Ms. Yap’s recognition stems from more than 13 years of public interest advocacy, combining commercial legal practice with extensive policy reform work. Her career includes handling complex disputes and white-collar investigations at Drew & Napier, including matters under Singapore’s Prevention of Corruption Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. She was also involved in Singapore’s first deferred prosecution agreement. Alongside her firm work, she completed a Master of Laws degree at Columbia Law School as a Fulbright Scholar, focusing her research on labour migration, sustainable finance, and human rights.
Parliamentary Contributions and Legislative Reform
Beyond private practice, Ms. Yap spent nine years as a legislative assistant to former Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament Louis Ng, after beginning her advocacy journey as an intern at animal welfare group ACRES (The Straits Times). During her tenure with Mr. Ng, she balanced her commercial law workload by taking a 20 percent pay cut and reducing her law firm schedule to four days a week to dedicate time to legislative drafting.
Her most prominent legislative achievement in Parliament was helping draft the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. The statute, which protects food donors from specific civil and criminal liabilities under defined safeguards, is one of Singapore’s rare pieces of legislation successfully tabled by a backbencher rather than government authorities. Following years of public consultations with hotels, supermarkets, charities, and restaurants, the Bill was introduced in July 2024 and passed unanimously the following month.
Advocacy for Vulnerable Communities and Future Outlook
Former deputy speaker of Parliament Charles Chong supported her nomination, highlighting that she refused to relegate public interest work to the margins of a conventional career. Throughout her career, Ms. Yap has maintained a strong focus on migrant worker rights, collaborating with organizations such as Justice Without Borders and Transient Workers Count Too. Her grassroots engagement included organizing activities for migrant cleaners and visiting families in Dhaka to support visa and family reunion applications.
Following the completion of her master’s degree in June 2026, Ms. Yap has stepped away from her legislative assistant role to pursue independent advocacy. She is currently examining practical reforms to improve migrant worker transportation on lorries, evaluate catered food safety compliance, and advocate for tougher legal penalties regarding employment kickbacks, comparing them directly to corruption offences. While she has not ruled out entering politics in the future, her immediate focus remains on driving policy changes from outside Parliament.