Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency composed of several city

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

s surrounding the Central Area of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. There are four wards in the GRC: Kreta Ayer- Kim Seng, Kolam Ayer, Whampoa and lastly

Kampong Glam Kampong Glam ( Malay: Kampung Gelam; Jawi: کامڤوڠ ڬلم ; ; Tamil: கம்போங் கிளாம்) is a neighbourhood and ethnic enclave in Singapore. It is located north of the Singapore River, in the planning area of ...

. The current Members of Parliament are

Josephine Teo Josephine Teo Li Min (née Yong; zh, s=杨莉明, t=楊莉明, poj=Iôⁿ Lī-bêng, p=Yáng Lìmíng; born 1968) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of the Cyb ...

, Heng Chee How, Denise Phua and

Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah Wan Rizal bin Wan Zakariah (born 1978) is a Singaporean politician and sport science lecturer. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kolam Ayer division of Jalan Be ...

from the

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

(PAP).

History

It is named after Jalan Besar, a street in Singapore that forms this GRC's centrepiece. The street itself is within the

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the ...

planning area, Kallang itself being part of this GRC. The GRC encompasses several heritage areas, including Little India, Desker Road, Kolam Ayer and Crawford in the North. Kreta Ayer- Kim Seng itself includes the

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, althou ...

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

and Bukit Ho Swee. During 1988 general election, the three-member PAP team led by Lee Boon Yang won the election with 62.68% of the votes against the WP with 37.32% of the votes. Jalan Besar GRC has been contested by the opposition at every election, except

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. During 1997 general election, the four-member PAP team led by Lee Boon Yang won the election with 67.55% of the votes against the WP with 32.45% of the votes. During 2001 general election, the five-member PAP team led by Lee Boon Yang won the election with 74.49% of the votes against the SDA led by

Desmond Lim Desmond Lim Bak Chuan ( zh, s=林睦荃, p=Lín Mùquán; born 1967) is a Singaporean politician. He was formerly the president of the opposition Singapore Justice Party (SJP), which joined forces with three other opposition parties ( SPP, NS ...

with 25.51% of the votes. During 2006 general election, the five-member PAP team led by Lee Boon Yang won the election with 69.26% of the votes against the SDA with 30.74% of the votes. Jalan Besar GRC was dissolved ahead of the 2011 elections and along with Moulmein from

Tanjong Pagar GRC The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central and Western Singapore. The five divisions consists: Buona Vista, Queenstown, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Tanjong Pagar- Tiong Bahr ...

to form Moulmein–Kallang Group Representation Constituency while a majority of the Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng and Whampoa were redrawn into Tanjong Pagar GRC and as a SMC, respectively. However, its GRC were again reformed one parliamentary term later in 2015 Singaporean general election, where changes made from a majority of the GRC were reversed, while the Jalan Besar division was dissolved into other wards. In 2015 Singaporean general election, the four-member PAP team led by

Lily Neo Lily Neo (née Tirtasana; ; born 12 August 1953) is a Singaporean medical practitioner and former politician. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she was a Member of Parliament (MP) between 1997 and 2020. Early life an ...

won the election with 67.75% of the votes while WP got 32.25% of the votes. In 2020 general election, the four-member PAP team led by

won the election with 65.36% of the votes while the Peoples Voice led by Lim Tean obtained 34.64% of the votes.

Town Council

Jalan Besar GRC is managed by the Jalan Besar Town Council.

Members of Parliament

Choo resigned before being charged and convicted in 1999 for cheating offences. However, no by-election was called on the ground since it was a Group Representation Constituency, and the workload for the Whampoa ward was distributed among the rest of the team.

Electoral results

Elections in 1980s

Elections in 1990s

Elections in 2000s

Elections in 2010s

Elections in 2020s

References

{{Constituencies of Singapore 2015 establishments in Singapore Singaporean electoral divisions Bukit Merah Downtown Core (Singapore) Kallang Marina South Novena, Singapore Outram, Singapore Rochor Singapore River Straits View