Chiam See Tong

Chiam founded the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on 6 August 1980, ahead of the 1980 general election held on 23 December 1980, and served as the party's secretary-general. He contested in the election as a SDP candidate in Potong Pasir SMC, but lost to Howe Yoon Chong again with 40.95% of the vote against Howe's 59.05%.[5]

In 1981, Chiam sued Minister for Defence Howe Yoon Chong and Minister for Foreign Affairs S. Dhanabalan for slandering him during the speeches they made in 1980. Howe had called Chiam a "twice unsuccessful lawyer" and "a lawyer who is not even very good at law", while Dhanabalan had called Chiam "a two-bit lawyer orchestrating a three-piece band whose members only appear once every four or five years". J. B. Jeyaretnam, a lawyer who was also a MP from the opposition Workers' Party (WP), represented Chiam in filing a writ in the High Court seeking damages from Howe and Dhanabalan.[2][16][17]

Dhanabalan eventually publicly apologised to Chiam,[16] while Howe publicly withdrew his imputations against Chiam's professional capacity and competence and offered compensation. Chiam accepted their apologies and withdrew the lawsuits against them.[2][17]

During the 1984 general election, Chiam contested as an SDP candidate in Potong Pasir SMC again, this time against a new PAP candidate Mah Bow Tan. In the lead-up to the election, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew compared Chiam and Mah's O Level results in a rally speech: "Mah Bow Tan, age 16, took his 'O' Levels—six distinctions, two credits. Mr Chiam, age 18—six credits, one pass." The Prime Minister's Office later conveyed an apology from Lee for making an error about Chiam's results; Chiam had actually gotten seven credits.[2] Chiam eventually won the election with 60.28% of the vote against Mah's 39.72%,[6][13] and was elected as the MP representing Potong Pasir SMC. He retained his parliamentary seat in Potong Pasir SMC following the 1988 and 1991 general elections after garnering 63.13% and 69.64% of the vote in those two elections against PAP candidates Kenneth Chen and Andy Gan respectively.[18][19]

When Chiam was first elected into Parliament in 1984, he was one of only two opposition MPs, the other being J. B. Jeyaretnam, the Workers' Party secretary-general. After Jeyaretnam lost his parliamentary seat in 1986, Chiam remained the sole elected opposition Member of Parliament until after the 1991 general election, which saw three other opposition politicians becoming elected Members of Parliament: Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen of the SDP, and Low Thia Khiang of the Workers' Party.[19] Chiam was the de facto Leader of the Opposition. At the time of the 1991 general election, the SDP had its best electoral results—having all nine candidates polled in the top 10, scoring 48.6% of the party's popular vote, including Chiam's personal best electoral result at 69.64%.[19][13]

In 1992, Chiam recruited Chee Soon Juan, a psychology lecturer at the National University of Singapore, to join a four-member SDP team to contest in Marine Parade GRC in the 1992 by-elections. Although the SDP team lost after garnering just 24.5% against a four-member PAP team led by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong,[20] Chee's candidacy had generated considerable public interest as it was the first time that an academic from a state-run university had stood for election against the PAP.[21] Chee subsequently became the assistant secretary-general of the SDP and Chiam's protégé.[22]

In 1992, PAP Member of Parliament Choo Wee Khiang said in a speech that when he drove to Little India one evening, he found it "pitch dark, not because there was no light, but because there were too many Indians around."[23] Chiam was the only Member of Parliament who called out Choo for his remarks.[22]

In 1993, after Chiam had a conflict with Chee Soon Juan and other SDP leaders, he was expelled from the SDP. Chiam had to give up his parliamentary seat under Singapore's electoral rules, since he was no longer a party member he had contested under. Filing a lawsuit against the SDP, Chiam obtained a court reversal of his expulsion, allowing him to retain his parliamentary seat until the next general election.[22]

In 1995, Chiam supported the Singapore government's refusal to delay the execution of Filipino domestic worker Flor Contemplacion for murder despite appeals from Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos. After the incident caused Philippines–Singapore relations to be strained, Chiam made a speech in Parliament, stating that he would not allow the foreign press to use the opposition to attack the Singapore government.[7][22]

