A parliamentary by-election was held in the Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC) in Singapore on 26 May 2012. It was held to replace the vacant seat after incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Yaw Shin Leong was expelled from the Workers' Party (WP) following revelations of his extramarital affairs. This marked the first by-election in almost two decades since 1992 at the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC), and the first by-election of the 21st century.
On nomination day, the WP fielded former East Coast GRC candidate Png Eng Huat in hopes to retain their party's safe seat which had been held since 1991. The PAP fielded Desmond Choo, who is running again for that same seat as he did so in the 2011 election.
On polling day, WP Png's won the by-election with a score of 62.08% to retain Hougang SMC, and was sworn in to the Parliament on 9 July.
Background
On 20 January 2012, Temasek Review Emeritus published a report containing speculation and rumours that Yaw Shin Leong, then-MP for Hougang SMC and the party's treasurer, had an alleged extramarital affair with a fellow party member. This led to WP launching an investigation and attempted to contact Yaw for clarification, but Yaw did not respond as he was uncontactable. On 7 February, Yaw resigned from his post from the party's Central Executive Committee. Yaw's actions, coupled with absences in regular CEC meetings and during the Meet-the-People Sessions, raised further suspicions from the CEC. Tabloids later revealed reports that Yaw had also been involved with five different women, including a tuition teacher from China, and Nee Soon GRC WP candidate Angela Oon, now a member of the Progress Singapore Party. Yaw was briefly present during the Chinese New Year dinner for Hougang SMC before becoming uncontactable again.
A week after Yaw's resignation from the CEC, WP held a press conference to formally announce his expulsion, then apologized to the Hougang voters for the inconvenience caused and allow this by-election to occur. Party chairwoman Sylvia Lim told on media that Yaw had been accused on several indiscretions in his personal life and failed to account for his actions to the party despite repeated reminders. Party chief Low Thia Khiang, also the preceding MP for Hougang, told in Chinese that the party have condemned Yaw's misconduct and the breach of the party directives, citing "irresponsible behaviour". Low added that the expulsion should not undermine the public interest of both the electorate and the democracy itself. As a result of the expulsion, Yaw had the shortest tenure among the elected MPs in Singapore's history, lasting only nine months into the term. Within 30 minutes of 20:37, news reports detailed the mixed reactions among Hougang residents to Yaw's expulsion. Between the time of his removal and the by-election, WP announced that their Aljunied GRC team will act as interim MPs for Hougang.
The Clerk of the Parliament then gave Yaw a notice to appeal his expulsion until 24 February. Two days later, Yaw decided not to challenge the appeal, which confirmed his removal from the party and effectively vacated his seat from Hougang SMC. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong commented that there is no fixed time within which a by-election must be called, and PAP Chairman Khaw Boon Wan's quote that Hougang voters have been misled by the WP.
In the days following the announcement, dialogues between Low, former MP Ho Kah Leong and government press secretary Foo Kok Jwee, were mentioned in the letters columns of the Lianhe Zaobao and The Straits Times, generating mixed reactions of whether if WP had appropriately removed Yaw to preserve their party's integrity and democracy, and brought comparisons to the 1992 by-election, whether if the then four-member Marine Parade GRC team was intentional on doing so. Commentator Eugene Tan, assistant professor of law at the Singapore Management University School of Law, discussed how the Parliamentary Elections Act applied to the situation. Tan stated that although it was the President who issued the writ for election, it was the Prime Minister who advised on the matter, and that it was thus Lee who effectively controlled the election date. Tan argued that although the Constitution did not impose a timeframe within which a by-election had to be held, it was not the intent that this should allow elections to be postponed indefinitely. The fact that the Constitution is silent on exactly when by-elections should be called should not be taken as permission not to call them at all. "In short," he wrote, "the 'default' position should be that a by-election should be automatic, although there is no hard and fast rule on the timing." Tan also opined that WP should field as its candidate in the by-election someone not already in Parliament, rather than a Non-constituency MP. Tan argued that this state of affairs should not continue for the projected remaining term of the current Parliament of four and a half years. "[...] the cardinal principle of representation is crucial: A stand-in MP is not the same as an MP for whom the majority had voted. Not calling a by-election would undermine the importance of representation in our maturing parliamentary democracy", he wrote. Similarly, Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party Chee Soon Juan stated that it was his party's "primary concern that Hougang remains in the hands of the opposition", declaring that it would therefore not field a candidate that would split the vote.
Three months later on 19 May, in the midst of the campaigning of the by-election, Yaw issued an apology to the Hougang electorate for the actions and sought privacy, and endorsed Png. Yaw and his wife Lau Wang Lin had since resided in overseas after his expulsion, beginning in Myanmar and then Beijing, China. Yaw died 11 years later on 10 November 2023.
