SINGAPORE: Ruling party politician Tin Pei Ling has been met with criticism after fintech company MetaComp announced that she is its new co-president.
Noting the string of jobs Ms Tin has held over less than a year and a half, some Singaporeans online are calling her a “job-hopper” while others comment, tongue-in-cheek, that she may be a “bad influence” on youngsters in the job market.
Ms Tin joined MetaComp on Monday (24 June) after a nine-month stint at DCS Card Centre, formerly Diners Club Singapore. Prior to that job, she had been hired as superapp Grab’s director of public affairs and policy.
That appointment, which became public in January 2023, had led to intense public scrutiny and potential conflict of interest concerns.
Although she promised to keep her role at Grab and work as an MP distinct, she was transferred to a corporate development position days later. Ms Tin left Grab after a mere seven months.
As news of her latest job broke, social media has been flooded with comments labelling the MacPherson MP a “job-hopper”.
There are at least three threads on multiple Reddit forums and countless Facebook posts discussing Ms Tin’s latest career move.
One netizen raised concerns on Reddit, asking:
“I think the real question out there is how is she able to hold 2 jobs, job hop 3 times in 2 years? Where there are people out there retrenched or just grad looking for job? Is just make no sense where we are heading as a country.”
Another Redditor quipped, “She’s job hopping faster than some gen z/millennials lol. Is she trying to show us that she’s very relatable?”
Others online speculated how long the MP will last in her current role. Listing the jobs she has held since 2023, one said in another Reddit thread: “Wonder how long she’ll stay. Maybe 11 months this time? 2 months improvement each time.”
Reactions on Facebook were equally critical. Several netizens called her a job-hopping “champ,” while others lamented that they don’t have as many opportunities as Ms Tin appears to have.
Facebook user Salbiah Sirat said, “Wow she keep job hopping and become job-hopper..but she always got opportunity compared to us haha because she MP?”
In a comment liked by nearly 200 people, Facebook user Francis Lawrence called for people to think about how they vote as he quipped, “Just another job hopper and a bad influence to the younger generations.”
Others called for Ms Tin and fellow MPs to serve their constituents full-time. Ms Tin served as a full-time MP for about six years, from 2011 to 2017, but some argue that the constituents deserve to have their parliamentarian fully focused on them.
One netizen, Nancy Phua, said:
“In my opinion, there should be a clause in place for all MPs to relinquish their full-time job to serve residents wholeheartedly once they are voted in.
This is the focus all residents deserve! No point telling us how good their outside job is.” /TISG