Singapore Election PAP Wins 66% Vote Share, “Encik Bitcoin” First Crypto Candidate & Future Challenges

"I feel like, you know, the Singapore of our youth would not have produced this sort of candidate. Right? And yeah, so it's like really refreshing to see folks come out and try. And you know, he made a funny comment, right? He was like, 'Oh, you know, some PAP person's like: Who's this Jeremy Tan? I've never heard of him before.' And then he's like, 'Well yeah, who's my opponent? I've never heard of her before either.' Like, you know, he's just a regular person. So I think that in a place that tends to somehow, like, put people's credentials kind of on a pedestal, I think it was refreshing to have someone come through and sort of be like, 'Hey, I have ideas, I've done research, I care about this, and I'm going to run. I don't need validation from a party or anything.' Yeah, I thought it was kind of neat." - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner at Hustle Fund

"I did think that, you know, in WP wards where they are taking share — actually, even in Tampines where they lost — they still swung the vote share by quite a large amount. And so that's an interesting sort of result to me, which is that for places where the Workers' Party has been more entrenched, their management of the town council, the familiarity, them seeing their MPs walking around, continues to build trust amongst their constituents. And, you know, I think they're emerging as the most credible and organized opposition party, right? I think the other thing is that, like, ten plus parties contested, but everyone else lost their deposit except the independents. I think it's interesting because it's definitely fair to say that there was a sense that the quality of the candidates had improved for the Workers' Party — especially, I think, less so for the other political parties." - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner at Hustle Fund

"And I think the question you've got to ask yourself is: is this rewriting of the East and West relationship a four-year thing, or is this a forty-year cycle? Because if you're saying that it's a four-year thing, then Singapore's economic model doesn't have to change — in terms of its ports, logistics, and so forth. If it's more systemic, right, as a forty-year cycle that we're seeing here, then I think that's a serious headwind for the Singapore economy. So I think some serious thinking needs to be done, and we never really got that conversation going. Obviously, a lot of this is new and happening live. But I think there's going to be a serious debate over the next four years, which is like: if this is true, then what do we do? And I think that's a more fundamental debate. Because, I think, if you make an argument that East and West trade — let's say — goes to zero (I'm just saying as an example, right, not saying that's true), if you make that argument and go all the way to one end and say it goes to zero..." - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast

Jeremy Au and Shiyan discuss Singapore’s election outcomes, unpacking voter behavior, opposition growth, independent candidates, and future policy challenges. They reflect on global trends, local issues like housing and education, and how politics, tech, and business intersect in a rapidly changing world.