SINGAPORE — Losing the S$14,500 deposit in the Punggol East by-election appeared the least of Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam’s concerns. Instead, he felt that it was “a small price to pay for democracy”.

Mr Jeyaretnam, 53, secured only 353 votes, or about 1.2 per cent of the vote cast.

Speaking to reporters after the results were announced last night, Mr Jeyaretnam said that, irrespective of the result, his party “has taken the first step in mending the broken promise of all, which is the promise to build a democratic society”.

“Our attack on the People’s Action Party (PAP) clearly resonated and resulted in many people voting tactically,” he said.

“We don’t care if we have lost our deposit tonight, it’s a small price to pay for democracy. We don’t care how many deposits we lose if we achieve that goal,” Mr Jeyaretnam added.

Mr Jeyaretnam, who campaigned on the slogan of “No more broken promises”, believes that the debate on national issues will continue even after the excitement of the by-election dies down.

During the nine-day campaign, Mr Jeyaretnam took aim at the PAP, accusing the ruling party of creating a Third World economy and a Third World democracy.

Mr Jeyaretnam also attacked the Workers’ Party for being “blindly obedient” in Parliament.

The politician also lodged police reports last week after email threats were made against his London-based wife and teenage son. They were made after the politician joined the race in the Punggol East by-election. A 23-year-old man has since been arrested by the police.

Asked what would be the greatest and most significant take-away for his party, Mr Jeyaretnam reiterated that the party — formed in 2008 — does not care how much it loses “in the struggle for democracy”.

“We won’t stop until we achieve that goal,” he added. At the 2011 General Election, Mr Jeyaretnam led a team to contest the West Coast Group Representative Constituency and lost to the PAP.

Mr Jeyaretnam, however, would not confirm if he would be standing in Punggol East in the next elections. “But we will certainly be here to stay,” he added. Asked if the number of votes secured was a concern, Mr Jeyaretnam said it was not. “We played a major role in attacking the PAP, and they should be much more concerned.”