The year 2020 marked a turning point for Mr Jeremy Tan.
This was when his mother was diagnosed with stage three cancer and a number of his family members lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A year later, the 34-year-old sold his company and started to "look for policies" that he could improve on.
"After doing the extensive research ... I realised that the only way I can change this is to run for politics," he said.
"This is not a thing where you can just be an activist. You can go into the legislature to change things."
Mr Tan was on Wednesday confirmed as an independent candidate for Mountbatten SMC where he will face off against People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate Gho Sze Kee.
"What motivated me is that the next generation looks like they will be worse off than the current or previous generation," he said.
He is not the only independent candidate who will contest the upcoming General Election, with Mr Darryl Lo Kar Keong also making the cut as a candidate for Radin Mas SMC.
Mr Lo will face incumbent Melvin Yong from the People’s Action Party (PAP) as well as People’s Alliance for Reform’s (PAR) Kumar Appavoo.
According to his social media, the Singapore Management University (SMU) law graduate grew up in Bukit Purmei. Mr Lo said in a video that he was stepping up to contest in the single-seat constituency as he believes “more diverse voices” in parliament can lead to better discussions and policies.
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