How did Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC come about?
Why is it so oddly-shaped, stretching from Marine Parade in the south to Lorong Chuan and Serangoon Central in the north, from Aljunied in the west to Chai Chee in the east?
What might this have had to do with one of its former Members of Parliament?
What is the nature of its curious relationship with MacPherson and Joo Chiat wards?
And what is it with the GRC and walkovers?
As it is election season in Singapore, here is a brief history of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC’s evolution.
Part I: A new ward for a rising star
Marine Parade was once a promenade south of East Coast Road, facing the sea.
Land reclamation began in 1966, and a housing estate of over 7,000 flats was constructed on reclaimed land between the 1972 and 1976 General Elections.
Accordingly, the estate was named Marine Parade.
Marine Parade Estate was part of the ward of Joo Chiat, a single seat - all wards were single-seat at the time.
However, because the estate saw significant population growth, the new ward of Marine Parade, with 19,528 voters, was carved out of Joo Chiat for the 1976 General Election.
In this map of electoral boundaries for 1976, take note of Marine Parade, Joo Chiat, Katong, and Mountbatten wards. They were all aptly named because they respectively covered Marine Parade Estate, Joo Chiat Road, and the areas of Katong and Mountbatten.
For Marine Parade, a new candidate, 35-year-old Goh Chok Tong, ran for the People’s Action Party against the United Front’s Mohamed Mansor bin Abdul Rahman. Goh won in a landslide, garnering 78.6% of valid votes.
In a previous blog post about the history of Aljunied GRC, I discussed the role of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC), responsible for the drawing of polling districts.
While the EBRC does its work taking into account population changes and shifts across constituencies, many boundary changes have been made without clear explanation.
Fast forward to the 1984 election.
The constituency of Katong disappeared, absorbed by both Joo Chiat and Mountbatten. A ward that had existed since 1951 disappeared forever.
Part II: The creation of Marine Parade GRC
For the 1988 election, the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system was implemented. My blog post on Aljunied GRC covers this too.
Marine Parade GRC formed from the amalgamation of Marine Parade, Joo Chiat, and Geylang Serai wards. By now, Marine Parade MP Goh Chok Tong was already Deputy Prime Minister, so he became the anchor minister for the GRC of 62,385 voters.
(Meanwhile, Mountbatten SMC grew in size because of land reclamation.)
Even though Joo Chiat was the geographical centre, the GRC was named Marine Parade, Goh’s ward. Perhaps to maintain the identity of a GRC helmed by the Deputy Prime Minister?
In 1988, the three-member Marine Parade GRC saw a straight fight between the PAP and the Singapore Justice Party. Goh’s team won with 73.8% of valid votes.
Part III: The new Prime Minister’s home turf
In 1990, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (below, right) stepped down; Goh (below, left) became the second Prime Minister of Singapore.
And this was when Marine Parade GRC began growing in size…
For the 1991 election, Marine Parade grew to a four-member GRC, absorbing MacPherson ward to the north.
In 1991, the four-member Marine Parade GRC, with 74,032 voters, saw another challenge from the Singapore Justice Party. Goh Chok Tong’s team won again, this time with 77.2% of valid votes.
The following year in 1992, Marine Parade GRC saw Singapore’s only by-election for a GRC, called deliberately by PM Goh to secure a stronger mandate after the disappointment of the 1991 election, which saw the PAP lose an unprecedented four single-seat wards (one of which was Hougang to the Workers’ Party, a seat they have never relinquished).
In the four-cornered fight, PM Goh’s team won solidly, getting 72.9% of valid votes.
Part IV: The seaside GRC heads inland
For the 1997 election, Marine Parade GRC received major surgery.
It took in not one, but four wards: Mountbatten SMC, Kampong Ubi ward from Aljunied GRC, Braddell Heights SMC, and part of Serangoon Gardens ward of Thomson GRC to form a new ward, Serangoon.
