Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency

Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency is a four-member group representation constituency (GRC) in central Singapore. It has four divisions: Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng, Kolam Ayer, Whampoa, and Kampong Glam, managed by Jalan Besar Town Council.^[1] The current Members of Parliament (MPs) for the constituency are Denise Phua, Josephine Teo, Shawn Loh and Wan Rizal from the governing People's Action Party (PAP).

RegionCentral Region, Singapore

Electorate106,342

Created1988; 38 years ago

Seats4

Quick facts Region, Electorate ...

Jalan Besar
Group representation constituency for the Parliament of Singapore

Region	Central Region, Singapore
Electorate	106,342
Current constituency
Created	1988; 38 years ago (1988)
Seats	4
Party	People's Action Party
Members	Denise Phua Josephine Teo Shawn Loh Wan Rizal
Town Council	Jalan Besar
Created from	Geylang West Constituency Jalan Besar Constituency Kolam Ayer Constituency
Dissolved	2011
Replaced by	Moulmein–Kallang GRC Whampoa SMC Tanjong Pagar GRC
Reformed	2015
Reformed from	Moulmein–Kallang GRC Whampoa SMC Tanjong Pagar GRC

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History

Creation and first existence (1988–2011)

Jalan Besar GRC was created prior to the 1988 general election with three MPs. Led by Lee Boon Yang, the PAP team defeated the Workers' Party (WP) with 62.68% of the vote.^[2]^[3]

Prior to the 1991 general election, the GRC was expanded to have four MPs; the PAP won unopposed.^[4]^[5]

During the 1997 general election, the four-member PAP team, again led by Lee, defeated the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) with 67.55% of the vote.^[6]

During the 2001 general election, the five-member PAP team defeated the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) with 74.49% of the vote.^[7]

During the 2006 general election, the five-member PAP team defeated the SDA with 69.26% of the vote.^[8]

Jalan Besar GRC was dissolved ahead of the 2011 general election in favour of Moulmein–Kallang GRC and Whampoa Single Member Constituency (SMC). The Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng division was redrawn into Tanjong Pagar GRC.^[9]

Corruption by and resignation of Choo Wee Khiang

In 1999, Choo Wee Khiang was charged with cheating for issuing a false invoice from his company in November 1990 to Wong See Kee, his brother-in-law. Choo resigned from the PAP and Parliament before pleading guilty in court to a charge which was reduced from aggravated to simple cheating.^[10] Under Singaporean law at the time, an MP would lose their seat if they were sentenced to at least one year's imprisonment or a fine of more than S$2,000.^[11] Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Choo had done "the right thing" in resigning before pleading guilty in court.^[12] Choo was sentenced to two weeks' jail and fined $10,000.^[13]^[14]

Second existence (2015–present)

Prior to the 2015 general election, Jalan Besar GRC was reformed with four MPs after one parliamentary term, covering areas it had encompassed before its abolition in 2011.^[9] Led by Yaacob Ibrahim, the PAP team defeated the WP with 67.75% of the vote.^[15]^[16]

Prior to the 2020 general election, Yaacob and Lily Neo retired from politics; Josephine Teo was redeployed from Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC to lead the PAP team for Jalan Besar GRC. The PAP team defeated Lim Tean and his Peoples Voice (PV) party with 65.36% of the vote.^[17]^[18]

In the 2025 general election, the PAP announced that Heng Chee How, incumbent MP for Jalan Besar GRC, would be replaced by Shawn Loh as a candidate for the GRC.^[19] The PAP team defeated the People's Alliance for Reform (PAR), a political coalition, with 75.21% of the vote.^[18]

Members of Parliament

2km
1.2miles

5

Whampoa

4

Kreta Ayer-
Kim Seng

3

Kolam Ayer

2

Kolam Ayer

1

Kampong Glam

Divisions or wards of Jalan Besar GRC as of the 2025 general election:

1

Kampong Glam

2

Kolam Ayer (part)

3

Kolam Ayer (part)

4

Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng

5

Whampoa

More information Election, Division ...

Election	Division	Members of Parliament
Formation
1988	Geylang West Jalan Besar Kolam Ayer	Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Sidek Saniff	PAP
1991	Geylang West Jalan Besar Kallang Kolam Ayer	Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Choo Wee Khiang Zulkifli bin Mohamed
1997	Geylang West Jalan Besar Kolam Ayer Whampoa	Peh Chin Hua Lee Boon Yang Yaacob Ibrahim Choo Wee Khiang (1997–1999^[a])
2001	Jalan Besar Kampong Glam Kolam Ayer Kreta Ayer - Kim Seng Whampoa	Lee Boon Yang Loh Meng See Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How
2006		Lee Boon Yang Denise Phua Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How
Constituency abolished (2011–2015)
2015	Kampong Glam Kolam Ayer Kreta Ayer - Kim Seng Whampoa	Denise Phua Yaacob Ibrahim Lily Neo Heng Chee How	PAP
2020		Denise Phua Wan Rizal Josephine Teo Heng Chee How
2025		Denise Phua Wan Rizal Josephine Teo Shawn Loh

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Electoral results

Note: The Elections Department does not include rejected votes when calculating the vote shares of candidates. Hence, all candidates' vote shares will total to 100% at any given election (may not appear so in multi-way contests due to rounding).