Posts for 2025

Singapore has spoken. Yesterday on the 3rd of May, we spoke at the ballot box and made our respective decisions in our various constituencies. Some were won, some were lost, and Singapore moves on.

But in the neighbourhood of Mountbatten in the eastern part of the island, the spoils of victory go to Ms Gho Sze Kee of the People's Action Party. Her opponent? A certain independent candidate by the name of Jeremy Tan, a tech-savvy entrepreneur. And he's the subject of this blogpost today.

Tan (no relation here; us Tans are all over Southeast Asia) came to my attention on the 1st of May as he held a rally to present his case to Mountbatten residents. In the process, he won quite a few hearts, I suspect, including mine. Though I might be biased; I, too, am a software developer. There's footage of his presentation here, and honestly, I can't do it justice with a mere description; so do check it out below on YouTube.

Chill!

What I liked, first and foremost, was the chill, laid-back vibe. He was basically jiving with the crowd, getting them to repeat the night's catch-phrase - Full-time pay, part-time job, alluding to Gho Sze Kee's intention to only be a part-time MP - at pertinent parts of his speech. This was political showmanship without the fireworks. I know we love those from time to time, but this election served up a disproportionate dose of testosterone.





Thus, Jeremy Tan's cheeky quips and laid-back zingers were a refreshing change. It felt more like a stand-up comedy routine than a political rally as he roasted both his opponent Gho Sze Kee and the outgoing incumbent Lim Biow Chuan.

Relatable

One point Jeremy Tan made was in response to Lim Biow Chuan's assertion that "There's something about Jeremy Tan's language that I don't quite agree with.".


And this is a very valid point. You see, no one (OK, hardly any one) disputes the fact that the incumbent boasts some of the best and brightest minds of Singapore. The cream of the crop. The kind who would be able to make more than the monthly SGD 16,000 that is on offer for the average MP, quite easily. The kind, like Ms Gho Sze Kee, who saw the role of MP as only a "part-time job", or side gig.

And that's part of the problem. These people have higher-paying jobs that they don't have a chance of losing every 5 years or so. Therefore some of them sometimes give off the impression that they resent having to place themselves at the mercy of us unwashed schmucks every 5 years, and plead their case as to why they should be re-elected. After all they've done for the country! How dare these peasants presume to judge them?!


Therein lies the disconnect.

If you told the average man in the street, who earns maybe SGD 4,000 a month or less, and told him you'd pay him four times that but every 5 years he would have to go through a national review to keep his job, he would consider that an unbelievably good deal. That kind of pay and you don't need to worry about losing your job for at least 5 years?! Sign me up, bro.

Sometimes Singaporeans don't need the best. They need people who can adequately do the job and they can relate to. It's all very well to have the best and brightest doing the job until they piss you off every time they open their mouths. Remember, suitability for a role is not merely a matter of technical, but also social competence.

And finally... the tech stack

This was the part that sold me. I am a software developer, after all, even if not a particularly outstanding one.

Jeremy Tan commented on the state of the ERP and CRM Software used in the Town Council. As a software applications engineer with the relevant experience, he pledged to rebuild the entire tech stack.  It was his vision to create some kind of "digital town" for Mountbatten.


Now, was this all some tech gibberish designed to bamboozle the average non-techie? Maybe. It does sound like a tall order, especially when he started talking about A.I. But it also does sound like an exciting project.

This also resonated because I have noticed similar things about other Government-linked systems I have used recently and in the past. While some of the deficiencies were tech-based, some of it was due to tech being layered on top of outdated manual processes. Granted, there have been marked improvements as of late, but it's also a little concerning that these improvements have only come recently.

I could go on, but this is supposed to be about my guy Jeremy Tan, so...

In conclusion?

Jeremy Tan's efforts brought me back to a period in time where Big Tech founders conducted bold experiments in their family garages. That kind of enterprise is perhaps what we sorely need as a nation.

He may not last in the public eye beyond this election. But he'll be remembered fondly. By me, at least. And if he ever wants to run again, I'll gladly distribute his flyers.