Chiam at a SPP rally in 2015

Chiam greeting voters in 2015

Chiam left the SDP in December 1996 and joined the Singapore People's Party, founded in 1994 by a SDP faction of pro-Chiam supporters, as secretary-general. Under the SPP banner, he contested in Potong Pasir SMC again during the 1997 general election and won with 55.15% of the vote against the PAP candidate Andy Gan.[24][13]

Ahead of the 2001 general election, the SPP joined forces with three other opposition parties—National Solidarity Party (NSP), Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS) and Singapore Justice Party (SJP)—to form the Singapore Democratic Alliance, with Chiam as the SDA's chairman. Chiam then contested in the general election under the SDA banner in Potong Pasir SMC and won with 52.43% of the vote against the PAP candidate Sitoh Yih Pin,[25] thus continuing for a fifth term in Parliament as the MP for Potong Pasir SMC. He closed his law firm, Chiam & Co, in the following year to become a full-time Member of Parliament.[2]

Chiam was elected to Parliament for a sixth term after winning the 2006 general election with 55.82% of the vote against Sitoh Yih Pin again.[26] Chiam's victory was a surprise, especially since the PAP had offered a S$80 million upgrading package for Potong Pasir residents and had brought in former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to assist in the PAP campaign in the constituency.[7]

In early 2008, Chiam suffered a mild stroke[13] which led to the suspension of his regular Meet-the-People Sessions. Although he recovered, Chiam said in 2011 that there were still remnants of the stroke he had suffered.[27]

In 2009, Chiam celebrated his 25th year as the member of parliament for Potong Pasir SMC.[28] That year, he also announced that he did not plan to contest in Potong Pasir SMC in the next general election, and would instead contest in a Group Representation Constituency.[29]

In 2010, Chiam tried to bring the Reform Party into the SDA. He reportedly accepted the conditions the Reform Party set out for joining the SDA, but the other members of the SDA Council opposed the terms of entry and blocked the move. In 2010 and early 2011, it was reported the some SDA Council members felt that Chiam was unable to fulfil his role as the chairman of the party after his stroke in 2008. On 28 February 2011, the SDA Council voted to relieve Chiam of his role as chairman, but stressed that they still hoped to field him as a candidate in the next general election. On 2 March 2011, Chiam announced that the SPP was withdrawing from the SDA, and that he would contest under the SPP banner in the next general election.[30][31]

Between 1997 and 2011, Low Thia Kiang from the Worker's Party and Chiam from the SPP were the only elected opposition members of parliament.

During the 2011 general election, Low and Chiam left their respective strongholds in Hougang and Potong Pasir SMC to challenge the ruling PAP in Group Representation Constituencies. Low challenged the ruling PAP in Aljunied GRC, while Chiam would contest the Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC. In so doing, Low and Chiam risked a situation where there would be no elected opposition MPs in Parliament had they lost.

Chiam and the SPP team ultimately lost with 43.07% of the vote against the PAP team's 56.93%.[9] Chiam's wife, Lina Loh, contested under the SPP banner in Potong Pasir SMC but lost to the PAP candidate Sitoh Yih Pin by a narrow margin of 114 votes (0.72%), garnering 49.64% of the vote against Sitoh's 50.36%.[9] However, Low's gambit paid off as he led the Workers' Party to a historic breakthrough in the election, with a victory in Aljunied GRC. The win was the first time that an opposition party won a GRC. Also, Loh qualified for a parliamentary seat as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament in the 12th Parliament and accepted it on 12 May 2011.[32]

On 30 August 2015, Chiam announced that he would not be running for election in the 2015 general election due to his declining health.[11] In the general election that year, the SPP contested in three SMCs and one GRC but lost to the PAP in all four. Lina Loh also lost to Sitoh Yih Pin again in Potong Pasir SMC with 33.61% of the vote against Sitoh's 66.39%.[33]

On 4 September 2019, the SPP announced that Chiam would be stepping down from his position as the party's secretary-general post due to his declining health.[34][35] Chiam stepped down on 16 October 2019 and was succeeded by Steve Chia.[1]