The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is a social liberal political party in Singapore. Founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, the party gained its first seat in Parliament in 1984 when Chiam was elected the MP for Potong Pasir. In the 1991 general election, the SDP achieved its peak electoral success, securing three parliamentary seats with Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen winning in Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon respectively. However, internal conflicts emerged in 1993, leading to Chiam's departure from the party in 1996 to join the Singapore People's Party (SPP), a party founded by former SDP members who supported Chiam. He was succeeded by Chee Soon Juan, who has served as Secretary-General since then.
The SDP identifies as a centrist to centre-left party, drawing on both liberal and social democratic ideologies. Over the years, it has been shaped by different leadership styles and internal factions, particularly under Chiam and Chee, whose visions for the party diverged significantly. The party has had no parliamentary representation since 1997. While some party members lean towards centre-left ideals, others align with centrist or even centre-right positions. Since the 2000s, the party has increasingly focused on promoting human rights and democratic reforms.
As part of its policy platform, the SDP advocates for constitutional reforms that strengthen civil liberties and expand social protections. It promotes liberal approaches to key national issues in Singapore, including education, healthcare and housing as well as increased social welfare spending for Singaporeans. The party also calls for a more moderated immigration policy. Internationally, the SDP is affiliated with Liberal International and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, reflecting its commitment to liberal democratic values.
History 1980–1992: Founding and early success The SDP was founded on 6 August 1980 by lawyer Chiam See Tong, who had contested several elections as an independent candidate in the 1970s, together with consultant engineer Fok Tai Loy and businessman Ernest Chew Tian Ern, who they took the roles of the party's founding Secretary-General, Chairman, and Assistant Secretary-General, respectively.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 166 - 167 The main objectives of the party were declared to be the "elimination of colonialism and feudalism, the safeguarding of parliamentary democracy and upholding of the principles of democracy, socialism and the constitution."Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 167 Two months later, on 19 October 1980, the party unveiled its emblem: a circle (which symbolises unity amongst Singapore's ethnic groups), behind an arrow (representing political progress in Singapore) in the colour red (signifying courage and determination).Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 168 The party was inaugurated on 21 September 1981, a full year after being registered as a political party.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 169
In 1984, Fok died and Ling How Doong took over as chairman of SDP. The party entered the election campaign of 1984 general election with the slogan of "Singaporeans for Singapore", raising the need for elected opposition in parliament to bring democracy to Singapore. The party also raised other prominent issues of the time such as the need to reform the education and CPF system, and its opposition to the Elected Presidency.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 174 It noticeably fielded only four candidates in that general election: Secretary-General Chiam, Chairman Ling, Vice-Chairman Soon Kia Seng and treasurer Peter Lim Ah Yong.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 174 -175
During the campaigning, the party came under fire from the government ruling party, People's Action Party (PAP), with Ling and Chiam bearing the brunt of the attacks. The PAP chose to highlight Ling's dismissal from the police force and the record of his election agent, but these were quickly rebutted by the SDP leadership.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 175 Chiam saw his secondary school record being brought up by the Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who compared Chiam's intelligence with that of PAP's Mah Bow Tan who was standing against the SDP leader. Chiam won the single seat of Potong Pasir after three attempts in the constituency by a vote of 60.3% to Mah's 39.7%, making Chiam as only the second opposition politician ever to be elected to the Republic's Parliament after J.B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' Party. The SDP garnered 45.2% of total votes cast in the constituencies they had contested in.
