In 1984 Mr Chiam was elected in Potong Pasir, a seat he had held till 2011. Among his PAP opponents were Mr Mah Bow Tan (now national development minister), Mr Andy Gan, and Mr Sitoh Yi Pin. That same year, the Party launched its newsletter Demokrat. It also saw the passing away of Mr Fok Tai Loy and the election of lawyer, Mr Ling How Doong, as Party chairman.
In 1986, a few of the Party’s leaders, including Mr Soon Kia Seng (Assistant Secretary-General) and Mr Peter Lim Ah Yong (Treasurer), resigned their posts with Mr Soon accusing some of his colleagues as not sincerely believing in democracy: “This is not a party I once knew. I am willing to serve a cause but I don’t want to serve individuals.”
In 1991, Mr Ling How Doong and Mr Cheo Chai Chen won their electoral contests in the Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon Central constituencies respectively.
The Party contested the Marine Parade by-elections in December 1992 called for by then-prime minister, Mr Goh
Chok Tong, in his own GRC. Dr Chee Soon Juan joined the SDP as part of the contesting team with Mr Low Yong Nguan, Mr Ashleigh Seow (Mr Francis Seow’s son) and Mr Mohd Shariff.
Following the election in 1993, Dr Chee was sacked by the National University of Singapore where he was a Lecturer. Dr Chee went on a hunger strike as a mark of protest. He was subsequently sued by his department head, Dr S Vasoo, faculty dean, Dr Ernest Chew, and secretary, Ms Janice Chen, when he disputed his sacking.
Mr Chiam first supported Dr Chee’s action but later changed his mind and called for the Party to censure his the assistant secretary-general (Dr Chee was elected to the post in February 1993). None of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) members supported Mr Chiam’s motion whereupon the Party leader tended his resignation, citing that he had lost the confidence of his colleagues.
A few of the CEC members, including Dr Chee, tried to persuade Mr Chiam to remain as secretary-general. However, Mr Chiam stated that he would do so only if he could be granted the power to appoint and dismiss the Party’s cadre members. He also wanted the removal of Mr Wong Hong Toy as vice-chairman.
Under the Party’s constitution a simple majority of the CEC was needed to appoint cadre members, not any one individual leader. The CEC did not have the constitutional power to accede to Mr Chiam’s demands. A few weeks later, Mr Chiam gave a speech at the Singapore Press Club attacking the Party’s leadership. It was only then that the CEC voted to expel him.
The Press Club had extended a similar invitation to Dr Chee to counter Mr Chiam. Knowing that the PAP-controlled media had every intention to fan the flames Dr Chee declined the invitation. But when he subsequently informed the organizers that he would speak but on the Party’s alternative policy ideas instead of the altercation with Mr Chiam, the Press Club withdrew the invitation.
Mr Chiam sued the CEC for wrongful dismissal and won. He remained with the Party until the 1997 general elections when he resigned to form another party.
In 1994, the SDP published Dare To Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore and adopted the book, written by Dr Chee as its manifesto. The following year, Dr Chee was elected Secretary-General.
The Party also amended its constitution to update its objectives and changed the name of its newspaper to The New Democrat.
In 1997 Mr Ling and Mr Cheo lost their seats in the general elections. In the 2001 elections, Dr Chee was sued by Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong over Singapore’s secretive loan-pledge to Indonesia’s Suharto in 1997. Summary judgment was award to the plaintiffs, depriving him of a trial. Dr Chee was ordered to pay a total of $500,000 in damages.
In 2007, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Lee Hsien Loong sued the Party as well as the members of the CEC for defamation over an article published in The New Democrat about the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) scandal. This happened after the Party announced that it would contest Mr Khaw Boon Wan’s team in the Sembawang GRC and to make the NKF matter its campaign issue. Mr Khaw is the health minister in charge of the NKF.
An injunction was ordered by the Courts that prevented the SDP from speaking about the issue during the campaign. Summary judgment was again awarded to the plaintiffs. As of the writing of this history in Mar 08, costs and damages have yet to be determined.
Mr Ling resigned as chairman in 2007 which also saw Mr Gandhi Ambalam elected as the Party’s third chairman. Mr Jufrie Mahmood was elected the Party’s fourth chairman in 2011. The current chairman is Mr Jeffrey George who was elected in the Ordinary Party Conference held in 2013.
