Jeremy Tan does 1st independent candidate rally in Mountbatten SMC, rebuts opponent in 46-min speech

Jeremy Tan, 34, independent candidate for Mountbatten SMC, held the first independent candidate rally this GE2025 and the first in the last 10 years for a person not running on a party ticket.

He has pledged to be a full-time MP and give away his S$16,000 monthly MP allowance for Mountbatten's needs if elected into parliament.

His rally showcased his easy-going personality, unlike traditional political rallies, but still featured verbal sparring.

His 46-minute speech on May 1 at the Home of Athletics can be viewed here:

Below is a compilation of some of the issues he raised and barbs he traded with his People's Action Party (PAP) opponent Gho Sze Kee, 46, a maritime lawyer.

His introduction

"Is Daryl here ah? Daryl, the other independent candidate. He's not here yet ah? I think he's still busy. But anyway later you all see him, you all try not to hug him too tight. He's very frail. [Laughter from crowd] He'll be here to do a meet-and-greet with you all here. He cannot come here. Because if he come here, both of us go jail."

"This is the first independent rally since 10 years ago. So, give it up."

"But this time, we are going to have a real chance of getting the first independent candidate into parliament."

Rebutting outgoing MP Lim Biow Chuan

"Lim Biow Chuan said he never heard of me before, yesterday in the speech at this very place. Actually it also sounds very much like Gho Sze Kee. Nobody has heard of her before."

Putting spotlight on opponent Gho Sze Kee

"In fact, she told me this twice in the nomination centre: She says her PAP colleagues know she's fiercely independent and will never be afraid to challenge the party...

"In fact, if you're so independent, you should come join me instead. We can both run the town together."

Defended his track record

"I think you guys have seen me go on Reddit and Hardwarezone to fight every single troll. But the reality is, I've been walking the digital grounds and the physical grounds. It is important for me to actually know what people online say, because people online have a very thorough discussion on the statistics."

"The truth is, I have been silently preparing all these stats for three years. These things take time. We don't want the PAP to get away with the things just because we have short-term memory. Not only that. Not everything must be out in the public. What if my residents here suffer the same fate as Chee Soon Juan? What if Mountbatten no longer becomes the same SMC the next election? What would you have me rather do? I would have rather stayed quiet and put up a great fierce fight over the last nine days."

Talks about walkover

"Who's from Marine Parade-Braddell Heights? Walkover sucks, right? It's terrible, right?"

"So, if I didn't step up, there will be a walkover in two places. One where I live and one where I really care about."

"Okay, by the way, this crowd size is already double of what yesterday's PAP crowd size was." [Cheers]

"On the ballot paper, got 'Lightning' and got 'Dog'. You choose the dog."

On Gho Sze Kee's appearance in the SMC

"The volunteers were shocked. I went to some house visits and the residents told me some of them only know Gho Sze Kee is running on Easter Day itself. What kind of leadership transition is this? Is it PAP just think Mountbatten voters are supposed to be suckers and accept anything thrown to them?"

On his community aid

"How much I have helped? When you go travel to Kembangan and Chai Chee, you ask the care corners, they will know my name. There are no photos out here because I just don't go and do photo ops like the PAP, okay?"

On running a town council

"Just now I've uploaded a transparent Google sheet on my website under Mountbatten page. It contains a list of all contractors who lost their bids when bidding for Marine Parade Town Council. It contains the categories. It contains whether or not it affects Mountbatten. I've reached out to some of them. I'm reaching out to more. If you have lost bids to Marine Parade Town Council before, and it affects Mountbatten, the message to you is clear: Mountbatten is open for business."

On what resident said about Gho

"This is a story he recounted for me. He directly asked Ms Gho when she visited. Why won't you be a full-time MP like Jeremy Tan? Her response was: 'Doing this full time would hurt her law practice'. I think it is quite clear that her heart is to watch out for herself first, not the residents of Mountbatten."

Clarification by Gho Sze Kee

Gho Sze Kee, the PAP candidate for Mountbatten SMC has responded on social media:

Clarification

At Jeremy's rally tonight, he claimed that a resident from Dakota Breeze asked me why wasn't I running as a full-time MP, to which I allegedly replied "because it will hurt my law practice."

This is not true. I do not recall saying this. Furthermore, it does not make sense as if I am a full-time MP, I will not have any law practice anyway.

I told the resident that "I know my practice will take a hit, but this is something I am willing to do." In fact, Mr Lim Biow Chuan is also a lawyer running his law practice.

I welcome a clean contestation of ideas, but misquoting and using hearsay to rally emotions are not the way to do it. Please keep the campaign clean.

Thank you.

-Gho Sze Kee

Tan also addressed managing an estate and running a town council.

You can watch the full speech here.

Top photo via Jeremy Tan & CNA YouTube