SDP chief Chee Soon Juan says he did well at Sembawang West in GE2025 because Singaporeans recognize authenticity

SINGAPORE: During a recent interview, when Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan was asked why he thinks he got more votes in last year’s election than at any other time he had contested, he chalked it up to people recognising his authenticity.

Last year, Bukit Batok, the constituency where Dr Chee had stood for election into Parliament in 2016 and 2020, was merged with other wards, and Jurong East–Bukit Batok GRC was created. 

Dr Chee, who had announced his intention to contest at Bukit Batok again in February 2025, became a candidate instead at Sembawang West SMC, where he faced off against the People’s Action Party’s Poh Li San.

When the SDP chief was a guest on the Teh Tarik With Walid podcast last month, Dr Walid J Abdullah pointed out that Dr Chee had won nearly 47% of the vote after his constituency “mysteriously disappeared,” and asked why he thought this happened.

Though Dr Chee initially answered that it would be a question better put to the residents, he quickly added, “I like to think of it as that authenticity which you bring to the political scene. And it’s not just this flash-in-the-pan, fly-by-night kind of situation. You remain true to your principles, you remain true to the people, stay loyal to what… you’ve advocated for society, and you walk the talk. You live the life.”

He added that he has “detested” all his life the kind of political talk that is performative rather than being substantive. 

“And I guess, at least I hope, that that has come through not just in the past years but through the decades. I’ve taken my share of the knocks and lumps,” he added, but has continued to stay true and has told people that he’s still standing.

Dr Walid then noted that Dr Chee has a “national reputation” and asked whether he thinks he could “move from the west to the north” and people would still take to him.

“I think that there’s this part of it that I’ve been around long enough that whether people in Bukit Batok or Sembawang West, they’ve come to see me, what I’ve been doing, and what I’ve advocated. And as I said, to remain true to them and what they’re going through and continue through your highs and lows, to continue being there as an advocate for them.”

Dr Chee posted a brief clip of the interview on social media on June 8. The full episode of Dr Chee on Teh Tarik With Walid may be viewed here. /TISG

Read also: A dream deferred: Dr Chee Soon Juan falls short in Sembawang West SMC