Jeremy Tan: Neighbour, Entrepreneur, Friend | Ordinary People - video Dailymotion

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Jeremy Tan is an entrepreneur-turned-politician. Starting from the heart of Joo Chiat, he built his own business from the ground up and later ran as an independent candidate for Mountbatten SMC in GE2025. Jeremy shares more about his journey, as he continues to stay true to his beliefs, neighbourhood, and heart.   Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video

Transcript

00:00My phone died the day before the rally.

00:02My phone was up there on the stand, and I'm trying to see what I had to say.

00:05There were some people that were messaging me, so I had to swipe away the messages.

00:08Some people were trying to call me, so I also had to go and press cancel.

00:12It was not about reading the information, I was just trying to declutter my screen.

00:21Hi, I'm Jeremy.

00:22I just ran for election in Montmartin SMC.

00:25I didn't make it this time, but I think hopefully I'll get it the next time round.

00:29Back in the day, I was still studying while I started my business,

00:33so I would stuff my bag with cleansers and moisturizers,

00:38and I would sell them to my friends for $10, $15.

00:40As I scaled up and as things grew, I actually managed to get the office here at Jiu Chiat.

00:45I would sleep in the office and also go to school, tend to my shop,

00:48and then come back to the office and sleep.

00:50So that was life for me about maybe 10 to 11 years ago.

00:54So I used to sleep in my office, and that exact window open is where I used to sleep.

00:59That's the building.

01:01Every time I walk past here, it gives me a great sense of nostalgia.

01:04It never gets old.

01:05Having been here for over 13 years,

01:08starting my business on this road,

01:09I feel a great sense of connection and belonging to Jiu Chiat.

01:12Hopefully, by the next election, I will also consider my options

01:15to run for Marine Parade GRC.

01:17Love these decks.

01:19So Cat Socrates has been around for more than 10 years.

01:28They were here when I first started my business.

01:30This is the famous tartong noodles.

01:32I used to eat here all the time when I was working in my office.

01:34Very popular among Singaporeans.

01:36Everybody knows each other here because nobody really moves out of Jiu Chiat.

01:41Because of that, everybody is a lot closer and a lot warmer to each other.

01:45I was always quite disciplined with my eating and my exercise since I was young.

01:49I lost 3kg just during the election.

01:52I was walking at least 5 hours a day.

01:55Jeremy Pong, for the Motor Seed, for Singapore!

02:00It's one for the ages,

02:03because first independent rally since Han Weihui's rally 10 years ago.

02:07The weather was very bad that week.

02:09There was raining cats and dogs.

02:11There was a lot of lightning risk on May Day itself.

02:14We almost got hammered by it.

02:16This election campaign was funded out of just pocket money.

02:20So my total rally cost was around 9,000.

02:22The money spent on the rally was absolutely worth it.

02:24So the rally helps you connect authentically with the people.

02:28And if you don't speak from the script,

02:30people can tell that you are speaking from the heart.

02:32The election was Saturday, right?

02:34Saturday, right?

02:35Ah, yeah.

02:36Somebody tell me on Friday.

02:38Then I listen.

02:39Excellent.

02:40Thank you, thank you, thank you.

02:41Very good.

02:42Good job.

02:43Continue.

02:44Thank you, thank you so much.

02:46I love the work there.

02:47What's your name?

02:48Nicholas.

02:49Jeremy, Jeremy.

02:50Nice to meet you.

02:51I know who you are.

02:52Long time, no see, bro.

02:56Oh, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks.

03:00Actually, in the accounting agent center,

03:02you cannot use your handphone.

03:03So when the sample count came out that I had received 38% of the votes,

03:07I was actually quite hopeful that I would get more.

03:10But one, two hours in,

03:12I realized that I was not going to cross 40%.

03:14I was starting to feel a bit dejected.

03:16And I went out to check my phone.

03:18People were congratulating me.

03:20And I wonder why they were congratulating me.

03:22It turns out many parties did not receive their deposit back.

03:25You know, it's like the feeling when you go to take your exam results,

03:28and you thought you failed, but you failed less badly than the rest of the class.

03:33So that was the feeling I had.

03:36Many people have written to me and they come from all over Singapore

03:39because they have issues ranging from their household to larger issues such as animal abuse.

03:45I try my best to respond as I can.

03:48There's a lot of these situations, they fall through the cracks.

03:53Some people have also reached out to me to ask me about how I can solve their salary disputes.

03:59I'm not legally trained, and I'm not a member of parliament,

04:02but I still try my best to help them.

04:04I'm like a shadow MP of sorts, an unpaid MP of sorts.

04:08They don't know how to navigate the system, so I try my best to help them.

04:12The proliferation of certain statistics in Singapore,

04:15such as animal abuse, is one thing that I'm very concerned about.

04:19Even though as a dog owner, I already know a lot about the pet rights here in Singapore,

04:22but I also want to be more well-read and more educated about this issue.

04:27This is Belly, the youngest.

04:30This is Diddy.

04:31And there's Cosmo, Cosmo sitting over there.

04:34They're having a little treat because it's Belly's birthday week.

04:38He's very food-motivated, so he cannot touch his food.

04:44I definitely do want to keep this momentum going.

04:46People must not be disheartened just because I lost.

04:48I can still do advocacy in the shadows.

04:52I can still write and propose for changes on my own time,

04:55discuss with the different political parties to determine for myself

04:59what is the outcome I want in the next election.

05:01I could win one seat, but does that translate to helping Singapore win?

05:06I could win no seats and still do many things on the side.

05:09Is that the best outcome?

05:11Considering all the moving parts is what I'm doing right now,

05:13and I feel like I want Singapore to be better.

05:16and if not winning seats is how I get it done,

05:19then I'm very glad to just, you know, be outside of the parliament.

05:27People around my age have children, so it's a bit hard to gather like that.

05:31It's a very once in a blue moon thing.

05:33All my friends give me feedback, what I would consider silent majority feedback.

05:37So, people who have worries about their children's future,

05:41about the cost of living, about housing.

05:44Generally, anything a young adult will face in Singapore.

05:48Did any of your friends vote for you?

05:50I don't know, vote is secret.

05:53I was at a SUSS Entrepreneurship Demo Day.

05:56I found it very refreshing to connect with the young entrepreneurs

06:00and sharing with them connections and helping them find the funds that they want to find.

06:05I'll be going for a fireside chat with people who are interested in Bitcoin.

06:10Teaching them how to save in inflation-proof technology is also important for me.

06:20If I truly didn't believe in the most controversial thing about my campaign, Bitcoin,

06:24I could have softened it down, but I would have just looked like every other candidate out there.

06:28One candidate with a soft story and then maybe some personal success.

06:34But that is not enough.

06:35I think one needs to be truly speaking from their heart.

06:38I don't care if I lost.

06:40It's important that Singaporeans win by being more engaged in politics.

06:54It's very true.

06:55It's very true.

06:57It's very bluntlyceral.

06:58It's green a beautiful person.

06:59It's very light.

07:00It's very light.

07:01It's very light.

07:02It's much more light.

07:03And I know when I'm going to be looking at it.

07:04And that's the other candidate.

07:06It's very simple.

07:07I will be looking at the top of our team's culture.

07:08I'm looking for a better idea.

07:10It's very Yeti.

07:11It's very remarkable.

07:12And we're outside of our company's history,

07:14and we're here.

07:16But I'll be looking at it from my family.

07:17And I'm looking for a big day later.

07:18And we're looking at it.

07:19It's very valuable.

07:21But I'll be looking at it.

Jeremy Tan: Neighbour, Entrepreneur, Friend | Ordinary People

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