Meanwhile, MacPherson was carved out as an SMC after one election cycle, and Joo Chiat was shifted to East Coast GRC.
The result: A bloated six-member GRC comprising the wards of Marine Parade, Geylang Serai, Mountbatten, Kampong Ubi, Braddell Heights, and Serangoon. Its electorate doubled to 142,106.
Marine Parade GRC now stretched from Marine Parade by the sea to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, more than 9km inland!
Geylang Serai and Kampong Ubi were the geographical centre of the GRC, but its name remained Marine Parade, perhaps because the anchor minister was the MP for Marine Parade ward - and the Prime Minister.
Predictably, Marine Parade GRC was uncontested in 1997. After all, how does an opposition party effectively contest such a geographically huge GRC, helmed by the Prime Minister himself?
For the 1997 election, just 36 out of 83 seats were contested, and just 765,332 out of the eligible 1.8 million voters voted.
For the 2001 election, Marine Parade GRC saw minor changes.
Serangoon ward gained some polling districts from Teck Ghee ward of Ang Mo Kio GRC.
Kampong Ubi ward gained some polling districts from the reorganised Kampong Kembangan ward of Aljunied GRC.
Meanwhile, after just one election cycle, Joo Chiat ward was carved out of East Coast GRC to become an SMC again.
In 2001, Marine Parade GRC was uncontested again. This was Goh Chok Tong’s last election as Prime Minister. In 2005, Lee Hsien Loong (below, centre left), MP for Teck Ghee ward of Ang Mo Kio GRC, became Singapore’s third Prime Minister. Goh (below, centre right) became Senior Minister, and remained the anchor minister of Marine Parade GRC.
Part V: The curious case of Marine Parade, MacPherson, and Joo Chiat
For the 2006 election, Marine Parade GRC reached to the east.
Serangoon ward was handed to Aljunied GRC in return for Aljunied-Kembangan. The ward was merged with Kampong Ubi to form Kampong Ubi-Kembangan ward.
Meanwhile, Kaki Bukit ward came in from East Coast GRC.
For 2006, Marine Parade GRC had six wards: Marine Parade, Geylang Serai, Mountbatten, Kampong Ubi-Kembangan, Braddell Heights, and Kaki Bukit, with an electorate of 155,149.
For the third election in a row, the GRC enjoyed a walkover.
As a result of the walkover, four new MPs were easily ushered into Parliament - Seah Kian Peng for Braddell Heights, Lim Biow Chuan for Mountbatten, Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim for Kaki Bukit, and Fatimah Lateef for Geylang Serai. Of the four, Seah and Faishal are still MPs - for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
More changes were in store for the 2011 election.
After 14 years, Mountbatten ward was carved out to form an SMC again.
After just one election cycle, Kaki Bukit ward was shifted to Aljunied GRC.
Meanwhile, the GRC took in part of Kampong Chai Chee ward of East Coast GRC; this was joined to Kampong Ubi-Kembangan to get Kembangan-Chai Chee.
And for the second time in 20 years, Marine Parade GRC absorbed MacPherson SMC.
History repeats itself:
In 1991, MacPherson SMC was folded into Marine Parade GRC, allowing newcomer Matthias Yao (below) to be elected through the GRC.
In 2011, MacPherson was folded into Marine Parade GRC again, allowing Yao’s replacement Tin Pei Ling to be elected through the GRC.
So, for 2011, Marine Parade GRC had five wards: Marine Parade, Geylang Serai, Kembangan-Chai Chee, Braddell Heights, and MacPherson, with an electorate size of 154,451.
For that election, the National Solidarity Party - with electoral debutant Nicole Seah, 24 - challenged for Marine Parade GRC for the second time in 19 years. Thanks to NSP, Marine Parade GRC saw its first electoral contest in 19 years. However, SM Goh’s team won 56.6% of valid votes.
Deja vu for the 2015 election!
MacPherson ward was carved out to become an SMC for the second time in 18 years.
