Questions remain over Tin Pei Ling's role at Grab; firms should be more careful in hiring MPs, say analysts

SINGAPORE — Questions remain over why Grab hired Member of Parliament (MP) Tin Pei Ling for a government affairs-related position and whether she can still be objective in her parliamentarian role, despite the company's move on Friday (Feb 10) to reassign her to a corporate development position.

Following the public outcry over her appointment as Grab’s director of public affairs and policy last week, companies would also have to be careful when hiring office bearers in roles that could potentially lead to a conflict of interest, analysts told TODAY.

The technology and ride-hailing company said on Friday that it has changed Ms Tin’s appointment to director of corporate development, noting that her original post had generated "significant" discourse on a potential conflict of interest with her parliamentarian role. 

Ms Tin is the MP for MacPherson constituency, the chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Communications and Information, and a member of the GPC for Culture, Community and Youth.

Before joining Grab, she was the chief executive officer at Business China, a non-profit dedicated to cultivating Singapore-China relationships.

Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian from the department of political science at the National University of Singapore (NUS) said that while Grab addressing the potential conflict of interest is “more helpful than not” doing so, the question remains as to why the firm wanted to hire Ms Tin in a role relating to public affairs and policy in the first place.

“(Grab) must know that this would raise questions about conflicts of interest,” Assoc Prof Chong said.

Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the law faculty at the Singapore Management University said that even with the change in job role to director of corporate development, there will still be doubt as to whether Ms Tin's role will be as circumscribed as indicated by Grab.

Moreover, the move to change her appointment on Friday could have inadvertently reinforced the sentiment that public concern over a potential conflict of interest was justified, even if that is not the case, the analysts said.

Assoc Prof Tan said: "I don’t think the move helps Grab’s cause. It may instead confirm that the appointment was indeed problematic and involved a conflict of interest from the get-go, which is not the case."

In its statement on Friday, Grab said that Ms Tin’s role as director of corporate development will include “realising synergies across our investments and acquisitions, as well as supporting strategy development”. 

She will not be involved in public affairs and policy work in Singapore, or represent Grab in public policy discussions with Singapore government officials, it added.

Professor Mak Yuen Teen, a corporate governance expert who is professor (practice) of accounting at NUS, said that Ms Tin will have to be “extremely careful” in how she handles information she receives in her role as MP and chairperson of the GPC for Communications and Information that would seem to be relevant to Grab's business. 

GPCs are committees comprising People's Action Party MPs that scrutinise the legislation and programmes of their assigned ministerial portfolios and provide feedback on government policies. 

Prof Mak said: "There may still be the perception as to whether she can be totally objective in her role as GPC chairman on issues that may affect Grab. At the end of the day, perceptions matter."

Analysts said that an MP switching roles in a private sector job following public outcry over potential conflict of interest is rather unusual, but this could have been due to the public profile of Grab and Ms Tin.

"I think the reaction would be very different if Ms Tin was in the government relations and public affairs role for a charity," Assoc Prof Tan said.

Grab’s move on Friday will also set a precedent for a parliamentarian to not work in a role where potential for conflict of interest is probable, and not just possible, he added.

A government affairs role will now be perceived as being incompatible with that of an MP, even if this is not necessarily the case, he said.

The analysts cautioned that companies must be more careful when hiring office bearers in roles that could potentially lead to conflict, as well as the public perception it might create. 

Describing Grab's initial appointment as "naive", Prof Mak said that companies and individuals should ask how they will look if their appointment appears in the news.

Similarly, MPs should also be mindful of the role they sign up for in private companies and whether it can create a conflict of interest.

Assoc Prof Chong from NUS said that he hopes there will be more stringent measures on MPs working for private firms, especially since they may affect public perception about conflict of interest.