July 1965 Legislative Assembly By-election

A by-election was held on 10 July 1965 to fill the Legislative Assembly seat for the Hong Lim constituency. It was called after Ong Eng Guan of the United People’s Party resigned from his seat on 16 June.^[1] Nomination day was held on 30 June. The by-election was a straight fight between Lee Khoon Choy of the People’s Action Party (PAP) and Ong Chang Sam of the Barisan Sosialis (BS).^[2]

As the by-election was held just one month before Singapore’s separation from the Federation of Malaysia, the main focus of the campaign was on the future of Singapore in Malaysia. PAP’s manifesto for the election was to garner the people’s support for the realisation of a “Malaysian Malaysia”.^[3] This was countered by the BS, which claimed that the “Malaysian Malaysia” vision was to help the PAP in its fight against the federal government, and would result in more communal clashes.^[4] The accusation was rebuffed by the PAP. The party in turn attacked the BS for its “Crush Malaysia” slogan, which was also the aim of the on-going anti-Malaysia Confrontation policy initiated by Indonesia.^[5]

The PAP enjoyed a solid victory in this by-election after Lee successfully defeated his opponent by 2,052 votes and captured 6,398 votes or 59.5 percent of valid votes. With this victory, the PAP increased its presence in the Legislative Assembly to 38 seats. The remaining 13 seats were held by the BS. Lee Kuan Yew, then Prime Minister of Singapore, called the victory a clear endorsement from the people of Singapore for a “Malaysian Malaysia”.^[6]

References
1. Mr. Ong quits the Assembly. (1965, June 17). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Hong Lim polls: It’s Barisan’s Ong vs PAP’s Lee. (1965, July 1). The Straits Times, p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Malaysian Malaysia issue for Hong Lim by-election. (1965, June 18). The Straits Times, p. 7. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Dr. Lee hits out at the PAP in TV talk. (1965, July 8). The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Barisan slogan is also Soek’s battle-cry. (1965, July 2). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. Sam, J., Yeo, T. J., & Khoo, P. (1965, July 11). PAP take Hong Lim with 2,000 majority. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Ministry of Culture. (1965). Facts and Figures on Singapore, 1965 (p. 9). Singapore: Ministry of Culture. Call no.: RCLOS 959.57 SMCFFS.