SINGAPORE, Jan 20 - The annual salaries of Singapore's ministers
and senior civil servants are expected to fall by 12 to 20 percent
this year in line with the shrinking economy, local media reported
on Tuesday.
Defence
Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also minister in charge of the civil
service, told Parliament on Monday that senior permanent
secretaries and entry-grade ministers will likely receive S$1.54
million , which is a drop of 20 percent from last year.
Younger officers in the elite Administrative Service -- typically
top performers in their early to mid-30s -- will receive S$351,000
or about 12 percent less, Teo added.
"As the salaries are linked to economic performance, the 2009
salaries may be subject to further adjustments given the volatility
of the economy," he said.
Singapore pegs ministers and senior civil servants pay to top
earners in the private sector, saying it needs to pay well to
retain talent in the government service.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last year received an estimated
S$3.76 million, about five times the annual salary of outgoing U.S.
President George W Bush.
Singapore, which became the first Asian economy to slip into
recession last year, has forecast the economy could shrink by up to
2 percent this year.
It is considering dipping into its reserves worth hundreds of
billions of dollars for the first time to tackle the slump,
officials were quoted as saying on Monday.
The government could draw on the central bank's foreign reserves
that totalled $174.2 billion in December, or its two secretive
sovereign funds GIC and Temasek that had at least a combined $230
billion in assets in reported figures last year.
Source: Yahoo! News
