Every general election, Singaporeans are confronted with a quirk of living in Singapore: The realisation that the geographical estate they are in does not correspond with the constituency they fall under.
One of the glaring examples is the late Lee Kuan Yew's residence at 38 Oxley Road.
While the dwelling is right smack in the heart of the Orchard Road shopping district, it is classified under Tanjong Pagar GRC.
Singaporeans who live in Braddell can also attest to the oddity of finding themselves under Marine Parade GRC, while those residing at Bedok Reservoir area are part of Aljunied GRC.
Such is life.
Residents changed constituencies without moving house
Addressing this quirk is Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh.
He took to Facebook at midnight on March 14 to give an update on the buzz on the ground with news that the general election is coming, as he did his usual rounds visiting residents.
And instead of lamenting the counter-intuitive nature of electoral boundaries, Pritam said the WP will constantly walk with Singaporeans and remain close to the ground.
This is Pritam's post in full:
The release of the Electoral Boundary Committee’s report has generated buzz on the ground and understandably so, with some residents commenting how they have moved constituencies without moving homes for reasons they do not comprehend, but can “fully understand”! Like Singapore internationally, the Workers’ Party takes the world for what it is and not what we wish it to be. And that’s why walking the ground, meeting residents and visitors or checking on the living environment in Aljunied GRC is a constant that does not change.
Boundaries may change any time, but the men and women in blue will always walk with Singaporeans.
Workers' Party highlighted how some SMCs have disappeared
Earlier in the day, WP issued an official party statement in response to the EBRC report’s release.
WP noted that the committee failed to disclose how it came to its decisions yet again, as well as highlighting that single-member constituencies the party had been active in were wiped off the map.
These areas include Sengkang West, Fengshan and Punggol East SMCs
You can read WP's response here:
Background
The reason for this apparent incongruity in housing estate and constituency is due to how the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee sets up the electoral boundaries.
The least that can be said about what the committee does is that it considers population growth and shifts due to housing development for each election.
The committee released its latest report on March 13, 2020, signalling that the next election in Singapore is near.