MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling, who was recently appointed as Director of Public Affairs and Policy by Grab, has been given the new title of Director of Corporate Development.
This strange twist of titles comes after a week of intense public criticism directed at both Grab and Tin by an angry Singaporean public.
Grab said in a statement that Tin’s duties in the new corporate development role will include “realising synergies across our investments and acquisitions, as well as supporting strategy development.”
The company said that she will no longer be involved in public affairs and policy work or represent the company in discussions with government officials.
Tin, PAP MP for MacPhersons SMC is also the chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Communications and Information, and a member of the GPC for Culture, Community and Youth.
She had declared when she first took up the Grab appointment that she had informed her party leaders, and they did not object to the appointment.
However, the Singaporean public saw things differently, with many calling out the blatant conflict of interest involved when a public servant joins a private firm to represent the best interest of the firm in discussions with government.
