Growing up with 'money anxiety' drove GE2025 independent candidate Jeremy Tan to excel in business, retire young

For someone with enough money to his name to be set for life, Mr Jeremy Tan’s choice of breakfast is almost pedestrian but still eyebrow-raising: six half-boiled eggs. 

The protein-heavy meal likely has less to do with frugality and more to do with his gym routine. However, the value of money, and the cost of not having it, has never been lost on him.

One of his clearest memories of growing up poor is having the electricity and water supply cut from his home in Tanjong Pagar after his parents were unable to pay the utility bills.  

With not enough balance in his EZ-Link stored-value card for taking public transport, he took a 30-minute walk from his home to Redhill, where his cousin lived, just to take a shower. 

“That moment probably taught me a lot, that maybe I'm the odd one out here," Mr Tan, a former Queenstown Secondary School student, said.

I met the 34-year-old entrepreneur at a food court in Ayer Rajah just 11 days after his political debut at the General Election this year, where he went on to make history on May 3 by clinching 36.18 per cent of the vote at Mountbatten Single Member Constituency (SMC). The constituency was won by Ms Gho Sze Kee, a newcomer from the People's Action Party (PAP).

The result for Mr Tan was the highest vote share for an independent candidate in more than 50 years since Mr Ng Teng Kian won 41.87 per cent of the vote in Punggol SMC in 1972.

Throughout the hustings, Mr Tan received his fair share of plaudits from the electorate, particularly impressing his audience with his rally performance on May 1 at the Home of Athletics track-and-field grounds in Kallang. 

He stood confident on a small, elevated platform that evening, delivering a 45-minute pitch on why he would be the better candidate in a manner that resembled a speaker at an impromptu but educational and entertaining TED Talk, without the polish of a seasoned politician.

I quickly found out that in everyday conversations, Mr Tan speaks in the same way as he did during the hustings – candidly and unapologetically.

However, as many other commentators have pointed out since the election, his words also carry a tangible sense of credibility and rationality.

Mr Tan’s adolescent struggles now stand in stark contrast to his reputation today as a bona fide independent candidate in one of the nation’s most affluent constituencies. The other independent candidate at this year's election, Radin Mas SMC candidate Darryl Lo, garnered similar praise. 

It is hard to pinpoint what exactly won over Mr Tan's supporters in Mountbatten SMC, but to him, the grace with which he responds to criticism might have played a part. 

“People may say that I have a lot of support (now), but they don't realise that between my website launching on April 1 and Nomination Day, people were scolding me everywhere online and saying I'm a crazy person.

“If I had taken a very defensive mentality and started scolding people, I think people would not appreciate that. Instead, I engaged in every single criticism. I went online to HardwareZone, to Reddit, to Instagram to encourage debate.

“Later it caught on that I am receptive to criticism. I'm not fighting it.” 

FROM “MONEY ANXIOUS” TO RETIRED BEFORE 35

Mr Tan, who still dabbles in business investments occasionally, often refers to himself as "retired".  

His comfortable life – he lives in a condominium apartment in Marine Parade with his wife and three beagles – is in part thanks to six Bitcoins each costing US$300 (about S$425 then) a piece that he bought over a decade ago and never sold.

Yet, his lot in life today was hardly due to the luck of the draw. It was hard work. 

That half-hour trudge for a shower in 2006 was just one of many experiences that shaped his perception of life in Singapore. He described the period from when he was aged seven to 17 as “very hard financially”. 

“When I was young, my parents attempted to run multiple businesses in the bridal industry. It didn’t pan out due to high rental … and they were bankrupt from the ventures.

“We didn’t always have the internet and I’d be out of contact for a few days sometimes because I had no money to top up my SIM card for my mobile phone,” he said. 

As a result of these setbacks, his relationship with his parents was distant – not from neglect, but because they were often out trying to make ends meet. 

“They were hardly at home and we never went on holidays, unlike other children. So that made me really want to make them proud.”

This detached relationship with his parents meant that school became a form of refuge for Mr Tan and also an arena where he could shine to make his parents proud.  

He read voraciously, joined the debate team, became the president of the info-technology club and led a team of sports leaders.

He eventually went on to Anglo-Chinese Junior College without having spent a single cent on tuition classes. 

