2 NMPs to look out for – Chia Yong Yong and Kok Heng Leun

Four second-term Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) and five new NMPs will be sworn in on Thursday (24 March).
Among the second-term NMPs are Chia Yong Yong, 54, a lawyer and President of Society for the Physically Disabled. Ms Chia is best remembered for her parliamentary speech which was applauded by several Cabinet Ministers (including PM Lee Hsien Loong). It questioned if CPF was actually the members’ money.

“Is it our money? Our CPF savings are enhanced and forced CPF savings which are accumulated through our own deferred consumption, through co-payment by our employers and through top-ups from public funds. Is it really my private money? Do I have the right to spend it the way I would spend my own salary? I’m not entirely sure.”

Other second term NMPs are Thomas Chua, 62, Chairman and Managing Director of Techwah Industrial Corporation and President of Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Kuik Shiao-Yin, 39, Director and Co-founder of The Thought Collective; and Randolph Tan, 52, Associate Professor at SIM University.
Among the NMPs who will make their debut in Parliament is Kok Heng Leun, 50, Artistic Director of Dramabox. At his application to be NMP, Mr Kok said, “as an arts and cultural worker, I would like to bring to Parliament a cultural way of thinking, doing and looking at the world.”
This is the second time the Arts community had nominated the theatre-practitioner. He was not selected at the previous round. On hearing that he has been successfully nominated to be a parliamentarian this time around, Mr Kok said in his Facebook, “I see my role in Parliament as one where I can keep reminding parliamentarians and Singaporeans that we need to have dreams and ideals, and not short-change ourselves into being simplistic and pragmatic.”
The other first time NMPs are Azmoon Bin Ahmad, 54, Managing Director of Desay SV Automotive Singapore; Ganesh Rajaram, 49, Executive Vice President (Asia) of Fremantlemedia International; Mahdev Mohan, 37, Assistant Professor at SMU’s School of Law; and K Thanaletchimi, 50, Senior Assistant Manager of National University Hospital and President of an employees’ union.