MPs from SDP:
Mr Chiam See Tong, MP (Potong Pasir, 1984-1994) & founding secretary-generalMr Ling How Doong, MP (Bukit Gombak, 1991-1997)
Mr Cheo Chai Chen, MP (Nee Soon Central, 1991-1997)
在1984年，詹先生当选为波东巴西区议员，并担任此职位至2011年。他在历届选举中成功地击败了人民行动党的马宝山先生，颜来章先生以及司徒宇斌先生。党刊”民主主义者”也在同年首次发行。 党创始人Fok Tai Loy先生因病逝世，党主席一职由律师林孝谆先生接任。
在1986年，Soon Kia Seng先生 (副秘书长) 以及 Peter Lim Ah Yong 先生(党财政）率领几名党领袖同时辞去党职位。Soon先生指某些党员不是诚心坚信民主主义，并指责：”新加坡民主党已经不是我当初所认同的团体。我愿意为民主的誓言效劳但不会崇拜个体。”
在1991年，林孝谆先生与蒋才正双双赢得武吉甘柏以及义顺中选区的国会议席。
新加坡民主党在1992年12月参加了当时的总理吴作栋先生在自己所属的马林百列选区所进行的补选。徐顺全博士也在当时加入了新加坡民主党，并与刘永源先生、Ashleigh.萧 (萧天寿之子) 和沙里夫穆哈莫组成民主党的竞选团队。
在1993年的大选后，徐博士遭新加坡国立大学解雇。徐博士因不满无理的对待，而绝食抗议。事后，他的部门主任华素博士、 系主任Ernest.丘博士以及部门秘书Janice.陈因徐博士不满解雇的理由，而把他告上法院。
詹时中先生首先支持徐博士的行为，但后来改变初衷，并且号召党开除徐博士（徐博士在1993年被党委任为副秘书长）。但当时的中央执行委员会成员并没有支持詹先生的提案。詹先生因此提出辞呈，宣称他对党员已失去了信心。
徐博士以及几名中执委试图说服詹先生继续留任秘书长一职。但詹先生表示，如要他归职，党必须授予他委任和开除党干部的权力。他也要党开除副主席黄汉照先生。
在党章程中，只要有过半的中执委的批准，就能推举干部。但这一切不能由一位领袖推举的。中央执行委员会最终未有权力满足詹先生的要求。在几周后，詹先生在新加坡报刊俱乐部的演讲中攻击党领导，促使中央执行委员会一致表决开除他的党籍。
新加坡报刊俱乐部也向徐博士发出要请，以让他有机会反驳詹先生。徐博士知道这是人民行动党离用报刊挑拨离间的作法，而拒绝了邀请。当他向主办单位表明他想借此机会发表民主党的替代政策时，报刊俱乐部撤回了邀请。
之后，詹先生就以非法卡除党籍理由起诉中央执行委员会，并胜诉。詹先生继续留在党内直到1997年选举。他因要创办新的政党，而辞去党职。
在1994年，民主党出版了徐博士的新书；勇于改变：新加坡的替代憧憬，并采用此书为党的宣言。徐博士也在隔年被选为党秘书长。
民主党也修改了党章程、更新了党目标，以及把党报刊改名为”新民主主义者”。
在1997年， 林孝谆先生与蒋才正先生在选举中失去了议员职位。在2001年的大选中，徐博士因指责李光耀先生与吴作栋先生在1997年秘密贷款给印尼的苏哈多政府，而被告上法院。徐博士被剥夺审判的过程，并被令支付五十万的赔偿金。
在2007年的大选中，民主党宣布它将角逐三巴旺集选区，并采用全国肾脏基金会的丑闻来对峙由许文元先生率领的人民行动党团队（许部长是当时管理全国肾脏基金会的的卫生部长）。事后，李光耀先生与李显龙先生因民主党党刊里所发表的一篇全国肾脏基金会丑闻的文章，而起诉民主党以及中执委。
法院向民主党发布了对此事件封口的禁令，阻止民主党发表意见。法院再次剥夺民主党接受审判的过程，至今,这起诉讼案的成本和损失尚未确定。
在2007年，林孝谆先生辞去了主席的职位。甘地.安巴南当选为党的第三任主席。祖菲里.马穆德在2011年当选为党的第四任主席。
民主党历届议员：
詹时中先生，创党秘书长（波东巴西区议员，1984至1994年）
林孝谆先生 (武吉甘柏议员，1991至1997年)
蒋才正先生（义顺中义员，1991至1997年)
Watch videos of SDP’s 30 years of democratic services in Singapore:
SDP’s 30th Anniversary Dinner