Obscene Salaries; Cutting to the Heart of Issues,

mellaniehewlitt SG

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sg_Review/message/2391

Mellanie Hewlitt
Sg_Review
Obscene Salaries; Cutting to the Heart of Issues,

5 May 2006

The past weeks have seen page after page of speeches by PAP ministers with extensive coverage by the local propaganda media. However, the discerning and intelligent reader only needs to look at one central issue which will, by itself, cut to the center and heart of all discussions and reveal the honesty and intergrity behind the PAP Ministers. This central issue is of cause the bloated obscene ministerial salaries.

This sensitive issue has been raised countless times before in many forums and has never been satisfactorily addressed by the PAP Government and its propaganda press.

At this belated stage of the electoral process, we do not propose to dwell again into all the issues concerning ministerial salaries. However, we do ask all discerning and intelligent voters to consider any speech that any PAP minister makes in the context of these bloated and obscene ministerial salaries. Each minister takes home a minimum sum of USD140,000/- PER MONTH excluding perks and bonuses.

In their inspirational speeches, PAP ministers portrait themselves to be selfless civil servants who work only towards the greater good of the community. But such obscene salaries obsecure all else and at once throw into doubt the sincerity behind any proposal or speech that these same million dollar ministers will make.

Remember for instance that these are the same million dollar ministers who imposed mandatory wage and CPF cuts on you during the bad times even when they continued to rake in their million dollar salaries. See: Government should take lead in swallowing bitter pill and Cutting CPF now may cause deflationary spiral

These are the same million dollar ministers who refused to restore employer CPF contributions in good times even when they gave themseves higher salary cincrements. See: No CPF Restoration / Grotesque Ministerial Salaries and The Reality Of Singapore Wage Reform

These same million dollar ministers also denied sick and unemployed Singaporeans rights to their own hard earned CPF money. see: CPF: Let Singaporeans have their money back!!!!! and CPF - LET US HAVE OUR MONEY BACK and Lifting The Veil On Singapore Politics and Medisave, Why can't we use 100%? Because none of it is really yours. and The Truth About The CPF System - The Great CPF Scam

And of cause these same million dollar ministers also masterminded the COE, ERP, CPF and HDB scams. See: HDB's Deceit Exposed!!! The Great HDB Scam and Govt Needs Your Support for COE Price! The Great COE Scam and More Scams From The CPF / The Great CPF Scam and CTE Toll A Money Spinner - The COE Scam

These same million dollar ministers also made the false and unfounded statement that Singaporeans were OVERPAID and the average Singapore wage exceeds those of their couterparts in the US, UK and Australia. See: Are our wage costs really that high? and Spore's labour costs higher than US, Australia? Really?

When times were bad, with retrenchments at an all time high, one of these same million dollar ministers even defended the merits of retrenchments saying that "Lay-Offs were not all bad". See Layoffs are not all bad, says PM Goh and More examples of PAP lies and double-speak

These same million dollar ministers also used hard earned tax dollars to set-up non-trasnparent fly-by night GLCs, TLCs and other PAP owned state vehicles which acted as corporate veils for questionable and illicit transactions. See: File - The Incestous World Of Singapore's State Runned Enterprises and File - The Truth Behind Singapore's Public Policy Administration and More Inane GLC Investments - The CPF Scam and Demand for Indepth. Audit of GLCs, CPF, LTA, HDB etc

These same million dollar ministers then also concocted rules and regulations and used GLC and TLCs to create a virtual monopoly in the local business environment for PAP runned entities. In so doing they essentially stifled any potential for entreupreneural business. See: URA Killing Entrepreneurship and How The S'pore Govt Stole & Killed The Meals On Wheels Concept. and Fault lines Beginning to show

These million dollar ministers also imposed rules and regulations which financially handcuff Singaporeans, locking away a substantive part of their disposable assets in the hands of non-transparent state organisations. See: and More On The CPF Scam - The PAP Debt Trap and The PAP Debt-Traps & Financial Handcuffs

Finally, these million dollar ministers also implemented their own Elitist twisted version of Eugenics which accounted for a fall in the country's birth-rates. See:

Stand up, Singapore / Misplaced Elitist Eugenic's Programme

Are Singaporeans truly happy under this government? See More Students Committing Suicide In Sinkapore

The figures reveal that the average Singaporean is a far from happy creature and is afflictaed by a host of social-economic ailments ranging from;

a) Escalating Costs of Living
b) Insufficient Savings For Retirement
c) Unemployment Concerns
d) Shrinking Real Income
f) Marital Blues and declining Birth Rates
g) Mounting Work Pressure, long work hours
h) Mounting academic pressure
i) An Unforgiving academic and work culture which places a premium on qualifications over actual performance
j) Competition from Foreign Talent
k) Bureucratic Government Policies

The list goes on. Small wonder that suicides rates are on the rise. But according to previous "figures" released by the Singapore Government last year (2003), Singapore workers were better paid then their US, UK and Australian counterparts.

Life is also supposed to be rosy here in Singapore and Singaporeans should be grateful for the safe and comfortable environment provided by the local government.

