In the first two days of the budget 2016 debate, two parliamentarians made waves and garnered much applause in the House.

And the surprise?

They do not belong to the People's Action Party (PAP) or the Workers' Party (WP).

Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) shine

The two outstanding parliamentarians were NMPs Chia Yong Yong and Kuik Shiao-Yin.

NMPs are appointed by the President for a term of two and a half years on the recommendation of a Special Select Committee of Parliament chaired by the Speaker.

The scheme started in 1990, with the appointment of up to 9 NMPs, and aimed to bring into Parliament diverse voices from civil society.

What Chia and Kuik said

Chia, who is the president of SPD (formerly named the Society for the Physically Disabled) and lawyer, urged the Government to launch a national education campaign to reach out to people with disabilities and to raise awareness of disabilities not immediately obvious.

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What was especially touching was how Chia spoke up for people who are disabled:

"We hope for you to be patient when we are slow in entering the elevator. We don't like to hold up others.

We hope for you to be accommodating when we make strange, loud noises. We can't control our muscles...

Be kind to my parents when I throw tantrums. It is not because they did not teach me well. I simply cannot comprehend my external environment.

Please play with me. My legs are weak, but I still have a sense of adventure.

Thank you for accepting me."

Kuik, creative director of social enterprise The Thought Collective, lamented the "kiasu" (Singlish for afraid to lose) culture in Singapore.

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In a stinging remark to some so-called local entrepreneurs, Kuik added,

“Kiasu culture is too costly a culture to put up with...Kiasu culture is also what created a subculture of ‘grant-repreneurs’ - people who call themselves entrepreneurs but are actually grant chasers who seize upon any amount of public money, like the PIC (Productivity and Innovation Credit) grant, to use on everything but what the grant was meant to accomplish.”

In another quotable quote, Kuik noticed some disagreeable food and beverage (F&B) trends,

“Yesterday’s bubble tea shop is today’s hipster coffee joint and cat cafe"...We have a ridiculous number of entrepreneurs in F&B and way too little in industries like marine and construction which have far more opportunity, profit and need for new blood willing to go where nobody else dares to go.”

Ironically, the establishment are praising them too.

Out of the six parliamentarians' speeches featured so far, the government official Youtube page chose to highlight the speeches of three NMPs (including Arts NMP Koh Heng Leun, whom we have featured earlier today) and three People's Action Party (PAP) MPs.

This is quite a high success rate, considering that there are 9 NMPs and 82 PAP MPs.

The Straits Times also agreed, awarding Chia and Kuik's efforts as speeches of the day in the first two days.

April 5

April 6

This strange phenomenon leave us with a few questions of course.

1. Why are the messages by "amateur politicians" resonating better than the career politicians? 

Afterall, NMPs are part-time parliamentarians who have to juggle full-time jobs and their parliamentary commitments. Unlike MPs, they also do not have the support of legislative assistants.

Or are the Party Whips of PAP and WP curbing the expression of their fellow MPs?

According to the Parliament website, the Party Whip are "often regarded as the disciplinarians controlling MPs in their respective parties", and ensure that there are always sufficient party members in the Chamber to support the party's position and that MPs vote according to the party's line.

2. Are NMPs outperforming the partisan MPs because of their conviction and passion?

Some might argue that both Chia and Kuik performed well because they were experienced NMPs.

Afterall, they are 2nd term NMPs, as both were nominated as NMPs of the 12th Parliament from August 2014 to August 2015.

But an NMP's term of 2.5 years is much shorter than an MP's term of 4-5 years.

So why are they outperforming the partisan MPs?

Maybe it is because NMPs only have a short 2.5 years to contribute, so they do not take their roles for granted.

Maybe it is because some of them, like Chia and Kuik, spent their whole lives serving their specific interest groups and communities they were passionate in - the disabled for Chia, and the youth for Kuik - and could articulate the will and wishes of their communities better.

Maybe the partisan MPs have to remind themselves that the powers they have are lent to them for five years only by their electorate.

They have to remind themselves that their relationship with the Singaporeans who sent them to Parliament go beyond just managing their Town Councils and other municipal issues.

Or maybe Singaporeans have to think about the drastic and undemocratic move to increase the number of NMPs instead.

Related article:

This parliamentary speech by Arts Nominated MP Kok Heng Leun is more important than you think

9 notable NMPs who made us sit up and listen

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