Democratic Party (Singapore)
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Democratic Party | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 民主党 |
| Malay name | Parti Demokratik |
| Founder | Tan Eng Joo |
| Founded | 11 February 1955 |
| Dissolved | 5 February 1956 |
| Merged into | Liberal Socialist Party |
| Succeeded by | Liberal Socialist Party |
| Colours | Brown |
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]
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 sent 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]
