Holland–Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency
| Holland–Bukit Timah | |
|---|---|
| Group Representation constituency for the Parliament of Singapore | |
 | |
| Region | Central, North and West Regions, Singapore |
| Electorate | 123,225 |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2006 |
| Seats | 4 |
| Party | People's Action Party |
| Members | Sim Ann Vivian Balakrishnan Christopher de Souza Edward Chia |
| Town Council | Holland–Bukit Panjang |
| Created from | |
The Holland–Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency is a four-member group representation constituency (GRC) located in central, western and northern Singapore. It has four divisions: Bukit Timah, Cashew, Ulu Pandan and Zhenghua, managed by Holland–Bukit Panjang Town Council. The current Members of Parliament (MPs) for the constituency are Edward Chia, Christopher de Souza, Sim Ann and Vivian Balakrishnan from the governing People's Action Party (PAP).
History
[edit]2006: Creation and walkover
[edit]Prior to the 2006 general election, the five-member Holland–Bukit Panjang GRC was abolished. Its Bukit Panjang division was carved out as Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency (SMC); the rest of the GRC was merged with Bukit Timah SMC to form the five-member Holland–Bukit Timah GRC.[1] The PAP won unopposed.[2]
2011: Downsizing and first contest (by SDP)
[edit]During the 2011 general election, Holland–Bukit Timah GRC lost a seat in Parliament to become a four-member GRC. The PAP defeated the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) with 60.08% of the vote.[2][3]
2015: Entry of Chee Soon Juan
[edit]During the 2015 general election, Chee Soon Juan, the secretary-general of the SDP, led the party's team for Holland–Bukit Timah GRC, in his first political candidacy since the 2001 general election. He had been excluded from the 2006 and 2011 general elections after becoming bankrupt due to defamation lawsuits by the leadership of the PAP, as well as imprisonment for civil disobedience.[4] The PAP defeated the SDP with 66.6% of the vote.[2][4][5]
2020: Redeployment of Liang Eng Hwa
[edit]During the 2020 general election, Teo Ho Pin, the incumbent MP for Bukit Panjang SMC, retired from politics. Liang Eng Hwa, the incumbent MP for the Zhenghua division of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC, was redeployed to retain the SMC for the PAP;[6] he was replaced by Edward Chia, a political newcomer.[2][7] The PAP defeated the SDP with 66.36% of the vote.[2][5][7]
2025: Exit of SDP
[edit]During the 2025 general election, Holland–Bukit Timah GRC absorbed a polling district from the defunct Jurong GRC;[5] at the same election, the SDP exited Holland–Bukit Timah GRC in favour of Red Dot United (RDU), another opposition party. The PAP defeated RDU with 79.25% of the vote, the best performance for the former in the GRC since its creation.[2][8]
Constituency profile
[edit]A large portion of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC is made up of greenery and nature reserves, namely the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, the Rifle Range Nature Park, the Central Water Catchment and the preserved Bukit Timah railway station as part of the Rail Corridor. The parks of Mandai Wildlife Reserve are also located in the constituency.
Holland–Bukit Timah GRC is known as one of the wealthiest constituencies in Singapore, due to an above-average rate of multimillion-dollar private housing,[a] predominantly owned by the wealthiest residents of the country. As such, it has been nicknamed the "rich man's ward" or "rich man's GRC".[5][9][10] However, HDB estates,[b] concentrated in Bukit Panjang (excluding the SMC) and Ghim Moh, are more middle-income.[9][10]
Members of Parliament
[edit]| Year | Division | Members of Parliament | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formation | ||||
| 2006 |
|
PAP | ||
| 2011 |
|
|||
| 2015 | ||||
| 2020 | ||||
| 2025 | ||||
Electoral results
[edit]Note: The Elections Department does not include rejected votes when calculating the vote shares of candidates. Hence, all candidates' vote shares will total to 100% at any given election (may not appear so in multi-way contests due to rounding).
