# Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency

Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency composed of several city suburbs along with the Central Area of Singapore. The Jalan Besar GRC is the electoral division representing the largest area of the downtown city centre of Singapore, followed by Tanjong Pagar GRC. There are four wards in the GRC: Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng, Kolam Ayer, Whampoa and lastly Kampong Glam managed by Jalan Besar Town Council. The current Members of Parliament are Denise Phua, Wan Rizal, Josephine Teo and Heng Chee How from the People's Action Party (PAP).

## History

It is named after Jalan Besar, a street in Singapore that forms this GRC's centrepiece. The street itself is within the Kallang planning area, Kallang itself being part of this GRC. The GRC encompasses several heritage areas, including Little India, Desker Road, Kolam Ayer and Crawford in the North. Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng itself includes the Singapore River, Chinatown and Bukit Ho Swee.
During 1988 general election, the three-member PAP team led by Lee Boon Yang won the election with 62.68% of the votes against the WP with 37.32% of the votes.
Jalan Besar GRC has been contested by the opposition at every election, except 1991.
During 1997 general election, the four-member PAP team led by Lee Boon Yang won the election with 67.55% of the votes against the WP with 32.45% of the votes.
During 2001 general election, the five-member PAP team led by Lee Boon Yang won the election with 74.49% of the votes against the SDA led by Desmond Lim with 25.51% of the votes.
During 2006 general election, the five-member PAP team led by Lee Boon Yang won the election with 69.26% of the votes against the SDA with 30.74% of the votes.
Jalan Besar GRC was dissolved ahead of the 2011 elections and along with Moulmein from Tanjong Pagar GRC to form Moulmein–Kallang Group Representation Constituency while a majority of the Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng and Whampoa were redrawn into Tanjong Pagar GRC and as a SMC, respectively.
However, its GRC were again reformed one parliamentary term later in 2015 Singaporean general election, where changes made from a majority of the GRC were reversed, while the Jalan Besar division was dissolved into other wards.
In 2015 Singaporean general election, the four-member PAP team led by Lily Neo won the election with 67.75% of the votes while WP got 32.25% of the votes.
In 2020 general election, the four-member PAP team led by Josephine Teo won the election with 65.36% of the votes while the Peoples Voice led by Lim Tean obtained 34.64% of the votes.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Division | Members of Parliament | Party |
| 1988 | Geylang West Jalan Besar Kolam Ayer | Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Sidek Saniff | PAP |
| 1991 | Geylang West Jalan Besar Kallang Kolam Ayer | Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Choo Wee Khiang Zulkifli bin Mohamed | PAP |
| 1997 | Geylang West Jalan Besar Kolam Ayer Whampoa | Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Yaacob Ibrahim Choo Wee Khiang (1997–1999 | PAP |
| 2001 | Jalan Besar Kampong Glam Kolam Ayer Kreta Ayer - Kim Seng Whampoa | Lee Boon Yang Loh Meng See Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How | PAP |
| 2006 | Jalan Besar Kampong Glam Kolam Ayer Kreta Ayer - Kim Seng Whampoa | Lee Boon Yang Denise Phua Lay Peng Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How | PAP |
| Constituency abolished (2011–2015) |||||
| 2015 | Kampong Glam Kolam Ayer Kreta Ayer - Kim Seng Whampoa | Denise Phua Lay Peng Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How | PAP |
| 2020 | Kampong Glam Kolam Ayer Kreta Ayer - Kim Seng Whampoa | Denise Phua Lay Peng Wan Rizal Josephine Teo Li Min Heng Chee How | PAP |
^ Choo resigned before being charged and convicted in 1999 for cheating offences. However, no by-election was called on the ground since it was a Group Representation Constituency, and the workload for the Whampoa ward was distributed among the rest of the team.

## Electoral results
### Elections in 1980s

General Election 1988: Jalan Besar GRC :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | PAP | Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Sidek Saniff | 31,604 | 62.68 |
| | WP | Marsh Edund Richard Mohamed Bin Idris Toh Keng Thong | 18,814 | 37.32 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,790 | 25.37 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 54,941 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,418 | 91.77 |
| | PAP win (new seat) | PAP win (new seat) | PAP win (new seat) | PAP win (new seat) |

### Elections in 1990s

General Election 1991: Jalan Besar GRC :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PAP | Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Choo Wee Khiang Zulkifli Mohammed | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 82,615 | | |
| | PAP hold | PAP hold | PAP hold | PAP hold | PAP hold |
General Election 1997: Jalan Besar GRC :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PAP | Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Yaacob Ibrahim Choo Wee Khiang | 44,840 | 67.55 | N/A |
| | SDP | Gandhi Ambalam Jufrie Mahmood David Chew Low Yong Nguan | 21,537 | 32.45 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,303 | 35.10 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 71,922 | | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 66,377 | 92.29 | N/A |
| | PAP hold | PAP hold | PAP hold | PAP hold | PAP hold |

### Elections in 2000s

General Election 2001: Jalan Besar GRC :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PAP | Lee Boon Yang Loh Meng See Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How | 68,309 | 74.49 | 6.94 |
| | SDA | Desmond Lim Sin Kek Tong M Rahizan Reno Fong Ng Kee How | 23,391 | 25.51 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 44,918 | 48.98 | 13.88 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 100,268 | | 39.41 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 91,700 | 91.45 | 0.84 |
| | PAP hold | PAP hold | Swing | 6.94 | |
General Election 2006: Jalan Besar GRC :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PAP | Lee Boon Yang Denise Phua Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How | 58,913 | 69.26 | 5.23 |
| | SDA | Cheo Chai Chen Sebastian Teo Reno Fong Muhammad Ali Aman Vincent Yeo | 26,151 | 30.74 | 5.23 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 32,762 | 38.51 | 10.47 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 93,025 | | 7.22 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 85,064 | 91.50 | 0.05 |
| | PAP hold | PAP hold | Swing | 5.23 | |

### Elections in 2010s

General Election 2015: Jalan Besar GRC :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | PAP | Denise Phua Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How | 63,644 | 67.75 |
| | WP | Frieda Chan L Somasundaram Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak Adrian Sim | 30,302 | 32.25 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 33,342 | 35.50 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 102,540 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 1,550 | 1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 95,496 | 93.1 |
| | PAP win (new seat) | PAP win (new seat) | PAP win (new seat) | PAP win (new seat) |

### Elections in 2020s

General Election 2020: Jalan Besar GRC :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PAP | Denise Phua Wan Rizal Josephine Teo Heng Chee How | 64,631 | 65.36 | 2.37 |
| | PV | Lim Tean Leong Sze Hian Nor Azlan Sulaiman Michael Fang Amin | 34,261 | 34.64 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 30,370 | 30.72 | 4.78 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 107,720 | | 5.05 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 2,948 | 2.9 | 1.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 101,840 | 94.5 | 1.4 |
| | PAP hold | PAP hold | Swing | 2.37 | |