Earlier this month, Member of Parliament (MP) for MacPherson Tin Pei Ling revealed that she would be joining Grab Singapore as its Director of Public Affairs and Policy.
However, she faced severe backlash regarding her new appointment, with members of the public saying that it was a conflict of interest with her MP role.
Just over a week later, Ms Tin announced that she has moved into a new role as Grab Singapore’s Director of Corporate Development instead.
The People’s Action Party (PAP) also released a statement regarding the situation.
In a Facebook post today (10 Feb), Ms Tin shared an update about her role at Grab Singapore.
She said that following discussions with Grab after the “recent public attention”, they agreed that the best way forward is for her to move into another role not involving Singapore’s Government relations.
According to Ms Tin, she had informed the PAP of her possible employment, as well as the nature of her role at Grab, in mid-2022.
When she formally informed the party about her appointment in Sep 2022, they did not object. Explaining the change, she wrote,
I understand and have long come to accept the public scrutiny that comes with being an MP. But I would never want it to hinder my ability to serve my constituents well as MP, or to do my job at Grab effectively.
The public casting doubt on her “intentions and actions in the future”, whether justified or not, she noted, hinders her roles.
Therefore, Ms Tin will be taking on the role as Director of Corporate Development instead.
She explained that the role aligns with her career interests and taps into her past experiences in consulting and corporate strategy.
Ms Tin went on to say that serving MacPherson over the past 12 years has been “extremely meaningful” to her.
Being the voice of my residents, finding ways to improve their lives, and serving Singapore will always, always be my top priority.
Source: Tin Pei Ling on Facebook
She also explained her reasons for wanting to join Grab.
“To ensure that I can always contribute constructively in Parliament, I also need to challenge myself to grow, and keep pace with developments,” she said.
Returning to the private sector is thus a chance to “hone new skills” and “broaden her (my) horizons”. She was expecting her role to be a chance for her to “contribute to society”.
Ms Tin ended her post by thanking her “friends, residents and fellow Grabbers who have been so supportive”.
In addition to her own statement, Ms Tin also shared statements by both Grab and PAP.
In the former, Grab claims that they had given “thought and care…to address any potential conflict of interest that may arise”.
“We also established rules of engagement where Pei Ling should not be advocating for Grab’s interest in her capacity as an MP,” they wrote.
Similarly, Ms Tin is also not to advocate for her constituency and party in her work within Grab.
Source: Tin Pei Ling on Facebook
Nevertheless, after noticing the “significant discourse” the news generated, they decided to “pause and reflect” on how they could “create an environment where Pei Ling can serve effectively” in her two roles.
We acknowledge that this is difficult if the intent behind every action or position she takes in the future is doubted or called into question.
Ms Tin’s corporate development role will include supporting strategy development, as well as realising synergies across Grab’s investments and acquisitions.
Grab emphasised that she will not be involved in public affairs and policy work in Singapore. Ms Tin will also not represent Grab in public policy discussions with Government officials.
The company will expect her to continue abiding by their “rules of engagement” to declare and avoid any possible conflicts of interest.
In their own statement on Facebook, the PAP confirmed that they did not object when Ms Tin informed them about her public affairs and policy post at Grab.
Source: People’s Action Party on Facebook
However, like Grab, the “public comments” about the controversial appointment led them to have another discussion to get a clearer idea of the scope of her duties.
“It then became clear to the Party that she would be expected to engage regularly with Government ministries and agencies on public policy issues on behalf of Grab,” the PAP said.
While she would make it clear that she was engaging in her private capacity and not as a PAP MP, there could still be challenges in carrying out these responsibilities, especially under the current circumstances.
They also reiterated that as Corporate Development Director, Ms Tin’s main duties will not involve Government relations in Singapore.
Highlighting that most “PAP backbench MPs have private careers”, the party explained the reason for this.
This keeps them in touch with our economy and society and enables able and committed people from many professions and walks of life to serve as MPs, raising the quality of MPs in Parliament.
Be that as it may, MPs must “rigorously separate their public role as MPs from their professional and commercial interests in their private careers”.
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Featured image adapted from Tin Pei Ling on Facebook and by MS News.
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