Mountbatten SMC independent candidate Jeremy Tan says he's not a 'cookie-cutter' politician, answers queries on livestream

What would you do if you are the underdog this 2025 general election?

If you are Mountbatten SMC independent candidate Jeremy Tan, you apparently have to do everything you can.

The 34-year-old former business owner and retiree was in Mountbatten SMC on Tuesday, Apr. 22 to meet residents a day before Nomination Day.

Tan interacted with diners and hawkers at Old Airport Road Food Centre for about 90 minutes.

His slogan? "Be retired, not tired."

He then visited the surrounding public housing blocks before heading to the landed private property areas.

Unorthodox approach?

Tan's foray into politics as a complete unknown has surprised people and raised eyebrows.

Some have since brought this up when they approached him for a chat, he said.

A common question he got while making the rounds at the hawker centre was, "Which party are you from?"

Undeterred, he would reply that he is an independent candidate without a party platform, and he is gunning to be a full-time MP.

The fresh face politician explained that his unorthodox approach at self-introduction — initially focused on his bitcoin crypto evangelist persona — was to break the cookie-cutter mould he has been seeing each time a politician gets introduced to the electorate.

He was conscious of not following the same script in running for public office, he said.

That has naturally led to some misunderstandings.

One misconception is that he comes from a rich family, which he clarified is completely false, because his formative years growing up was a "sob story".

He has no qualms revealing any of it, but "coming from a humble background" is cliched, he said, and a "rags-to-riches story" was not something he wanted to publicise.

Moreover, he is now someone who wants to serve Singaporeans and people should judge him for his proposals.

Tan previously explained in an in-depth interview with Mothership: "I had to temporarily stay in rental housing for a period of time when my family had nowhere to stay and there were bankruptcies in my family. Life was not easy. But I am here now to share my ideas and policies with Singaporeans and to speak for them in parliament."

Addressing misconceptions about him

Tan's non-traditional approach to doing things can be further gleaned from his ideas-heavy website, a centrepiece of his campaign.

While candidates these days go out introducing their personalities and putting their name out there, Tan revealed that he opted to first create his website over the last few years.

He is relying on it as his pillar this hustings, and also effectively to serve as an extension of his personality and appeal as a thoughtful Singaporean who is also putting his ideas up for election.

He is not "unprepared"

Tan, who is married, said he has so far received both favourable comments ("down-to-earth" and "articulate") and unfavourable ones ("crypto bro"), which he accepts as par for the course in politics given his personal advocacy of holding bitcoin.

Given the feedback he has received though, he said another misconception he wants to address is the idea that he is unprepared.

"I took a long time to research and put together the answers and statistics on my website. I had to read the Hansard (parliament record) to know more about the policies and put together the answers," he said.

He added: "It is the suddenness of the writ of election being issued and the short notice for a general election to be called that is shocking."

"I informed the public I am standing for election the moment we knew it is going to happen," he said.

Not backing down, he said while on his walkabout: "People have been asking me what can I offer and what ideas I have. It is on the website. Go read the website. And if you want to reach me to talk about anything, just reach out. I am the most accessible politician in Singapore at the moment."

Tan can be contacted on a number of platforms, such as via Telegram and Instagram, where his accessibility is one of his unique campaign pitches.

He has since received feedback on municipal and amenities issues from residents.

Answered questions on Instagram livestream

Prior to his estate visit, Tan took to Instagram live on Apr. 20 evening at about 9pm to host an introductory question-and-answer session.

In it, he spoke off-the-cuff for more than 50 minutes about himself and on a host of topics, including how Singapore needs to fix its housing policy so that people can retire comfortably.

He was visibly in his element when he was addressing an audience.

The video was watched by about 700 people at one point, Tan subsequently revealed to Mothership.

Backed social causes

In it, he made his case that he was doing things his way.

"I'm a non-conformist," he said. "The point is that I didn't have a standard job in my life, I had no retreat to safety, There were no easy choices, nothing was from societal norms."

His aversion to conventions notwithstanding, he clearly still adhered to some though.

When asked to provide details on any social causes he backed, Tan replied: "I actually spend a lot of money donating to Care Corner."

The funds, he said, go to buying meals for the less privileged.

He also shared that he volunteered "quite a bit" in children's tuition and also helped out in the Tanglin Halt relocation project.

Looked into running an estate

On his ability to take care of an estate and manage municipal issues if elected, Tan readily told his livestream audience that he has been doing his homework.

He said he has been gathering information from town council and estate managers, such as the cost of operating lifts, as well as finding out which agencies and ministries are in charge in the different parts of an estate.

He has even been looking through the tenders of the town council to understand how things function behind the scenes.

Tan also argued against assuming having estate managing agents solves issues, as they may not be as "efficient" as thought.

This can be seen from "the revenue generated relative to the number of board of directors" managing agents have, he said.

He explained: "In other words, they take a lot of the profits."

In response to this, Tan offered his expertise in running businesses, saying: "Self-management is something I am familiar with. Hiring the right people is something I am very familiar with. I have hired close to 50-plus people in my life."

"I operated a shop, a warehouse, and an office," he said.

"'Self-management' is not exactly some poisonous word and that all managing agents are supposedly better."

He also reminded voters that Mountbatten SMC as of now is managed by the Marine Parade Town Council, and Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC could be hotly contested.

To put the icing on the cake, Tan also said he will be a full-time MP in Mountbatten SMC, given that he no longer works.

He also said he doubts his PAP opponent Gho Sze Kee can make such an offer to voters in the SMC.

Addressing the concern that he is but one MP in parliament should he be elected, Tan said: "How does the Workers' Party currently execute the plans that they have? It is still the PAP [in charge], right?"

Rather, it is the alternative ideas they can offer that make the opposition attractive.

Moreover, "nobody should have a monopoly on ideas", Tan said as he attributed the phrase to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who made the comment when asked on Apr. 19 about his thoughts on WP's claim that the PAP had adopted their policies in some form.

Encouraging start

Tan's short visit to the hawker centre was capped by a spontaneous interaction with a resident in the area.

The resident approached Tan to find out what was he doing there.

Without hesitation, the resident then offered to shake hands and said, "All the best."

He then gave a thumbs up.

All the best, indeed, because Tan only has 10 more days to make an impression.

Top photos via Mothership