Chia Yong Yong (; born 1962) is a Singaporean lawyer, disability advocate and a former

Nominated Member of Parliament A Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) is a non-partisan member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed by the president to contribute independent and diverse perspectives to parliamentary debates. They are not affiliated to any pol ...

(NMP) of Singapore from August 2014 to September 2018.

Education

Chia was educated in Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School between 1969 and 1978 and later attended

Catholic Junior College Catholic Junior College (CJC) is a junior college in Singapore, offering a two-year course for pre-university students leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examination. Founded in 1975, Catholic Junior College was the third juni ...

from 1979 to 1980. Following her A-Levels, she completed a Bachelor of Laws degree with Honours at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

in 1985, and was admitted to the Singapore Bar as an advocate and solicitor in 1986.

Career

Legal career

Chia is a corporate lawyer in Singapore. In 2017, she started her own law firm, Chia Yong Yong Law Corporation. In media interviews, Chia expressed her passion for her work and overcoming challenges to conclude business deals. Chia actively gives talks on commercial law issues, and is also a member of the Council of the Law Society's panel of approved Mediators and Investigative Tribunal.

Civil career

Chia was a member of the steering committee of Our Singapore Conversation in 2013, a steering committee member and work group member of the Committee on the Future Economy, steering committee member of the Third Enabling Masterplan. In August 2014, Chia was appointed to be a NMP in the

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...

. She is the first wheelchair user who has a seat in Singapore Parliament. In Parliament, Chia has spoken frequently on issues concerning disability welfare, including the MediShield Life Scheme Bill and on the proposed changes to the CPF scheme during the Budget 2015 Debate. In June 2015, Chia was involved as a member of the Singapore Government's delegation to the United Nations

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument, international human rights multilateral treaty, treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with Disabil ...

Conference of the State Parties, serving as speaker at the

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Econ ...

(UNDESA) Forum on Disability and Development, jointly organised by the UNDESA and the Republic of Singapore, and as moderator at the forum "Women with Disabilities", organised by the Republic of Korea. Chia was reappointed for a second term in March 2016.She was a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods in 2018.

Community work

Chia had served as a member of the Prisons Welfare Committee from 1986 to 1987. Chia has served since 1995 as the legal advisor and company secretary of Very Special Arts Ltd, a charity organisation launched in September 1993 to provide persons with disabilities with opportunities to access the arts for rehabilitation and social integration. Chia has been President of

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

, a society serving people with physical disabilities, since 2008. She has been board member of SG Enable since 2014, and was also a member of the REACH Supervisory Panel from 2012 to 2016, and member of

National Council of Social Service The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Social and Family Development of the Government of Singapore The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore, Constitution ...

's Advocacy and Research Advisory Panel for one term.

Religious activity

Chia is a member of the Zion Bible-Presbyterian Church and formerly sat on its Board of Deacons between April 2007 and 2010. She was then on the board of deacons for Zion Bishan Bible-Presbyterian Church from 2010 till 2013.

Personal life

Chia was diagnosed with peroneal muscular atrophy when she was 15. She gradually had to depend on crutches, and later wheelchairs, as her muscle tissue progressively weakened. She has not been able to stand for 20 years and her hands have grown limp. For her work, Chia uses dictation software or dictates notes to her personal assistant.

Achievements

In recognition of her dedication and continued efforts in the public and social services sectors, Chia was awarded the President's Social Service Award (Individual Category) in 2011, and the

Pingat Bakti Masyarakat The ''Pingat Bakti Masyarakat'' (English: Public Service Medal) is a Singaporean orders and decorations, Singaporean national honour. It was instituted in 1973. The medal may be awarded to any person who has rendered commendable public service in ...

(Public Service Medal) in 2013. In 2018, she was awarded the

Bintang Bakti Masyarakat The Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (English: Public Service Star) is a Singaporean orders and decorations, Singaporean decoration instituted in 1963. It is awarded to any person who has rendered valuable public service to the people of Singapore, or wh ...

(Public Service Star).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chia, Yong Yong 21st-century Singaporean lawyers Members of the Parliament of Singapore Women legislators Corporate lawyers National University of Singapore alumni Recipients of the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat Singaporean politicians of Chinese descent 20th-century Singaporean lawyers 21st-century Singaporean politicians Singaporean women in politics 20th-century Singaporean women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers