Toon Boon	4,907	52.25
			Barisan Sosialis	Ong Chang Sam	3,147	33.51
			Singapore Alliance Party	Goh Su Chiang	793	8.44
			United People's Party	Tan Choon Sing	545	5.80
Serangoon Gardens	8,765		People's Action Party	R. A. Gonzales	4,456	53.40
			Barisan Sosialis	Ng Hui Sim	2,698	32.33
			United People's Party	Ng Teo Joo	736	8.82
			Singapore Alliance Party	Choy Kok Wah	455	5.45
Siglap	15,915		People's Action Party	Abdul Rahim Ishak	9,342	62.12
			Partai Rakyat	Tay Check Yaw	2,618	17.41
			Singapore Alliance Party	Soo Ban Hoe	1,488	9.89
			United People's Party	Ong Jin Teck	1,365	9.08
			Independent	Koh Tee Kin	225	1.50
Southern Islands	5,236		People's Action Party	Yaacob bin Mohamed	2,764	55.41
			Singapore Alliance Party	Ahmad Jabri b. Akib	2,224	44.59
Stamford	11,628		People's Action Party	Fong Sip Chee	5,781	53.27
			Barisan Sosialis	Teo Hock Guan	3,719	34.27
			United People's Party	Lim Chung Min	771	7.10
			Singapore Alliance Party	Lal Behari Singh	582	5.36
Tampines	13,137		Barisan Sosialis	Poh Ber Liak	5,976	48.33
			People's Action Party	Goh Chew Chua	3,601	29.13
			United People's Party	Liam Tian Seng	2,130	17.23
			Singapore Alliance Party	Lim Jew Kan	656	5.31
Tanglin	9,239		People's Action Party	Edmund W. Barker	4,424	51.07
			Barisan Sosialis	Tan Cheow Hock	1,997	23.06
			Singapore Alliance Party	Thio Chan Bee	1,738	20.07
			United People's Party	Eng Chau Sam	336	3.88
			Independent	Ariffin b. Md Said	166	1.92
Tanjong Pagar	11,395		People's Action Party	Lee Kuan Yew	6,317	58.93
			Barisan Sosialis	Ong Hock Siang	3,537	32.99
			United People's Party	Lim Peng Kang	473	4.41
			Singapore Alliance Party	Chng Boon Eng	393	3.67
Telok Ayer	13,219		People's Action Party	Ong Pang Boon	5,390	44.01
			Barisan Sosialis	Lam Chit Lee	4,987	40.72
			United People's Party	Goh Hong Keng	1,484	12.12
			Independent	Wang Chung Kwang	385	3.15
Telok Blangah	13,263		People's Action Party	Bernard Rodrigues	4,949	39.82
			Barisan Sosialis	Jukri b. Parjo	4,327	34.82
			Singapore Alliance Party	Abdul Rahman	2,627	21.14
			United People's Party	Tan Swee Huat	525	4.22
Thomson	11,336		Barisan Sosialis	Koo Young	5,292	49.17
			People's Action Party	Leo Keng Fong	4,248	39.47
			United People's Party	Loo Ka Thiam	1,223	11.36
Tiong Bahru	12,534		People's Action Party	Lee Teck Him	5,731	48.15
			Barisan Sosialis	Soon Dit Woo	3,798	31.91
			United People's Party	Ng Teng Kian	1,088	9.14
			Independent	William Tan	777	6.53
			Singapore Alliance Party	Tan Kok Siong	508	4.27
Toa Payoh	13,394		Barisan Sosialis	Wong Soon Fong	6,083	48.20
			People's Action Party	Yip Sai Weng	4,276	33.88
			United People's Party	Goh Nee Kim	1,501	11.89
			United Democratic Party	Tan Chor Yong	760	6.03
Ulu Pandan	11,866		People's Action Party	Chow Chiok Hock	5,000	44.86
			Partai Rakyat	Johari bin Sonto	2,967	26.62
			Singapore Alliance Party	Anang b. H. A. Manan	1,729	15.51
			United People's Party	Ler Chin Tee	1,450	13.01
Upper Serangoon	12,433		People's Action Party	Sia Kah Hui	6,650	56.56
			Barisan Sosialis	Chia Yang Loong	3,547	30.17
			United People's Party	Phua Gek Boon	595	5.06
			Independent	Lim Choon Mong	573	4.87
			Singapore Alliance Party	Wu Moh Chye	393	3.34
Source: ELD, Singapore Elections Archived 24 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine

Aftermath

Analysis of the election suggested that reasons for the PAP victory included:

• The PAP's eleventh hour warning to voters that Malaysia would send troops into Singapore and invoke emergency powers in place of the incoming Barisan government;
• Strong support among voters for Singapore's merger with Malaya, which was perceived to be jeopardised should Barisan win the election due to its opposition to merger;
• English-educated middle classes fearful of communism tactically voting for PAP following the split of the leftists away from the party.
• Barisan's support for Indonesia and the Communist Party of Indonesia's opposition to the formation of Malaysia, especially when Indonesia had declared Konfrontasi and begun provocative military manoeuvres in Borneo in the lead up to the election;
• Policies introduced by the government such as building of 26,000 Housing and Development Board flats, reduction in unemployment rate and investment in public services from 1959 to 1963.

To discourage future defections, the PAP government passed a constitutional amendment stipulating that legislators who resign or are expelled from the parties they were elected under would lose their seats. As a result, by-elections were subsequently held in Hong Lim in 1965, seven constituencies in 1966 and five constituencies in 1967. Those victories resulted PAP in achieving a parliament monopoly that would last for the next 15 years until the first elected opposition MP in 1981. The changes during the 1963–1968 parliamentary term remain the biggest turnover of MPs in post-independence Singapore.

The distribution of 15 Singapore seats in Malaysia's lower house of Parliament (Dewan Rakyat) was based on the outcome of the election. PAP was allocated 12, which were given to Prime Minister Lee, Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye, ministers Goh Keng Swee, Ong Pang Boon, S. Rajaratnam, Yong Nyuk Lin, Jek Yeun Thong, Lim Kim San, Othman Wok and assembly members Abdul Rahim Ishak, Wee Toon Boon and Ho See Beng. BS was allocated 3: Chia Thye Poh, Lim Huan Boon and Kow Kee Seng.

See also

• List of Singaporean electoral divisions (1963–68)