Kok Heng Leun
| Kok Heng Leun | |
|---|---|
 Kok speaking at an arts discussion. | |
| Nominated Member of Parliament | |
|
In office 22 March 2016 – Present | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kok Heng Leun Singapore |
| Alma mater | National University of Singapore |
| Occupation | Arts Director, Politician |
| Website | Singapore Parliament |
Kok Heng Leun (born 1966) is a Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) who represents the arts sector in Singapore. He was appointed by the President of Singapore in March 2016.[1] Concurrently, he works as the Artistic Director of Singaporean theatre company Drama Box. He is a member of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Programme Committee, and is part of the arts advisory panel of the National Arts Council (Singapore).[2]
Background
From 1987 to 1990, Kok majored in mathematics at the National University of Singapore. He worked at the Ministry of Community Development as an officer in 1990. In 1991, he took up a job as a programme executive at The Substation, an independent arts center in Singapore. In 1992, he joined theater company The Necessary Stage as its business manager before going on to become a resident director. It was only in 1998 that Kok was appointed as artistic director at Drama Box.[3] Kok had directed more than 80 plays, and is regarded as a practitioner in Singapore's arts sector. He received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council in 2000 and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Culture Award in 2003. In 2006, he received the Outstanding Young Person (Culture) award.[4]
Political career
Previously in 2014, he made an unsuccessful bid for NMP, and told news agency Channel NewsAsia that "the arts and culture should have a place in the national conversation...and should be brought to the attention of policy makers and to Singaporeans."[5] However, despite his calls to implement change through constructive communication, Kok, after much debate, withdrew his petition in parliament over the controversial Administration of Justice (Protection) Bill that was passed in August 2016. Thereafter, he made a public apology on his own accord.
In May 2016, during his first speech as an NMP in the Singapore Parliament, he "bemoaned the lack of critical thinking among Singaporeans", but did not provide any conceptual or broad solutions to address these inadequacies that he put forth.[6] In a separate incident, he gave his opinion about the change of leadership of Singapore's Arts House stating that its former CEO Lee Chor Lin, who led the organization for three years, should have "stayed at the institution for longer so that the direction of the leadership could have a longer time to take shape and its impact to be felt more deeply”.[7]
In September 2016, Kok developed his own Meet-the-People Sessions in auditoriums and classroom to discuss matters concerning the arts community, and was reported to have used his own funds to do so, although professionally, he was not required to do so in his capacity as an NMP, which functions differently as elected Members of the Singapore Parliament who are obliged to hold such sessions as part of their public service commitments.[8]
References
- ↑ "Parliament of Singapore".
- ↑ "Arts Advisory Panel, National Arts Council, retrieved 26 Sep 2016".
- ↑ "Corrie Tan, Cross Talk with Benson Puah and Kok Heng Leun: Audiences and staying relevant, The Straits Times (3 Nov 2015), retrieved 2 Oct 2016".
- ↑ "Arts NMP 2016, Arts Engage (18 Mar 2016), retrieved 1 Oct 2016".
- ↑ "Theatre director Kok Heng Leun to take second crack at arts NMP position, Channel NewsAsia (22 Feb 2016), retrieved 22 Sep 2016".
- ↑ "We need a wiser Singapore, not a reactionary one: NMP Kok Heng Leun, Channel NewsAsia (28 May 2016), retrieved 23 Sep 2016".
- ↑ "Arts House Limited CEO Lee Chor Lin resigns, TODAY (26 Sep 2016), retrieved 26 Sep 2016".
- ↑ "NMP apologises after change of heart in contempt Bill Amendments, TODAY newspaper, retrieved 22 Sep 2016".