Tin, 39, responded to the criticism in a post on LinkedIn, saying that she would be “transparent and above board”. She said both Grab and the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) had rules compelling members to declare or avoid possible conflicts of interest.

“I am absolutely clear, that when I am discharging my duties in my capacity as a Member of Parliament, my constituents and Singapore come first,” she said. “When I am working on behalf of Grab, I will have to ensure that Grab’s interests are safeguarded.”

On the PAP website, Tin is listed as the chairperson of a government parliamentary committee that looks at communications and information.

Tin was most recently the chief executive of Business China, a non-profit backed by the Singapore government and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The lawmaker generated a national buzz when the long-ruling PAP introduced her as one of its youngest candidates in the 2011 polls. At the time, online commentators attacked her for posing with a designer bag on social media. Tin has since built a reputation for her grassroots work.

Why is Grab different from ride-hailing giants Uber, Lyft and Didi?

Amid the controversy, Grab has sought to defend Tin’s appointment by emphasising that it had rules to prevent conflicts of interest.

“Members of Parliament in Singapore are allowed to hold jobs in the private sector, and many hold such roles,” a Grab spokesperson said. “The two roles are distinct, and we have established clear rules of engagement to ensure that any conflicts of interest will be avoided.”

Most Singapore MPs have private-sector jobs and are required to declare their interests in any matter relating to their roles before legislative proceedings on these issues take place. Tin was a full-time MP from 2011 to 2017.

Mak Yuen Teen, a professor of accounting at the National University of Singapore who teaches corporate governance, said it was difficult to remove perceptions of conflict or actual conflicts. “She may be able to placate some but it seems to me that the conflicts, perceived or actual, cannot be easily resolved,” he said.

In her role, Tin will oversee government relations, and she could be expected to ensure that Grab’s views were communicated to officials, or even to influence government policy. “That places her at the nexus between the business interests of Grab and the responsibility of the government to regulate businesses,” Mak said.

He also questioned how Tin would handle a situation in which the interests of Grab and the government clashed. For example, there was now a growing focus on the rights of gig workers and Singapore, like other countries, was moving towards treating them like employees with more rights.

“How would she handle such an issue if this is debated in parliament or comes up in some committee that she may be involved in? Singapore is a major market for Grab, and Grab is her full-time employer, after all,” he said.

Felix Tan, a political analyst from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), said Tin’s new role seemed to complicate her position as a political leader but noted that it was not uncommon for lawmakers to join big corporations or tech firms.

“So long as they can judiciously make decisions that have no direct bearing on public policies, then that’s fine. A red line should be drawn as to where her allegiance and priorities lie – her pay master or members of her constituency,” he said.

Political scientist Walid Jumblatt Abdullah said Tin’s decision to join Grab would deal “an unfortunate hit” on the third-term MP’s credibility.

Though MPs have held positions in the private sector, he believed it was “not wise for her to take up” the role, given the strong public reaction.

Can Malaysia’s e-commerce side hustles survive as ‘low-value’ tax hike bites?

For Tin, the new job could be a complicated task given the mounting pressures the public and the government has piled onto Grab over the years.

A year after Grab launched operations in Singapore in 2013, the authorities put in place several regulations – such as requiring the registration of ride-sharing applications, increased price transparency – particularly after tensions between ride-sharing companies and taxi drivers rose.

Grab was then required to maintain the same pricing algorithm and driver commissions that were already in place before the merger, and could not compel riders to work exclusively with Grab.

In 2020, Singapore’s labour movement, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also set up an association to represent delivery riders and address issues such as safety and insurance coverage.

More recently, after several food delivery riders were involved in fatal accidents while on the job, the Ministry of Manpower set up a committee that looked into strengthening financial protection for delivery riders and drivers who have been injured at work.