The Workers’ Party’s candidate for Joo Chiat single-member constituency (SMC) in the 2011 general election, Yee Jenn Jong, says he is “absolutely disappointed” with the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) report released on Friday.
The SMC has been deleted off the face of the electoral map for the next general election.
It is now part of the Marine Parade GRC, which is helmed by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
The result of the contest in 2011 was the closest among all the contested wards, with Mr Yee losing out to the PAP’s Charles Chong by the smallest of margins.
Writing on his Facebook page on Friday, Mr Yee said:
“There is no clear justification for the changes. With the eraser and the pencil, the mighty committee has made the Joo Chiat SMC with such a rich and unique tradition disappear.”
He added:
‘We have walked the ground tirelessly for 4 years since the last GE, in and around the SMC, week after week, sometimes even in scorching heat and drizzles. Residents whom I have met were looking forward to a good and gentlemanly contest again like what we had the last time. Some ‘wise men’ in a small committee decided otherwise, for reasons best known to themselves.”
