In 1976, then Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew invited Sidek to join the
People's Action Party and contest as a candidate in
the upcoming elections. In the
1980 General Election, Sidek stood for election against another United Front candidate, Mohamed Monsor Rahman, and won 80.35% of the votes. In the 1984 General Election, Sidek faced Royston George Scharenguivel from the
Workers' Party. Sidek won 57.91% of the votes, a significant drop from his previous two election results. In 1988,
the GRC system was established, resulting in
Kolam Ayer SMC being part of 3-person
Jalan Besar GRC. Sidek's team won 62.68% of the vote against candidates from the
Workers' Party. In 1991, Sidek joined the PAP team for
Eunos GRC, switching places with
Zulkifli Mohammed. The PAP team narrowly won the election with 52.38% of the votes cast against the WP team led by
Lee Siew Choh. Lee's team had narrowly lost in the same GRC during the previous election in 1988. Sidek was the
Parliamentary Secretary for
Communications and Second Parliamentary Secretary for
Culture for a short period before the 1980 elections. He became Parliamentary Secretary for
Trade and Industry and
Social Affairs in the
fifth Lee Kuan Yew cabinet. Sidek eventually rose to become the Senior Minister of State for
Education and the
Environment under then Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong. He retired from politics in 2001. == References ==