Got people stay there meh? Even Singapore's Coney Island and Pulau Tekong belong to GRCs

With all signs pointing to an impending general election, now's probably a good time to find out which GRC you belong to. 

Group Representation Constituencies or GRCs were created 1988, with the purpose of ensuring that Singapore's parliament will aways be multiracial in composition and representation.

This means that at least one of the candidates in a group contesting for a GRC has to belong to a minority racial community, which is defined as either Malay, Indian or other minority communities such as the Eurasians.

On polling day, Singaporeans will file in at polling stations to vote for the representatives for their constituency. But have you ever wondered about those who stay on some of Singapore's many offshore islands —  64 in total —  and which constituencies they belong to?

If you’re thinking, “got people stay there, meh?“, though most of the island are inhabited, some still have registered residents living on them.

According to the General Household Survey 2015 conducted by the Singapore Department of Statistics, a total of 1,480 residents occupy the southern islands of Sentosa, St John's Island, Sisters' Islands, Kusu Island and Lazarus Island.

Not surprisingly, according to the survey, an overwhelming majority of 1,470 residents stay on the island resort of Sentosa. 

Less inhabited are the north-eastern islands — made up of Pulau Ubin, Pulau Tekong and Pulau Tekong Kechil — where a recorded 60 people are residents.

Workers' Party member and 2011 election campaigner for East Coast GRC Gerald Giam visited the residents of Pulau Ubin prior to the 2011 general election and noted that there were "only about 30 or so families left there". 

And in case you're curious, there are no recorded residents in the southwest-lying islands of Pulau Bukom, Pulau Semakau, Pulau Sudong and Jurong Island. 

Pulau Sudong, which was populated right up to the late 1970s, was turned into a military live firing area, while Pulau Semakau was joined with Pulau Seking to house a rubbish landfill. 

So which GRCs do the different islands belong to?

Sentosa and much of the south and south-western islands come under West Coast GRC, in particular, the Telok Blangah ward. 

Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and even Pedra Branca on the other hand, fall under East Coast GRC. 

The electoral division of East Coast was altered in 2019 to include Pedra Branca. The decision came after Malaysia withdrew its application to revise a 2008 judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca to Singapore.

Responding to media queries then on why Pedra Branca had been included in the electoral map, the ELD said: "All offshore islands that are part of Singapore's territory are included in our electoral map."

[[nid:480752]]

Here's more island constituency trivia: Did you know that there used to be a Southern Islands Single Member Constituency (SMC)?

The short-lived SMC existed from 1955 to 1968 and consisted of Sentosa, Pulau Brani, Kusu Island and St John's Island. 

The offshore island of Coney Island (formerly known as Pulau Serangoon) used to be in Changi SMC from 1951 to 1997, before it was incorporated into East Coast GRC from 1997. In 2015, it was designated as part of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC instead.

candicecai@asiaone.com