After graduating with a business degree from the Nanyang Technological University, Mr Tan went on to build a string of businesses over the years including having a custom mechanical keyboard store and a business renting out training rooms. 

“Because of money anxiety growing up, I thought that I needed to do business very well,” he said.

The bulk of his financial independence came in 2021 when consumer goods giant Unilever acquired Paula’s Choice, the skincare brand he had been distributing in Singapore. 

At this point in his life, however, he realised that he had pushed himself to be successful as a businessman primarily to impress others and that his heart was no longer in it. 

“As I got older, it came to a point whereby I stopped desiring to do business, because I have no interest in ornamental things. I have no interest in a lavish lifestyle or spending,” he said.

A key turning point came during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when he became the breadwinner for his family after both his father and brother lost their jobs. His mother was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer around the same time and she is now in remission.

This and other events in his personal life, such as his parents' belief that they could not sell their old Housing and Development Board flat since it had fewer than 50 years left on its lease, contributed to his desire to enter politics through the General Election this year. 

Looking back at his modest past, he believes he wouldn’t change a thing. 

“It did shape my vision of what life is like. I think you develop a sense of humour and humility from being in that position and it’s better to just laugh off the situation than to wallow in pity.

“Not everything can be controlled in life. If you try to control things in life, I think you end up with more pain.

“So the motivation went from ‘Let’s impress somebody’ to ‘Let’s see how much we can make change'.” 

Mr Tan previously told CNA that he had spoken to Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general Pritam Singh about joining the party's slate, but stated that the party chief did not want people “joining, then running off to do their own thing”.

In any case, the Bitcoin advocate said that part of the appeal of running independently was not having to adhere strictly to party positions. If ever Mr Tan were to start a political party, he would do without a party whip so that everyone can “speak purely”, he mused.

A "HIGH STANDARD" CAMPAIGN

Mr Tan has never been a gambling man, but even he knew that the odds would be stacked against him at the General Election going up against the PAP's well-oiled political machinery. 

His goal was to run a campaign that demonstrated seriousness, sincerity and, as he put it, “a high standard”.

“We always see the independents just go out there and give a speech on Nomination Day and then you won't see them until Polling Day,” he said.

He set out to change that perception, and by many accounts, he did.

From flyers and posters to walkabouts, a proper rally and an active social media presence, Mr Tan ticked just about every box a party-backed candidate might, with the help of just 20 active volunteers. 

What set him apart was something few candidates offered: a direct line to people.

On his website, Mountbatten SMC constituents could book a 15-minute phone call or house visit with him during the campaign period. This stretched from lunchtime to the wee hours of the morning in order to accommodate overseas voters.

All available slots were filled, he told me, making up nearly 100 phone calls and close to 20 house visits.

“Sometimes, I had to get two or three people on the same call together,” he said. “There were also people who called just to see if (the booking) worked."

One of the more memorable visits he made was to a resident who had portraits of old political legends hung up on her walls. She was a former member of parliament from the first generation of PAP leaders and she offered him sage advice for the campaign in a mix of Mandarin and Hokkien. She did not wish to be identified for this article. 

“That was very refreshing and heartwarming. It felt very surreal because she said she doesn’t care much about politics these days ... Yet she wanted me to go and just have a chat,” he said. 

What also stood out during the campaign was his responsiveness online. 

Even with a packed schedule of media interviews, phone calls and rallies, Mr Tan made time to reply to comments on online forums such as Reddit and HardwareZone, often long after midnight. 

“I used to do businesses where word of mouth was how we got so viral,” he said.

“You can use ads to get the first customer, but whether or not the customer will continue evangelising for you will depend on your sincerity, speaking to one customer at a time and then another. 

“That was the same way I was going to do it this time.”

In the end, despite Mountbatten SMC’s high absentee rate in terms of voter turnout and his campaign’s lack of grassroots infrastructure, Mr Tan said he “almost made history” with his election result. 

One of the biggest lessons he took away from his maiden campaign was this: Don’t take yourself too seriously.

“You cannot do politics if you worry about self-image,” he said. 

“Because no matter how well you do or how poorly you do, somebody will have something nice and something bad to say.”

