GE2025: Independent candidate Jeremy Tan challenges Mountbatten rival to close down S'pore Pools branch

Straits Times

01-05-2025

Mr Jeremy Tan, independent candidate for Mountbatten SMC, speaks at his rally at Home of Athletics on May 1. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
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SINGAPORE – Mr Jeremy Tan, independent candidate for Mountbatten SMC, has hit back at his rival's comment that equated Bitcoin investments to gambling, which PAP does not believe in.
'What is gambling? Firstly, there's a Toto shop beside FairPrice,' said Mr Tan on May 1, challenging PAP Mountbatten candidate Gho Sze Kee to close down that branch.
On April 30 , Ms Gho Sze Kee had questioned some of Mr Tan's policies, such as getting the Government to invest in Bitcoin – which is not backed by any physical asset or government body.
'This is what I call gambling... The PAP does not believe in gambling,' she said at her rally.
Speaking at his first rally at the Home of Athletics sports track in Stadium Boulevard on May 1 , Mr Tan said: 'Gambling is when you do not study enough of the risks and want to make a big move.'
He made reference to Temasek's US$275 million (S$377 million) investment write-down in cryptocurrency company FTX in 2024 following the shocking collapse of Mr Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX empire in 2022.
Mr Tan also said Temasek led in a US $200 million funding round for a Singapore-based cryptocurrency financing company Amber Group. Temasek is also a significant shareholder of the world's largest asset manager BlackRock, which has exposure to Bitcoin.
He quipped: 'Ms Gho says that this is gambling. Has she told the Government and Temasek her message?'
Mr Tan, a 34-year-old retired businessman , is a first-time independent candidate and plans to be a full-time MP if elected.
'Running a town council is running a business. It is a full time job and not a part time job,' said Mr Tan.
'You are my customers that I need to keep satisfied. You don't pay me money. You pay me in trust and votes,' he added.
His proposed policies are centred on the termination of Housing Board flats being used as retirement assets and the creation of a Singapore-dollar-denominated Bitcoin exchange-traded fund as a form of savings protection for Singaporeans.
Ms Gho, 46 , is a maritime lawyer contesting in an election for the first time.
Her predecessor, the incumbent four-term PAP MP Lim Biow Chuan, also questioned Mr Tan's ability to run a town council, citing the younger candidate's lack of experience and knowledge in the field.
Responding, Mr Tan said Ms Gho also has no experience running a town council herself.
Mr Tan said he would tap into his 10 to 15 years of experience starting a business without external capital to run a town council efficiently. He had also reached out to a list of contractors who lost their bids for Marine Parade Town Council projects, to learn more about the costs and types of projects required to keep a town council running.
Mr Tan added that he has spoken to contractors, managing agents, maintenance companies, in addition to studying various town council tenders, to familiarise himself with the process.
Having studied the current software being used to manage the Marine Parade Town Council, he added that he would overhaul the entire system to reduce bottlenecks, solve the problem of poor integration with Singpass and enhance its mobile-friendliness.
A software engineer, Mr Tan said he wants to invest in building an artificial intelligence-powered system to help Mountbatten residents reach their residents' committees more easily.
Towards the end of his 50-minute speech, Mr Tan was joined by the only other independent candidate standing for election Darryl Lo, who is contesting Radin Mas SMC, for a short meet-and-greet session with the audience.
This is the first time since 2015 that an independent candidate has held a rally. Mr Tan is also the only independent candidate hosting a rally in GE2025.
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