SINGAPORE — Responding to the opposition parties’ accusations of gerrymandering in the latest electoral boundaries review, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean today (July 25) pointed to the fact that the demarcations of opposition wards Aljunied, Hougang and Punggol East were largely intact, and noted that the incumbent Members of Parliament were most affected when boundaries shift.

In that regard, he and his fellow Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MPs have had to regularly adjust to changing boundaries over the years. “The ones who were disrupted most are the incumbents MPs. And actually from that point of view, I would say the opposition wards have not been touched at all. That’s a great advantage to the (opposition) incumbents. Whereas for … my GRC, every election I’ve had to cope with new boundaries and that’s because my GRC has been growing at the fastest pace in Singapore,” said Mr Teo, who was speaking to reporters at the opening of three new childcare centres in Punggol West.

The electoral boundaries review committee released its report yesterday. Among other changes, Joo Chiat - which the People’s Action Party almost lost to the Workers’ Party in the 2011 General Election - and Moulmein-Kallang GRC were scrapped. Moulmein-Kallang GRC was seen as a shaky ground for the PAP, and some opposition figures have alleged that scrapping it was politically motivated.

Mr Teo added: “I suppose if you wanted to have more four-man GRCs, Aljunied could have become a four-man GRC but the (committee) didn’t touch it, whereas many other five-man GRCs were (downsized) to four-man GRCs. If you want to talk about fairness and these kinds of things, I think the playing field is level, if you do your work on the ground consistently.”

Since the 2011 General Election, the number of voters in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC - based on the previous boundaries - has grown to about 206,000. With the changes, about 20,000 voters who were part of the GRC are now under Ang Mo Kio GRC, Mr Teo noted.

Citing the three new preschool centres that were opened today for example, he added that he and his fellow MPs, including Dr Janil Puthucheary who looks after the Punggol West division, have been working very closely with new residents to ensure they settle in and have enough facilities.

Dr Puthucheary, who was also at the opening, said a lot of work has been put into helping new residents settle in and forging friendships through interests groups and clubs. “What we’re seeing over the last four years is those friendships and networks are forming and there’s a sense of neighbourhood and a sense of place,” he said.