Background

Merely a month before Singapore's separation from Malaysia and independence, UPP

United People's Party

The United People's Party was a Singapore party formed by the former People's Action Party leader Ong Eng Guan in 1961. After it won a seat , in the 1963 General Elections, the party's existence was in doubt as Singapore was knocked out of the Malaysian federation by Malaysia...

 chief and sole Assembly Member Ong Eng Guan

Ong Eng Guan

Ong Eng Guan is a former minister and politician of Singapore. A staunch anti-communist, he was a Chinese-educated orator who was one of the pioneer members of the People's Action Party Ong was well-known among the Chinese community in Singapore, In the 1957 City Hall Elections, he was elected...

 resigned his seat and retired from politics. This last Legislative Assembly election became a straight fight between Singapore's two main parties - the People's Action Party

People's Action Party

The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....

 and Barisan Sosialis

Barisan Sosialis

The Barisan Sosialis is a former Singaporean left-wing political party formed in 1961, by left-wing members of the People's Action Party and led by Dr Lee Siew Choh and Lim Chin Siong.-Formation:...

 - and both fielded former PAP AMs as candidates. The PAP was by then a full national party with a presence in Malaysia despite winning only one seat out of 11 it contested in the federal elections of 1964

Malaysian general election, 1964

General elections were held in Malaysia on 25 April 1964. The result was a victory for the Alliance Party, which won 89 of the 104 seats. Voter turnout was 78.9%.The result also contributed towards the eventual expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia...

.

After Singapore was ejected from the Federation, PAP's only Malaysian legislator, Devan Nair

Devan Nair

Devan Nair a/l Chengara Veetil, also known as C. V. Devan Nair , was the third President of Singapore and was elected by Parliament on October 23, 1981. He served as President until his resignation on March 28, 1985.-Youth:Nair was born in Malacca, Malaysia, the son of an Indian immigrant I.V.K...

, converted the party's extension into the Peninsular to the Democratic Action Party

Democratic Action Party

The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...

 - replacing the "thunderflash" in the PAP's symbol with a "rocket" - but he quit Malaysia politics and returned to Singapore a few years later. DAP remains a key political party in Malaysia until today and is part of the Pakatan Rakyat

Pakatan Rakyat

Pakatan Rakyat or PR is an informal Malaysian political coalition. It currently controls four state governments while in opposition to the ruling Barisan Nasional at the federal level....

 coalition in Malaysia.

Historical Significance

This was the last Legislative Assembly election which oversees the straight fight between the 2 major political parties in Singapore, namely the People's Action Party

People's Action Party

The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....

 and Barisan Sosialis

Barisan Sosialis

The Barisan Sosialis is a former Singaporean left-wing political party formed in 1961, by left-wing members of the People's Action Party and led by Dr Lee Siew Choh and Lim Chin Siong.-Formation:...

. Both parties have decided to field former PAP Assembly Members as the candidates of this seat.

The following year in 1966, BS would withdraw all members from parliament and boycott the next election of 1968.

Results