Confirmation of by-election On 9 May 2012, President Tony Tan issued a writ of election for the electoral division of Hougang. Nominations were held on 16 May at Serangoon Junior College, and polling took place on 26 May.
Hougang SMC
As of 9 May 2012, there were 23,368 registered voters, of which 43 were registered as overseas voters. They accounted for 51% of the total resident population of Hougang SMC. Approximately 80% of the resident population lived in public housing, and around 83% of the voters were Chinese. Hougang have nine polling stations across the constituency, and ballot boxes were sent to either one of the two counting centers, namely Serangoon Junior College and Holy Innocents' Primary School.
Candidates On 10 May 2012, each party announced their following candidates: Candidates Party Background Desmond Choo People's Action Party A member of the PAP, Choo, the nephew of former MP Choo Wee Khiang, was both an unionist and a civil servant, and was currently the branch secretary of Hougang. Choo earlier debuted in the last year's election, also contesting in Hougang. Png Eng Huat Workers' Party A member of the WP, Png was a company director in an independent business company. Png earlier debuted in the last year's election, and he was part of the five-member WP team of East Coast GRC that narrowly lost to the PAP in said GRC, the narrowest winning margin by PAP among all GRCs in that election.
Two men had applied for political donation certificates but were not nominated as candidates: Candidates Background Zeng Guoyuan Zeng was a retired acupuncturist and former WP candidate. While Zeng had collected his certificate, he however withdraw from the nomination after being concerned that his prior conviction in 2008 (involving him scolding two police officers, and shifted his blame on his parrot) would render him ineligible. The Elections Department later confirmed that Zeng did not file his nomination papers. Poh Lee Guan Poh was a WP candidate who debut in the 2001 election contesting in the now-defunct Nee Soon East SMC and the Nee Soon GRC in the last election. Poh did collect his certificates but had breached their party directives as he did not consult the CEC prior on doing so. Poh was later condemned by the CEC two months after the by-election, resulting in his expulsion from the party.
Campaigning Summary of election rallies On Nomination Day, 16 May, the Singapore Police Force issued a list of sites available for rallies ("electoral meetings"). They could be held from 16 May to 24 May between 7am to 10pm. It was also announced that the Speakers' Corner would not serve as an "unrestricted area" during the campaigning period. All rallies below were held between 7pm to 10pm.
Party 19 May 20 May 22 May 24 May PAP Hougang Stadium Hougang Stadium WPHougang Stadium Hougang StadiumField near Block 837 in Hougang Central
PAP plans In the morning of Nomination Day, he visited several coffee shops before heading to the bus interchange to greet residents leaving for work. Choo updated his social media and ran a campaign plan to keep the 'democracy and providing alternative voices' separate from the purpose of the by-election. Choo said to ask voters to vote for him because the democracy level is already good enough due to the WP's current representation. He mentioned that he would champion the residents by creating a brighter future, advocating on creating more pre-schools and family-friendly places, and improving job conditions for low and middle-income workers, as an "independent". He paid many house visits during the election and revealed his manifesto and campaign slogan, "Always Here For You", to them to assure the wishes of voting for him to the "best interest".
Choo ran his own campaign without the presence of the PAP MPs despite being supported by them, and on behalf of the younger electorate for a change. Prime Minister Lee told that the slate in the Parliament would not change but assured voters to "think carefully"; these claims were rebuked by Low, telling that it is not an option for democracy and concerning that if WP lost Hougang, the ward may be dissolved in the next election akin to gerrymandering.
WP plans Png led his campaign by calling Hougang a 'bastion of unwavering courage' and asked to affirm the faith of continuing support for WP even after the by-election. He planned for advocacy in transport, education and wage issues, should he be elected. In the same interview, Low apologized to the residents for the cause of the by-election, but said he would also do his best to support Png for the by-election, adding that the saga has been cast aside. Png revealed that his job experience as businessman, and his daughter was about to take PSLE later this year, were inspired by his desire to support education causes and related matters. Png also announced plans to improve the Hougang town, despite not releasing his own manifesto or campaign slogan, but maintained their 2011 slogan "Towards a First World Parliament".
When questioned by the media on Poh Lee Guan's attempt to contest the by-election, WP addressed that the topic should be mentioned after the by-election concluded. Png also said that he has not been in contact with Poh since, and said he should focus more on campaigning rather than settling other matters that would distract him. Low said that he has not been made aware about Poh's intention to contest the by-election as he did not inform the party on doing so. WP issued a media statement prior to nomination day confirming about Poh not informing the party on his contest, and had his biodata removed from the WP's website.