We were 10 minutes into the conversation when Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin declared: “I’m not very big on following, for following’s sake, just because people say that’s the way to go. I like to question, to figure out what’s real, what’s authentic, what works.”

You don’t get more plain speaking than that. 

Kuik Shiao-Yin served as a Nominated Member of Parliament for both the 12th and 13th Parliament of Singapore.

Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), Kuik Shiao-Yin, is now famed for her farewell note to the Singapore Parliament, where she urged politicians to do a better job at speaking plainly, and to limit their use of “fancy words”.

It takes guts to say that to a roomful of seasoned politicians, including senior leaders of the country, to say the least.

Her earlier Parliament speeches had also struck a chord with the public on social media.

Kuik is full of guts and no guile. 

The 42-year-old ex-parliamentarian’s day job as co-founder of The Thought Collective is to nurture the next generation’s leaders.

Between 2014 and 2018, she served two terms as a Nominated Member of Parliament.

Outgoing Nominated MPs with various members of the Cabinet and other parliamentarians. (Kuik standing, sixth from the right.)

But few know that she had turned down the role when first approached.

“My first response was, ‘No, why would I want to do that?’

“I had all these assessments mentally: Parliament is only for certain types of people. I don’t know anything about law or economics and blah, blah, blah,” she shrugged.

No one could have faulted her for declining – at the time, Kuik was a busy, new mother.

But then she stopped herself.

“I realised that the ‘no’ came from a place that didn’t sit right with me,” she said. “And when I thought it through, it felt very wrong to say ‘no’.

“I had been teaching young people that, if an opportunity to do good shows up, they should take it.

“For myself, I know that to be a good and faithful servant also means I have to steward the opportunities that come up in my life.

“When I dug down deep, I realised the deepest reason was: I wasn’t interested in getting flak online,” she said with trademark forthrightness. 

“If I stood out, I would attract all kinds of criticism. Who wants to do that?

“That’s when I knew I had to say ‘yes’. 

“A ‘no’ would be dishonouring of every person who’s had to put himself or herself out there.”

And where was God in this decision?

She let out a chuckle and said: “I think God was in the background having His laughs. He was not exactly like, ‘Come, let Me give you the holy message.’ 

“It was more like Him asking me, ‘Why are you scared?’

“So I thought to myself: Worse comes to worst, I lose face lah! And if I made a fool of myself, God is with me.

“The first year was a steep learning curve. I had to make sense of the Parliament jargon, lingo and the rules. No one gives you tuition for what to do in there. You just figure it out yourself. It’s the same for God’s will in my life.”

“What does being a Christian mean for my life?”

Kuik came to faith at the age of 20, in her second year of university.

She went to church to humour a friend who had invited her. 

But the service ended with Kuik crying without reason. Moved by the Holy Spirit, she subsequently came to faith. 

“When you convert as a young adult, you have to make a very clear, existential choice. I took that choice very seriously.

“I thought: If I’m going to call myself a Christian, what does this mean for my life?

“Since I was in architecture school, I asked myself, ‘Does God wants me to be an architect?’ It wasn’t a career path that I was enthusiastic about.

“I don’t know how He works with others, but with me, God doesn’t give me a plan from the sky.”  

With no clear answers, but an internship with a prestigious architectural firm in the United States in hand, Kuik’s next thought was: “Okay lah, just suck it up for the Lord!”

Even though she had an enjoyable stint in the United States, Kuik was increasingly convinced that architecture was not what she wanted to pursue.

Uncertainty continued to loom but it was lined with hope.

“The fact that I had God in my life gave me a way to steer and navigate.

“Although I didn’t know what I wanted, at the same time, I was very clear of the final destination I want to get at.

Kuik Shiao-Yin, second from left in the front row. The Thought Collective has a group of social enterprises which aims to build the social and emotional strengths of Singapore’s society.

“The end point for me is to live in a way that, when I die, I’d hear God say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ I do not want to waste my life, I want to seek and create meaning in this world.

“I have since developed a stronger sense of personal agency. It was God’s gift to me. I know that He has my back even as I take risk.

“If it wasn’t for my faith, I would have a significantly boring life!” she mused, then let out a laugh.

“Now God is the foundation that I always go back to, and the destination that I want to reach.”

Organic messiness

Kuik’s confidence in God has shaped her life, which she describes as “organic messiness”.

“You often hear Christians’ cleaned-up stories like, ‘You know, God told me this crystal clear plan, I just followed it, and got my way right.’

“For me, I feel that the Bible has already taught me the major lessons I need to know.

“He has put everything in my hands and gives me the free choice to grow into who I’m meant to be and realise it for myself.

“If God is an authoritarian father who just tells me what to do every time, then that’s not great parenting!”

So it was only after a few meanders that she found her groove.

There was a time she considered entering seminary. But teaching and development was the career that spoke to her spirit best, and so The Thought Collective was born.

The collective includes social enterprises School of Thought (described as a school that “drives innovation in civic learning to nurture generations of thought leaders”), Food for Thought (an eatery at the National Museum of Singapore that “transforms community spaces and brings people together to enjoy good food for a good cause”), Think Tank (which “curates content and designs information to make meaning in a complex world”) and Common Ground (which “bridges the public and private sector to facilitate social innovation for pressing national concerns”).

Kuik Shiao-Yin (in floral shirt) is the co-founder and director of The Thought Collective.

At The Thought Collective, Kuik had a class of students who weren’t her top scorers but were hungry to learn. They asked to stay on for free lessons even though they had completed the course.

“The students knew that I was a Christian and told me they wanted to learn about the different religious viewpoints, about good and evil and suffering in the world.

“I was shocked, but in a good way.

“I started with Christianity since that’s the religion I know best. The students had many questions and were so motivated that they bought their own Bibles. Later, on their own, they went to sit with a monk to ask questions.

“That, for me, was an amazing testimony of how much meaning you can find in the marketplace.

“I knew then that I didn’t need to go to seminary or serve in an overseas mission field when there was so much that could be done right here.”

Kuik, during the 2017 National Day Parade during her term as an NMP.

A nation preserved for a purpose

When it comes to Singapore, Kuik is “very optimistic”.

“We are a country that should not have succeeded,” she said matter-of-factly.

“There’re so many odds that are against this country and yet we have become one of the most successful countries in the world.

“But if we only have a pragmatic view, without faith, keeping ahead would be an exhausting perspective.

“How much harder can we work when we are already one of the hardest working countries where people do not sleep enough?

“I have a naÏve faith lens. I don’t believe what we have is just a perfect confluence of historical factors.

“I feel that God has a plan. I have no idea what it is but I know that God has preserved our country. You don’t keep a country in this state for no good reason!”

“No one gives you tuition on what to do in Parliament!”: Kuik Shiao-Yin on taking risks for God