Democratic Party (Singapore)

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Singapore Democratic Party.
Democratic Party
Chinese name民主党
Malay nameParti Demokratik
FounderTan Eng Joo
Founded11 February 1955; 70 years ago (1955-02-11)
Dissolved5 February 1956; 69 years ago (1956-02-05)
Merged intoLiberal Socialist Party
Succeeded byLiberal Socialist Party
IdeologyLiberalism
ColoursBrown

The Democratic Party (abbreviation: DP; Chinese: 民主党) was a short-lived political party in Singapore that operated from 1955 to 1956, it was started by various wealthy businessmen, many of whom were leaders of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.[1][2]

History

DP was led by Tan Eng Joo,[3][1] the nephew of tycoon Tan Lark Sye.[4] Tan was recognised for driving the rubber trade, and was the founder of the International Rubber Association.[5][6] Due to its financial backing, DP was often labelled as the "party of millionaires" and the "Chamber Party".[7] In its manifesto, DP had called for the enactment of a multilingual legislature, promotion of free trade and investment, provision of equal grants for schools of all races, and setting up of low cost housing schemes.[8]

DP was one of the largest political parties in Singapore, and had send 20 candidates to contest the 25 seats in the 1955 general election, versus 22 candidates by the Progressive Party (PP) and 17 candidates by the Labour Front (LF). However, it wasn't successful to form the government, the LF became the ruling party following the general election.

On 5 February 1956, DP and PP merged to form the Liberal Socialist Party (LSP), to contest the 1959 general election. However, it also wasn't successful to form the government, the People's Action Party (PAP) became the ruling party following the general election.[9] The LSP was wound up a few years later.[10]

Election results

Legislative Assembly

Election Leader Votes % Swing Seats1 Position Result
Up for
Contest 		Contested Total +/–
Seats Won Lost
1955 Tan Eng Joo 32,115 20.54% — 25 20 2 18
2 / 25
 Increase2 Increase 3rd Opposition
  1. ^ 25 of the 32 seats are directly-elected.

Seats Contested

Election Constituencies contested Contested Vote %[11] Swing
1955 Bukit Timah, Cairnhill, Changi, Geylang, Kampong Kapor, Katong, Pasir Panjang, Paya Lebar, Punggol-Tampines, Queenstown, Rochore, Seletar, Serangoon, Stamford, Tanglin, Tanjong Pagar, Telok Ayer, Tiong Bahru, Ulu Bedok, Whampoa 24.8% —

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-9971-69-365-7
    .
  2. ^ Kwok, J (1 November 2011). "Ex-SCCCI president Tan Eng Joo dies". The Straits Times. p. 18.
  3. ^ "The record of the candidates". The Straits Times. 21 March 1955. p. 2.
  4. ^ Ong, Isabel. "Tan Eng Joo". Infopedia, National Library Board.
  5. ISBN 9812101047
    .
  6. ^ "Rubber Trade Association of Singapore Overview".
  7. ^ Barnett, Doak (11 July 1955). Three growing forces among Singapore Chinese: Political parties, students and workers (PDF). Institute of Current World Affairs (Report). American Universities Field Staff.
  8. ^ "The Party Manifestoes". The Straits Times. 2 April 1955.
  9. ^ "Democratic Party". Singapore-elections.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  10. ^ Chia, Joshua YJ. "Singapore Progressive Party". Infopedia, National Library Board.
  11. ^ "Legislative Assembly General Election 1955 Votes".
Singapore

This article about a Singaporean political party is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democratic_Party_(Singapore)&oldid=1285178107"