[7] 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.

"[8] 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.

[9] 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.

[10] 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”.

[11] 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.