Elections in 2000s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Lim Swee Say Yu-Foo Yee Shoon Vivian Balakrishnan Liang Eng Hwa Christopher de Souza |
Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 118,092 | ||||
| PAP win (new seat) | |||||
Elections in 2010s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Vivian Balakrishnan Sim Ann Liang Eng Hwa Christopher de Souza |
48,773 | 60.08 | N/A | |
| SDP | Tan Jee Say Ang Yong Guan Vincent Wijeysingha Michelle Lee |
32,406 | 39.92 | N/A | |
| Majority | 16,367 | 20.16 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 82,899 | 90.5% | N/A | ||
| PAP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Vivian Balakrishnan Sim Ann Liang Eng Hwa Christopher de Souza |
62,786 | 66.60 |  6.50
| |
| SDP | Chee Soon Juan Paul Tambyah Sidek Mallek Chong Wai Fung |
31,494 | 33.40 |  6.50
| |
| Majority | 31,292 | 33.20 | 13.04
| ||
| Rejected ballots | 1,506 | 1.6 | |||
| Turnout | 95,786 | 91.7 | − | ||
| PAP hold | Swing | 6.50
|
|||
Elections in 2020s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Vivian Balakrishnan Sim Ann Christopher de Souza Edward Chia |
71,218 | 66.36 | 0.24
| |
| SDP | Tan Jee Say James Gomez Min Cheong Alfred Tan |
36,100 | 33.64 | 0.24
| |
| Majority | 35,118 | 32.72 | |||
| Total valid votes | 107,318 | 99.09 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 1,999 | 0.91 | |||
| Turnout | 109,317 | 95.08 | 3.67
| ||
| Registered electors | 114,973 | ||||
| PAP hold | Swing | 0.24
|
|||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAP | Vivian Balakrishnan Sim Ann Christopher de Souza Edward Chia |
86,936 | 79.25 | 12.89
| |
| RDU | Fazli Talip Sharad Kumar Emily Woo Nizar Subair |
22,762 | 20.75 | N/A | |
| Majority | 64,174 | 58.50 | 25.78
| ||
| Total valid votes | 109,698 | 97.60 | 1.49
| ||
| Rejected ballots | 2,694 | 2.40 | 1.49
| ||
| Turnout | 112,392 | 91.21 | 3.87
| ||
| Registered electors | 123,225 | 7.18
| |||
| PAP hold | Swing | 12.89
|
|||
Notes
[edit]- ^ As of 2025, 31.9% of the constituency's population lived in condominiums and 14.1% lived in landed property. The total of 46% living in private housing is more than double the national average of under 20%.[5]
- ^ Estates in Singapore comprising public apartments, or flats, built by the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
References
[edit]- ^ "A woman for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC". Today. 20 March 2006 – via NewspaperSG (only viewable at NLB multimedia stations).
- ^ a b c d e f Christine Tan; Lee Li Ying (3 May 2025). "GE2025: PAP retains Holland-Bukit Timah with 79.29% of votes against new opponent RDU". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 September 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "ELD | 2011 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ a b "GE2015: PAP retains Holland-Bukit Timah GRC with 66.6 per cent of votes". The Straits Times. 12 September 2015. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 26 September 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "GE2025: All you need to know about your constituency". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
Led by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, the four-member GRC is often referred to as the "rich man's ward" as it covers exclusive landed housing districts and high-end condominiums in central Singapore.
...
About 45 per cent of the GRC's residents live in private housing – more than double the national average of less than 20 per cent.
In GE2025, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC will welcome a polling district east of Upper Bukit Timah Road, previously part of Jurong GRC
The 2015 contest for this GRC marked the return of SDP chief Chee Soon Juan, who ran in his first election since 2001.
Past results
GE2015
PAP 66.6%
SDP 33.4%
GE2020
PAP 66.36%
SDP 33.64%
...
Constituency profile
ST estimated demographic profiles for each constituency using data from the Singapore Department of Statistics. Click here for the full methodology.
Dwelling type
1- and 2-room HDB 4.4%
3-room HDB 9.8%
4-room HDB 21.3%
5-room executive HDB 18.0%
Landed property 14.1%
Condominium 31.9%
Others 0.5%
... - ^ "GE2020 official results: PAP retains Bukit Panjang SMC with 53.74% of votes". The Straits Times. 11 July 2020. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 28 June 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ a b "GE2020 official results: PAP retains Holland-Bukit Timah GRC with 66.36%, SDP gets 33.64%". The Straits Times. 11 July 2020. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 13 March 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ "ELD | 2025 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ a b Ying, Lee Li (8 April 2025). "GE2025: SDP uncertain about fielding team in Holland-Bukit Timah, search for candidates ongoing". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 15 May 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Battleground Holland–Bukit Timah: fight in "rich man's GRC" heats up" (PDF). lkyspp.nus.edu.sg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ "Statement of Poll for the Electoral Division of Holland Bukit-Timah" (PDF). 16 July 2020.
- ^ "Statement of Poll for the Electoral Division of Holland-Bukit Timah" (PDF). 16 May 2025.
