Jufrie Mahmood

This is a Malay name; the name Mahmood is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Jufrie.

Mohd Jufrie Bin Mahmood
Chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 2011
Preceded by	Gandhi Ambalam
Personal details
Born	04 February 1950 Singapore, British Empire
Political party	Singapore Democratic Party
Profession	Politician

Mohamed Jufrie bin Mahmood is a politician from Singapore. He was a prominent opposition political figure in the country in the 1980s and 1990s, when he stood in elections as a candidate for both the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the Workers' Party.^[1] He became the Chairman of the SDP in 2011.

Political career

At the 1984 general election, Jufrie stood as a candidate for the Workers' Party in the constituency of Kampong Kembangan. He was defeated by Yatiman Yusof of the governing People's Action Party (PAP) by 8,210 votes (44.3%) to 10,326 (55.7%).

At the 1988 general election, Jufrie stood as a candidate for the SDP in the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency. Jufrie and fellow SDP members Ashleigh Seow and Neo Choon Aik were defeated by the PAP's team by 26,375 votes (43.7%) to 34,020 (56.3%).

At the 1991 general election, Jufrie stood as a candidate for the Workers' Party in the Eunos Group Representation Constituency. Jufrie came to national prominence during this election campaign after Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong accused him of being a Malay chauvinist because of comments he Jufrie made about the role of Malay community in Singapore and his use of the phrase "Insha'Allah" ("God willing") in a campaign speech. Goh urged people not to vote for Jufrie in order to help protect inter-racial harmony in Singapore. Jufrie strongly denied that he was a Malay chauvinist and said that he was merely raising important issues which he felt needed to be addressed. In the end, Jufrie and his fellow Workers' Party members Lee Siew Choh, Neo Choon Aik and Wee Han Kim were narrowly defeated by the PAP's team in Eunos by 41,673 votes (47.6%) to 45,833 (52.4%).

At the 1997 general election, Jufrie stood as a candidate for the SDP in the Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency. He and his fellow SDP members David Chew, Gandhi Ambalam and Low Yong Nguan were defeated by the PAP's team by 21,537 votes (32.4%) to 44,840 (67.6%).

Jufrie was among a group of SDP members charged with participating in an unlawful political assembly on the driveway leading to Parliament House in 2008. He was fined after being found guilty of this offence.^[2]

References

1. ^ Singapore Election Candidates (M), singapore-elections.com, retrieved 11 April 2011.
2. ^ Judge dismisses appeals by SDP members and supporters, Channel News Asia, 23 February 2011.