After Jeyaretnam was expelled from Parliament in 1986, Chiam was Singapore's sole opposition MP. A moderate, Chiam claimed that he was not opposing for the sake of opposition. He also said: "But if they (the government) do the wrong things which are not good for Singapore, then we will oppose fearlessly".Business Times: 15 December 1980
The 1988 general elections saw the opposition's strongest challenge since 1963, with 71 out of 82 seats contested. This election also saw the PAP engage the SDP's Chiam and WP's Jeyaretnam in a television debate.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 176 Besides Chiam and Ling, the SDP also fielded Ashleigh Seow (the son of former Solicitor-General Francis Seow), businessmen Jufrie Mahmood, Cheo Chai Chen and Ng Teck Siong, sales manager Kwan Yue Keng, bank clerical assistant Mohd Shariff Yahya, teacher George Sita, financial futures trader Jimmy Tan, former PAP MP Low Yong Nguan, businesswoman Toh Kim Kiat, construction supervisor Francis Yong Chu Leong, shipping manager Chia Ah Soon and director Sin Kek Tong. The party chose to target the government on the plan to amend the constitution, and that the economic prosperity indicators it used were untrueMutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 175 - 178 When the results were declared, it emerged that the SDP was the only opposition party to win a seat, with Chiam re-elected as Potong Pasir MP for a second term. The SDP scored 39.5% of the total votes cast in all the constituencies it had contested in.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 181
The PAP's announcement of a general election in 1991 came when the ruling party was barely in office for three years. The SDP chose to highlight its objections to some controversial government policies such as the sharp increase of ministers' salaries, the cost of healthcare, university education, transport and the GST. Most significantly, the SDP engineered an agreement with the other opposition parties to contest just under half the seats in Parliament, thus creating a "by-election effect" (reassuring voters that there would not be a change in government and encouraging them to elect more opposition voices).Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 178
The election results saw SDP best performance for an opposition in post-independence Singapore since Barisan Sosialis with a combined vote share of 48.6%. All nine of the candidates put up extremely strong fights against the PAP during this election, with three candidates elected to the parliament (Leader Chiam, party Chairman Ling and Cheo of Potong Pasir SMC, Bukit Gombak SMC and Nee Soon Central SMC, respectively); While Ling and Cheo were elected in tight margins, Chiam's 69.6% was both himself and any opposition's best performance hitherto.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 179 Along with Worker's Party assistant secretary-general Low Thia Khiang elected in Hougang, the opposition won a combined four parliament seats, then the largest representation since 1963. At the time, the result was viewed as being a notable setback to the ruling party and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.Mutalib, Parties and Politics, pp. 149
1992–2000: Changes in leadership and setbacks In 1992, Chiam recruited Chee Soon Juan, a psychology lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS), to be an SDP candidate for a by-election in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency. Although the SDP was unsuccessful in the by-election (the PAP won 72.9% of the votes, the SDP 24.5%, and other smaller parties 2.6%), the recruitment of Chee as a candidate generated considerable public interest. However differences between Chiam, Chee and the rest of the party's Central Executive Committee were soon to emerge. Chee subsequently became the assistant secretary-general of the SDP and Chiam's protégé. In 1993, internal conflicts within the party came to a head. Tensions had been brewing between Chiam and other members of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) since before Chee joined the party. These disputes, which included disagreements over leadership style and party direction, were exacerbated by Chiam's attempt to censure Chee following a hunger strike. When the CEC did not support this censure, Chiam resigned from his position as Secretary-General. Despite Chiam's resignation, the CEC made efforts to persuade him to return. Chiam, however, demanded conditions deemed undemocratic by the CEC, such as sole power to appoint and dismiss CEC and cadre members, and the removal of Vice-Chairman Wong Hong Toy. These demands were against the party's democratic principles and constitution, leading to an impasse. Chiam later criticized the CEC publicly, prompting a disciplinary hearing. Although the CEC initially did not intend to expel him, the decision was made after a lengthy debate, with 11 out of 13 members voting for expulsion. The CEC continued attempts at reconciliation even after the decision was made, but these were unsuccessful.
Following these events, supporters of Chiam left the SDP and formed the Singapore People's Party (SPP) in 1994, with Sin as its pro-tem leader. Chiam left SDP in December 1996 and joined the SPP ahead of the 1997 general election, becoming its leader and continuing his political career under a new banner.
This period marked a significant turning point for the SDP, highlighting both the challenges of internal party dynamics and the commitment to maintaining democratic principles within the party structure.
After being placed as the acting SDP leader in 1993, Chee began expressing his views on the lack of democracy in Singapore to the media. He published his second political book, Dare To Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore, in 1996. This view had since led to the attention of the PAP's Organizing Secretary Matthias Yao; ahead of the 1997 elections, Chee publicly issue a challenge to stand against Yao (who he accepted) in his constituency of MacPherson.
At the 1997 general election, the SDP suffered significant electoral setbacks with SDP failing to win a single seat since 1984, including incumbents Cheo and Ling, as well as Chee. Their party's vote also dropped from 48.6% down to 33.1%. However, fellow opposition parties enjoyed same success as the previous election with Chiam retaining his Potong Pasir seat, as a SPP candidate and WP's Low in his Hougang ward.
In 1999, Chee came to national attention when he gave a public speech in the financial district despite being denied a permit to speak publicly.
2001–2010: Further setbacks During the campaigning, Chee's meeting with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong sparked public's imagination during one of Goh's rallies where he, along with his followers, raised their fists and chanted slogans. Later, from his campaign vehicle, Chee used a megaphone to ask Goh: "Where is the S$18 billion that you have lent to (Indonesian President) Suharto?" PAP shortly demanded Chee to apologise for claiming a false accusation or face a defamation lawsuit. Despite apologising to PAP a day later due to the party's pressure, SDP further criticise the PAP's economic policies and urged for the minimum wage of S$5 per hour for the rest of the 2001 campaign. The SDP's economic alternatives were dismissed by the PAP which claimed that the SDP policies would lead Singapore to bankruptcy and inflation.