But if Life in this "Wonderland with the Death Penalty" is so good;

1) Why is disposable income (and CPF rates) falling ?
2) Why are more and more people leaving?
3) Why are the birth rates falling?
4) Why are suicide rates on the rise?
5) Why are unemployment rates on the rise?
6) Why are daily living costs escalating?
7) Why is there the emergence of the "educated poor" as a new social class?

WHY?

The silence is deafening. So before you cast your vote this weekend, we only ask that you THINK, PONDER AND REFLECT carefully on the issues discused in this article.

For past articles on Ministerial Salaries click on and visit the below links;

Singapore's Million Dollar Bloated Cabinet

Million Dollar Mini$terial $alaries - The Rea$on$ Again?

Are Singaporeans ashamed of their own Ministers?

It pays to be an MP in EU? It pays alot more to be a S'pore Minister

Parliament Salaries Debate Contrast

Singapore needs professional & sensitive politicians

Ministerial Salaries-Let The People Decide

Open Letter From J B Jeyaretnam to Lee (Jr)

Slimming down public sector not the way to go - Double Standards.

Singapore politics a Familee affair

Comments To Does Inequality Make You Sick? S'pore ministers salaries

NKF Scam Places Spotlight On Rediculous Minister Salaries

Singapore's Greedy Ministers Compared With Other World Leaders.

The Singapore PAP Government Corruption

NKF Scam; Must The Political Elite Be Paid Million Dollar Salaries?

The Star (25 Dec 2005) - Seah Chiang Nee: NKF issue raising question

Salary Cap Needed For NFK CEO & S'pore Million Dollar Ministers

Singapore's Million Dollar Mini$ter$

PAP and the people: A return of disaffection?

Ministerial Salaries - Comments By Reader

PAP ministers rig economy to benefit the super rich so their pegged

Corruption Rampant In Singapore PAP Government

JUST A WASTE OF PUBLIC FUNDS

Transparency Issue Hits Singapore Big Time

SATA's $22,000 A Month CEO - Legetimized Corruption

The Greed of Singapore's Rulers - Expensive Monkeys

NKF Saga Only The Tip Of The Ice-Berg - Legtimised Corruption Rampan

Public Anger Over NKF ChiefÃ¢â¬â¢s Salary - Its Peanuts????

NKF Saga Only The Tip Of The Ice-Berg - Legtimised Corruption Rampan

THE REAL NEMESIS: A BLOATED BUREUCRACY

Singapore: Materialism Without Idealism

Big bucks in good times or bad - Life In The Comfort Zone For PAP Mi

What First Class Civil Service?

What First Class Civil Service? (Part 2)

Why there is real fear of the PAP going bad.

Out of the World Salary for S'pore President - Legitimized Corruptio

The litmus tests of a more open society

Singapore needs a Revolution / Grotesque Ministerial Salaries

Singapore Government : The Great White Loan Shark?

SPH/Straits Times Paving The Way For Ministers Pay Hike Jun 2004

There Is No Justification For Indecent Ministerial Salaries!!!

Finance Minister is like Robin Hood in reverse

Singapore, a country of myths / PAP Ministers' Performance

Ministers Pay-Cut Restored In Jun 2004 ?????

Commentary on Ministers pay - Wrong Bench Marks used

The Singapore PAP Government Corruption

Mindboggling Numbers behind Singapore's High Cost of Living
Transparency Issue Hits Singapore Big Time

Why does S'pore need so many MPs.

Salary Cap Needed For NFK CEO & S'pore Million Dollar Ministers

Singapore's Million Dollar Mini$ter$

SingaporeÃ¢â¬â¢s Elected President Ã¢â¬â Not Merely An Overpaid Ribbo

robertteh SG

It looks like the salaries of GLCs' CEOs and upper echelon will be raised to justify ministers' own self-approved million-dollar salaries or pave the way for another round of increases for ministers.

The raising of president's salary to S$2,200,000.00 per annum might be cited for giving ministers further salary increments and bonuses by saying that if president who are only ceremonial and non-executive get so much how about ministers?

The last attempt to increase Comfort CEO to millions there was an instant uproar as taxi chiefs were never paid that high anywhere. Then they did it to many other GLC CEOs so that they can be benchmarked by ministers. All of a sudden we have so many CEOs who are previous civil servants before incorporation being paid in millions. Many of these highly glamourised GLCs could be outsourced to save taxpayers billions every year. The citizens will then be able to lower their rising costs of living or doing business.

If there is such a practice of increasing GLC CEO salaries so that ministers can benchmark them then this is not very open or accountable to the public taxpayers in running of government services.

GLCs are actually former government branches corporatised to make them private to charge more fees so there are much monies to be made from monopoly charges of fees and some other way.

People objected to highest peanut salaries to NKF CEO or GLC chiefs by artificial benchmarking to private sector's talents which in fact they are not. Citizens cannot pay ironricebowler type of occupation in GLCs and comfort-zone ministers or MPs unaffected by hiring and firing for inefficiencies this kind of self-scaled or self-benchmarked obscene salaries.

No wonder MediaCorp/Mediawork were forced to merge again due to heavy losses after divesting for two years because this kind of salary upscaling is uncompetitive and running down our economic competitiveness.

Public and government jobs with the exception of the proven few are ironricebowler jobs who mostly collect funds or taxes and spend them according to budget.