Speak plainly and from the heart to connect with people: NMP Kuik Shiao-Yin

SINGAPORE – Her stirring speeches in Parliament have regularly made the rounds on social media, and outgoing Nominated Member of Parliament Kuik Shiao-Yin believes that politicians – including those in Singapore – need to do a better job at speaking plainly, instead of using “fancy” words that “can mean everything to everyone... (but yet) simultaneously mean nothing”.

Citing the word “innovate” as an example, she said: “Today, a lot of organisations are very into saying, 'We need to innovate' — an example of a very big word that means various things to many people, as opposed to using very specific words, such as 'I would like to change the way we do salaries'.”

Ms Kuik, who became an NMP almost four years ago, will be stepping down in September after completing her term.

In a interview with TODAY last week, the 41-year-old co-founder of social business group The Thought Collective also said she has sought to be a bridge between youth and Parliament — not only being a voice for young people, but also getting youths more interested in government affairs through her speeches which have resonated with the public.

The common refrains which she hear from young Singaporeans? Parliament is "boring”, and politicians use "cheem (difficult) words that have little relevance to my life”, she said.

Adding that she has sought to dispel these perceptions during her NMP stint, she said: “To me, if people are bored or indifferent to Parliament for too long, you are running the risk of sowing great distrust in the institution. There is something very potentially dangerous there, because we ought to be paying attention to proceedings in the House.”

She added: “In fact, fancy words may be precisely why people are bored... Plain speech is understandable speech. I can latch onto it and work with it. But if speech is so removed from my reality, either because it sounds too 'cheem', or it sounds as if it has nothing, really, to do with my life, then yes, I will find it boring.”

But communicating in plain and specific terms requires courage, she pointed out.

The Republic's late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was an effective orator who used plain speech, she noted.

She cited as an instance Mr Lee's speech at a scholarship presentation ceremony in Sembawang in September 1965, a month after Singapore's independence.

Mr Lee had then said: “Over 100 years ago, this was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear.”

Ms Kuik said: “To say that is very courageous. It is almost like, if you dare to say it, you have to be prepared to work at it.”

But she acknowledged that compared to other parliamentarians, NMPs have a “certain freedom” in speaking up about specific communities in society because they do not have political affiliations and governmental responsibilities.

She said: “The ministers have to think about the 10,000 implications to other policies and trade-offs that we are not that aware of, which I think presents a great challenge… As a citizen writing from my perspective, I can in some sense write about it simpler, because I am not thinking about all the other ministries or stakeholders, who are maybe hoping that I will represent their interests.”

And not having to toe a party line is also what makes the role of an NMP valuable, she said.

Said Ms Kuik: “Because of that, my core interest is Singapore… The only frame of reference I have is, what matters to the country, or what matters to the communities that I care about.”

NMPs, who are appointed by the President, have the same rights as elected MPs to raise questions, suggest legislation and speak on all matters in the House.

They can vote on all matters in the House except constitutional amendments, motions to remove the President, motions of no confidence in the Government, Supply Bills and Money Bills.

MORE ROOM FOR EMOTIONS PLEASE

During the interview, Ms Kuik also spoke about the need to have more room in politics for empathy and emotions.

While she has been an NMP since August 2014, Ms Kuik – by her own admission – came into prominence after she made an emotive speech during the Budget debate last year.

In the speech, she used the analogy of “the child in the basement” — adapted from American writer Ursula Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas — to urge Singaporeans to help “the drowning ones and the ones in the basement that need it the most”.

The speech was shared extensively over social media. A recording of it on the Love Singapore Facebook page was viewed 647,000 times and shared 11,000 times within a week after it was posted.

Rather than stringing “fancy words” together in their speeches, parliamentarians must strive to communicate in an understandable and relevant way, Ms Kuik reiterated.

Having paved the way during her stint, he hopes to see more “emotional content” in parliamentary speeches.

“I don’t mean emotional pandering, I mean to genuinely try and capture a sense of what is the emotional quality behind the issues,” she said. “Because if you don’t capture the emotional quality of those issues, you just leave people feeling that they have not been heard.”

To those who wish to take a leaf from her in writing a good speech, she said there is no rocket science behind it except to write it oneself.

“There is a huge difference between a speech that is written from yourself, in your voice, that really reflects what you value and what you care about, and what communities you represent care about, versus a speech that was written by someone else on your behalf,” she said.

Having had a ringside seat to the rough-and-tumble of politics, Ms Kuik said she also dreams of the day when politicians of different stripes collaborate with one another in finding solutions to the problems of the day.

She said: “I hate divisiveness and I particularly hate adversarial, partisan politics because it’s bad for the country and ultimately hurts the people most... I don’t believe anybody truly wins when politics devolves into isolating, humiliating, weakening or smearing the other side.”

On her future plans, Ms Kuik said she will immerse herself with work at The Thought Collective, which helps individuals and organisations build “social and emotional capital”.

As to why she was not keen to apply for a third term, Ms Kuik said: “If I step down, it’s a very healthy signal to people out there in the system that it is your time to step in and do what you will, and speak what you must… Nobody should be in that seat for too long.”

Given the accolades which have come her way, in particular for her effective speeches in Parliament, Ms Kuik was asked by TODAY if she would ever consider going into politics.

To this, she would only say: “In my current assessment, I don’t think that’s where I’m best placed to serve my country. ”