Chee Soon Juan and his wife, Mei, went to Bukit Batok SMC to thank residents after his electoral defeat.

Chee's GE2020 electoral performance is his best result since he burst onto the scene in 1992.

The 57-year-old received 45.2 per cent of votes against his PAP Murali Pillai.

Chee ran in the 2016 Bukit Batok by-election and won 38.8 per cent of the votes.

This represents a 6.4 per cent swing in Chee's favour.

Chee wrote in his Facebook post: "My dear Batokians, Mei and I want to thank you for taking us into your home and the amazing experience you gave us in the elections. I just wished I had better news to give you."

Chee also said the results hurt as he failed to win in the election again.

But he said he will continue on this journey: "I cannot say that the results did not hurt. It is painful. But in the spirit of the Singapore Democrats, we pick up the pieces and press on."

"The warm smiles that greeted me both melted my heart and, at the same time, steeled it."

"The road to democracy and freedom is a long one. Again, thank you for opening your door along the way and giving me sustenance. I walk on."