Eric Low Siak Meng (劉錫明, born 1948) is a Singaporean Chinese politician and a member of the People's Action Party (PAP), the dominant ruling party of the politics of Singapore. He is also a general manager. He contested the Hougang Single Member Constituency (Hougang SMC) in both the 2001 Singapore general election and the 2006 general election, losing both times.
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Hougang SMC is one of the only two Singaporean constituencies currently held by the opposition of Singapore, which has a dominant-party system. Though the PAP has a firm hold over the rest of the nation, and currently holds 82 of 84 seats in the Parliament of Singapore, Hougang SMC has been consistently held by the opposition since the 1991 general elections.
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was tasked with the "special assignment" of helping Eric Low win Hougang in the 2006 general elections, along with Sitoh Yih Pin, the PAP candidate for opposition-held Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency. Low and Sitoh were promised more latitude in the Parliament and freedom from being subjected to the party whip if he won Hougang SMC. [1] Despite this boost from the ruling party, Low still failed to secure a win in the general election.
In 2011, Low announced that he would not contest Hougang SMC in the coming general election.
| General Election 2006: Hougang | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| WP | Low Thia Khiang | 13,989 | 62.7 | +7.7 | |
| PAP | Eric Low Siak Meng | 8,308 | 37.3 | -7.7 | |
| Majority | 5,681 | 25.4 | +15.4 | ||
| Turnout | 22,574 | 95.0 | -0.4 | ||
| WP hold | Swing | +7.7 | |||
| General Election 2001: Hougang | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| WP | Low Thia Khiang | 12,070 | 55.0 | -3.0 | |
| PAP | Eric Low Siak Meng | 9,882 | 45.0 | +3.0 | |
| Majority | 2,188 | 10.0 | -6.0 | ||
| Turnout | 22,247 | 95.4 | -0.8 | ||
| WP hold | Swing | -3.0 | |||