"ENCIK BITCOIN" 

Throughout the election campaign, Mr Tan advocated for the government to incorporate Bitcoin into several of its economic policies in order to put the country in better financial stead, such as including Bitcoin in the country's official foreign reserves.

This is because he believes Bitcoin to be an inflation-proof asset and a superior reserve commodity to gold.

This belief was so central to his political campaign that early on, he gave himself the moniker "Encik Bitcoin" and wanted his political symbol to be a version of the Bitcoin logo itself.

This move attracted some early criticism from the electorate. Some voters assumed it was a gimmick and a sign of self-interest, I suggested to him. However, he quickly brushed off those sentiments.

“I had, like, 500 followers on my private Instagram account up until I started doing this election,” he said. “I didn’t come up for the purposes of anything other than solving problems.” He now has close to 26,000 followers.

He is not advocating for people to invest in Bitcoin, but Mr Tan said that the moniker is fundamental to his political identity.

“Because looking at retirement inadequacy, how we use our Central Provident Fund for housing, how healthcare (make up) our second largest in spending, it all reflects one thing, which is that people’s savings are not compounding. 

“As long as fiat (currency) and inflation exist, people in the next generation just have to keep working harder and harder ... People with no assets will have to play catch-up. 

“So I will keep pushing on this. And of course, for people to support me, I will do coverage on things that matter to us outside of just savings – employment, electoral change, how to handle crime and healthcare.” 

Outside of politics, he approaches the world with intense, sometimes obsessive curiosity – never satisfied with a singular narrative.

He told me he often dives into “very right-wing” and “very leftist” forums from different countries to discover the sources they use for their arguments and meet people from all walks of life to understand an issue thoroughly. 

For instance, when it was reported last year that the national registration identity card and credit card information of many Singaporeans had been leaked, Mr Tan took it upon himself to delve into forums on the dark web to ascertain how big the threat was. 

In general, his reading list includes the obscure and esoteric as well, such as non-fiction tomes on topics as varied as advances in quantum computing, geopolitical affairs, the Knights Templar, the founding of reserve banking and the idea that the sun might be a “conscious being”. 

“I read everything,” he said. “I don’t want to be a stranger to knowledge.”

WHAT COMES NEXT

The election may be over, but Mr Tan isn’t slowing down. 

Since Polling Day, his schedule has continued to be jam-packed. Interviews with the media continue to line up, informal discussions with political parties have resumed and he has even met up with former non-constituency MPs such as Calvin Cheng and Anthea Ong.

Mr Tan has also been working quietly on the next phase of his long game, which is to kickstart the idea of having Bitcoin options for Singaporeans’ savings. 

He admitted the project might take years, perhaps until the next election, but he’s in no rush.

“That’s something in which we need to put a lot more time. It’s because many Singaporeans don't realise why they have to keep working longer hours for lesser returns.”

On the ground, something else is taking shape as well – a loose coalition of engineers, data scientists and software developers, many of whom reached out to him to ask how they can get involved to make “opaque” issues in society more transparent. 

However, not all of Mr Tan's post-election ideas are big structural reforms. Some are simple, almost whimsical, but grounded in care for ordinary Singaporeans. 

He repeated to me his comments to the media after Polling Day that he intends to use his social media platforms to discuss issues that interest him. For instance, one of his most earnest proposals is to let people take their pets on public transport.

“Being able to bring your loved ones with you on your (everyday) journeys is a very heartening thing,” he said. 

“It is very uplifting to the spirit. People would say, ‘What about cleaning costs (for pets)?’ But what are cleaning costs when we can gain (much more) by having these things for Singaporeans who don’t have the means to afford children?

“If they have a small pet, just let them take the pet to Gardens by the Bay on the weekend using an MRT carriage with a limited pass. That’s not too much to ask from society.”

Perhaps it's apt, then, that the symbol he ultimately chose for his campaign was that of a dog. 

Whether it’s designing national savings systems or enabling small freedoms in daily life, it’s clear that Mr Tan's future plans, like his campaign, are built on the belief that ideas, no matter how unconventional, deserve a space to be heard.

He told me that he is not opposed to joining a party "of any colour" – not even PAP – because his political raison d'etre is to advocate for change directly. 

Regardless of whether he joins a party, forms a party or runs independently in the next election, he said one thing is for sure: “The dog will return in five years.”