6th Parliament of Singapore
| 6th Parliament of Singapore | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Parliament of Singapore | ||||
| Meeting place | Old Parliament House | ||||
| Term | 25 February 1985 – 17 August 1988 (3 years, 5 months and 23 days) | ||||
| Election | 22 December 1984 | ||||
| Government | People's Action Party | ||||
| Opposition | Workers' Party (until 1986) Singapore Democratic Party | ||||
| Parliament of Singapore | |||||
| Members | 80 | ||||
| Speaker | Yeoh Ghim Seng | ||||
| Leader of the House | S. Dhanabalan (until 1987) Wong Kan Seng (from 1987) | ||||
| Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | J. B. Jeyaretnam (until 1986) Chiam See Tong (from 1986) | ||||
| Party control | PAP supermajority | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
| |||||
The 6th Parliament of Singapore was a meeting of the Parliament of Singapore. Its first session commenced on 25 February 1985 and was prorogued on 27 January 1986. It commenced its second session on 20 February 1986 and was dissolved on 17 August 1988.[1]
The members of the 6th Parliament were elected in the 1984 general election. Parliament was controlled by a People's Action Party majority, led by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his Cabinet. The Speaker was Dr Yeoh Ghim Seng.[2] The de facto Leader of the Opposition was J. B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' Party until he lost his parliamentary seat following his convictions, and was replaced by Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Democratic Party.
The sixth Parliament saw the presence of women lawmakers for the first time in 14 years since 1970.[3] Two seats were vacated in 1986 and remained vacated until the end of term, with Jeyaretnam being the first, followed by Geylang West's MP Teh Cheang Wan who committed suicide over corruption; with Jeyaretnam's vacation, this was the last instance where only two parties represented the Parliament until 2015.
Officeholders
- Speaker: Yeoh Ghim Seng (PAP)
- Deputy Speaker: Tan Soo Khoon (PAP), from 1 March 1985
- Prime Minister: Lee Kuan Yew (PAP)
- Leader of the Opposition:
- J. B. Jeyaretnam (WP), until 10 November 1986
- Chiam See Tong (SDP), from 10 November 1986
- Leader of the House:
- S. Dhanabalan (PAP), until 24 February 1987
- Wong Kan Seng (PAP), from 25 February 1987
- Party Whip of the People's Action Party: Lee Yiok Seng
- Deputy Party Whip of the People's Action Party:
- Lee Hsien Loong, until 27 January 1987
- Eugene Yap, from 28 January 1987
- Deputy Party Whip of the People's Action Party:
Composition
| Political party | Members | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| At election | At dissolution | ||
| People's Action Party | 77 | 76 | |
| Workers' Party | 1 | 0 | |
| Singapore Democratic Party | 1 | 1 | |
| Vacant seats | 1 | 3 | |
| Total | 80 | 80 | |
| Government majority | 75 | 75 | |
Members
Notes
- ^ J. B. Jeyaretnam lost his seat on 10 November 1986, after a conviction over false statements about party funds disqualified him from Parliament for five years.
- ^ Teh Cheang Wan died by suicide on 14 December 1986 while being investigated for corruption.
- ^ One Non-constituency Member of Parliament seat was allocated, which remained vacant after no opposition candidate accepted the position. The seat was first offered to M. P. D. Nair of the Workers' Party on 24 December 1984, but the offer lapsed on 4 March 1985, without Nair accepting it. The seat was then offered to Tan Chee Kien of the Singapore United Front on 8 March 1985, but Tan rejected it on 28 March 1985.
References
- ^ "Sessions of Parliament". Parliament of Singapore. 8 June 2017.
- ^ "List of Former Speakers". Parliament of Singapore. 7 August 2017.
- ^ "Sexism and politics: General elections should not be beauty pageants". The Straits Times. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.