Meanwhile, Marine Parade GRC took in Joo Chiat SMC for the second time in 27 years.
Back in 2011, Joo Chiat SMC saw a very close fight: PAP’s Charles Chong narrowly defeated the Workers’ Party’s Yee Jenn Jong, 51% to 49% - a margin of just 388 votes.
Curiously, in 2015, Joo Chiat folded into the mighty Marine Parade GRC…
Yee’s reaction:
In 2015, the Workers’ Party challenged the PAP for the first time in Marine Parade GRC. Emeritus Senior Minister Goh, 74 years old by now, fended them off, winning 64.1% of valid votes.
For the 2020 election, a good part of Geylang Serai ward - which actually covers the Joo Seng and Bidadari areas, some distance from Geylang Serai - was transferred to Potong Pasir SMC.
Marine Parade GRC remained a five-member GRC, with the wards of Marine Parade, Geylang Serai, Kembangan-Chai Chee, Braddell Heights, and Joo Chiat, and an electorate of 139,622.
2020 was a watershed for the GRC, because Emeritus Senior Minister Goh retired from politics. For 44 years, he had helmed Marine Parade ward, overseeing its northward growth from a single ward to a six-member GRC, and then a five-member GRC. Replacing him in Marine Parade ward was newcomer Tan See Leng.
That election, the Workers’ Party made a second bid for the GRC, but lost again. The PAP won 57.7% of valid votes.
Part VI: Appending Braddell Heights
For this year’s election (2025), Marine Parade GRC was renamed Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC - a change in name for the first time since its formation in 1991. Twenty-eight years after it was added to Marine Parade GRC in 1997, the name Braddell Heights was finally appended to the GRC’s name.
The ward of Braddell Heights was originally created for the 1976 election, from parts of Paya Lebar, Serangoon Gardens, Thomson, and Upper Serangoon wards (below). It was named after Braddell Heights Estate, which predates the HDB estates of Lorong Lew Lian and Serangoon Central. Hence, today, even though the majority of Braddell Heights ward’s population comes from the HDB estates, its name is still taken from the older private estate.
For this election, the GRC took in polling districts from Potong Pasir SMC - these were handed to Potong Pasir in 2020! - and Mountbatten SMC.
Also, the GRC’s curious relationship with MacPherson and Joo Chiat wards continued.
The GRC absorbed MacPherson for the third time in 34 years, and Joo Chiat ward was transferred to East Coast GRC for the second time in 28 years!
This is what MacPherson ward has experienced over 34 years:
1991 - absorbed into Marine Parade GRC
1997 - carved out as an SMC
2011 - absorbed into Marine Parade GRC
2015 - carved out as an SMC
2025 - absorbed into Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC
This is what Joo Chiat ward has experienced over 37 years:
1988 - absorbed into Marine Parade GRC
1997 - transferred to East Coast GRC
2001 - carved out as an SMC
2015 - absorbed into Marine Parade GRC
2025 - transferred to East Coast GRC
While Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC was formed as Marine Parade GRC in 1988, some of its wards were added after that:
Marine Parade, Geylang Serai - added 1988
MacPherson - added 1991, 2011, and 2025
Braddell Heights - added 1997
Kembangan-Chai Chee - added as Kampong Ubi in 1997
Sadly, the Workers’ Party made the difficult decision not to contest Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC in 2025, resulting in a walkover - the first for the GRC (if one includes its history as Marine Parade GRC) since 2006, and its fourth in total. This was also the first walkover in a General Election since 2011.
But as history has shown, even if the GRC has enjoyed walkovers, that did not stop the GRC experiencing boundary changes for the subsequent election. Expect more tinkering for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC in the next election.
The brief history above explains why as of 2025, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC is the geopolitical oddity that it is - stretching from Marine Parade in the south to Lorong Chuan and Serangoon Central in the north, from Aljunied in the west to Chai Chee in the east.
