Newsintercom, Singapore. The Mainstream press will not discuss
this sensitive issue and will simply regurgitate the expressed
views of the ministers themselves. We have to go to the internet to
see the myriad viewpoints to have a more complete picture.
This article consolidates the more worthy views expressed in the
forums. I shall not repeat what the newspapers have been preaching.
The reader will have to listen to the various views expressed and
make up his own mind, if they are even interested. One person asked
why they bothered to go through the charade of justifying their own
pay increase when people hardly care because they know the
ministers will simply ignore their views.
Greed
A main concern is whether a salary of $1.2 million should be enough
for anybody. If the taxpayers pay the Ministers that sort of
mindboggling salaries but they find it insufficient, what does it
say about them? What does it say about their value system and
whether Singapore can trust people whose value system does not
include the concept of enough.
Not comparing apples with apples
Many fail to see the logic why the Ministers must peg their
salaries to that of the top earners in Singapore. Why not compare
apples with apples and compare their salaries with the salaries of
the Ministers of Hong Kong, New Zealand and other similar
countries?
Salaries and corruption
The argument that a higher salary will deter corruption seems
strange when the salary is already around 50 to 100 times that of
the average Singaporean. Some think that it might have the opposite
effect and that is, a corruption of their duty to serve the people.
They are paid so much, they will not dare to oppose the
consensus even if they believe that they are right because they
have so much salary to lose.
Lack of talent
There are nagging doubts about whether Singapore in reality lacks
talents to replace the present government or that they have
suppressed, oppressed, and created a situation where it cost too
much to run against them and they are too powerful to fight. If you
kill off the competition, how can you say that there is a lack? You
are the cause of the lack!
I will now let the readers highlight other points that they might
have come across ideas worthy to be mentioned in the comments area.
As I pointed out at the beginning, it is pointless to preach what
the newspapers have been preaching already and so please refrain
from doing so unless you think the newspapers missed out
something.