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Singapore People's Alliance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Singapore People's Alliance
Chinese name新加坡人民联盟
Malay namePerikatan Rakyat Singapura
FounderLim Yew Hock[1][2]
Founded10 November 1958; 65 years ago (1958-11-10)
Dissolved16 May 1965; 59 years ago (1965-05-16)
Preceded byLiberal Socialist Party
IdeologySocialism
Political positionLeft-wing
National affiliationSingapore Alliance Party

The Singapore People's Alliance was a political coalition in Singapore founded in 1958, comprising the Labour Front and Liberal Socialist Party. It has never won any seats in the Parliament of Singapore. However, the party did win 4 seats to the Singaporean Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1959 under the leadership of former Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock, with a popular vote of 107,755 or 20.7% of the total number of votes. Following the election, the Liberal Socialist Party merged into it.[3]

History

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After the entry of Singapore into Malaysia in the context of merger, it did not play a significant role in the national referendum of 1962 which approved the merger. It contested the general election of 1963 as part of the conservative Singapore Alliance Party, which was a branch of the federal Alliance Party. Its presence within the Singapore Alliance sparked friction with elements of the Singapore branch of the United Malay National Organisation.[3]

The Singapore Alliance fared poorly during the elections against the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP) with the Singapore's People Alliance losing all four seats. This has been partly attributed by historian Albert Lau to the failure of Lim Yew Hock to stand in the elections.[3] Meanwhile, the political focus shifted towards the PAP–UMNO rivalry within Malaysia and rivalry between the PAP and the Barisan Sosialis.[3]

The Singapore People's Alliance was eventually dissolved in 16 May 1965.[2]

Election Results

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Election Seats up for election Seats contested Seats won Change Votes contested Votes polled Vote share Swing Contested vote share Swing Resulting Government
1959[2] 51 39
4 / 51
new party 398,745 107,755 20.67% new party 27.02% new party Opposition

References

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  1. ^ "Man who thumped the Reds". Straits Times. 1 December 1984.
  2. ^ a b c "Singapore People's Alliance". Singapore Elections. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Lau, Albert (1998). A Moment of Anguish: Singapore in Malaysia and the Politics of Disengagement. Singapore: Times Academic Press. ISBN 981-210-1349.
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