Only 150 votes and he feels fine
Three candidates of GE2015 won't be getting their deposits back.
Three losers won’t be getting their electoral deposits back.
Another compared the results to that in North Korea and China.
They had just been thrashed by the People’s Action Party (PAP).
The worst performing candidate was independent Samir Salim Neji, 45, who got only 150 votes, or 0.6 per cent of the valid votes, in Bukit Batok single-member constituency (SMC).
The Kerala-born Samir lost his $14,500 deposit. A candidate must get at least 12.5 per cent of valid votes to get a refund of the deposit.
When sample results were announced, the managing director of software firm Anaplan Asia did not get a single vote.
Last night, before the final results were in, he told The New Paper that he knew he would lose his deposit.
He said: “Am I happy about losing my $14.5k? I knew that I’m going to lose it. I’m happy to see that my team is starting to work. I’m happy to see (the PAP’s) David Ong win and the SDP guys.
“Money is spent for the building (of) the country, it’s all about participating. I feel awesome about being part of the whole thing.”
Mr Cheo Chai Chen, 64, from the National Solidarity Party (NSP) also lost his deposit after getting only 215 votes (0.82 per cent).
A former opposition MP from 1991 to 1997, he was in a three-cornered fight in MacPherson SMC against PAP incumbent Tin Pei Ling, 31, and the Workers’ Party’s Bernard Chen, 29.
Ms Tin, who, he had suggested, would not be an effective Member of Parliament after becoming a mother, won with 65.58 per cent of the valid votes.
Mr Cheo told TNP last night: “I have nothing to say. If I want to say anything, I will issue a statement.
“What I can tell you at the moment is this is a very funny result. Not only for my constituency, (but also for) other constituencies.”
Blogger Han Hui Hui, 24, who stood as an independent in Radin Mas SMC, also lost her deposit after getting 2,629, or 10.04 per cent, of the 26,188 valid votes.
Reform Party (RP) chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam compared the election results to those in North Korea and China.
After sample results were announced, his disappointment was evident as he told Channel NewsAsia: “All this is a mandate for authoritarianism and brainwashing.
“It shows what you do when you control everybody’s housing, you control their savings, you control their jobs, because you are the major employer.
“You control all the media and there is no independent elections department.
“So all I see is similar margins in North Korea and China. It’s just like the Chinese Communist Party.
“I guess Singaporeans get the government they deserve, so I don’t want to hear any complaints.”
His colleagues were just as shocked.
Mr Osman Sulaiman, 40, cried after losing at Ang Mo Kio GRC to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s team by 98,404 votes.
His running mate, Mr Roy Ngerng, told TNP: “The results are surprising. It will be interesting to find out why the vote swing went the other way instead.”
Mrs Lina Chiam of the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) was another big loser.
In the last elections in 2011, she lost by just 114 votes to PAP’s Sitoh Yih Pin at Potong Pasir SMC.
Last night, she lost by 5,228 votes.
She congratulated Mr Sitoh on his victory on her party’s Facebook page last night.
Saying she respected the voters’ decision, Mrs Chiam added: “This is a time of great challenge for Singapore. I hope that Singaporeans can work hand in hand with their elected MP
to help the Government create better policies.”
One loser who did better than expected was Mr Desmond Lim of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA).
After twice losing his deposit in previous elections, he and his team won 27.11 per cent of the votes at Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
He said of SDA’s performance: “There’s nothing for us to be disappointed about because we’ve done our best and offered our solution and services.”
On not losing his deposit, he said: “I don’t understand why there is a need to keep harping on losing the electoral deposits.
“To me, that’s the past and this is the present, and at present I got this percentage and did not lose my deposit.”
WP’s Lee Li Lian, the incumbent at Punggol East SMC, put up a brave front after losing to PAP’s Charles Chong.
She said: “I need to work harder.”
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