Singapore Ministers Pay, Legitimised Corruption
Singapore Review, 2 May 2003 (updated May 2005)
By Mellanie Hewlitt
The headlines blared loudly in the 2 May 2003 issues of the Straits
Times and Business Times "Pay cut? Ministers ready to lead by
example: DPM", announcing to the entire world this selfless act of
leadership by Singapore's Ruling Elite.
In what appeared to be an initial move to reduce severely inflated
salaries, to more reasonable industry standards, Singapore's Ruling
Elite have bowed to public pressure and hinted at accepting a pay
cut.
Or have they?
What exactly does "Leading By Example" mean? Lets try to put some
substance behind those brave words. As of last count, average take
home pay of a Singapore minister was well in excess of SGD100,000/-
a month.
The below table puts things back in proper perspective: (these are
basic figures as of July 2000 and did not include last year's pay
hikes or other benefits. Otherwise the updated numbers may well be
much larger)
1. Singapore President's Basic Salary US$1,483,000
(SGD$2,373,100)*a year
Singapore Prime Minister's Basic Salary US$1,100,000 (SGD1,958,000)
a year
Minister's Basic: US$655,530 to US$819,124 (SGD1,166,844 to
SGD1,458,040) a year
2. United States of America President: US$200,000 Vice President:
US$181,400 Cabinet Secretaries: US$157,000
3. United Kingdom Prime Minister: US$170,556 Ministers: US$146,299
Senior Civil Servants: US$262,438
4. Australia Prime Minister: US$137,060 Deputy Prime Minister:
US$111,439 Treasurer: US$102,682
5. Hong Kong Chief Executive : US$416,615 Top Civil Servant:
US$278,538 Financial Sec: US$315,077
Source: Asian Wall Street Journal July 10 2000 *Singapore
President's salary which was updated in 2005 from the Singapore
Straits Times
In relative terms, less then 20% of Singaporeans here have take
home salaries
exceeding SGD100,000/- A YEAR.
In stark contrast, BASIC SALARY FOR A MINISTER STARTS AT
SGD1,166,844 A YEAR,OR JUST UNDER SGD100,000 A MONTH.
What these ministers earns in just ONE MONTH exceeds the ANNUAL
TAKE HOME
salary of 80% of Singapore's income earning population. Lets not
even begin to compare annual packages which will exceed SGD1
million easily.
With the above numbers and figures now in perspective, it is easier
to give substance to the words "leading by example". Several facts
are noteworthy here;
a) That the ministerial salaries are grossly out of proportion,
even when compared with their counterparts in much larger countries
(US and UK) who have far heavier responsibilities.
b) That these salary reductions were long overdue. In the past,
such handsome remuneration were "justified" on the back of
resounding performance. However, Singapore's economy has been in
the doldrums of a recession for several years now (with beginnings
reaching as far back as the 1997 Asian economic crisis). This
economic barometer is a rough measure of performance and implies
that ministerial salaries were due for review at least 3-4 years
ago.
c) That adjustments should be made to bring them back within the
industry benchmarks. Taking the salary of US vice president as a
rule of thumb, the percentage for reductions should start at 50% of
current pay. Even if a Singapore minister takes a 50% pay-cut, he
would still be earning much more then the US vice president.
d) The percentage reductions should greater then 50% if the intent
is to bring the salaries within the perspective of Singapore's
domestic scene.
With such inflated figures, it is understandable why the local
government controlled media (Singapore Press Holdings) have taken
pains to exclude mention of actual numbers for the world to see.
The numbers would be too glaring and no amount of window dressing
or creative writing could have reconciled these numbers with a sane
figure and restored credibility.
Also relevant is the question whether such highly paid million
dollar ministers can ever relate to the plight of the average man
on the street. The remarks of Mrs Goh Chok Tong, that a
SGD600,000/- per annum salary (of NKF CEO) is PEANUTS, is a harsh
reflection of the real mind-sets, priorities and values of
Singapore's million dollar ministers. And it is these same million
dollar elitist bureucrats who will shape and determine public
policies which will touch on the daily lifelihoods of every
Singaporean.
http://f5.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/QKgPRJ1g291aUw0Jmjq3RRkrb0ENXaHTGZMyfK4kUL8ok-QJiK5xGY1KbdcQm03b-1sjI6V2gQYH8YVi1o6U/Peanuts.jpg
It is unlikely that Singapore's Ruling Elite will accept such huge
salary cuts. Exactly How much and when the ministerial pay-cuts
takes effect is not revealed. Ask any man on the street and 9 out
of 10 responses indicate many agree the current ministerial
salaries are grossly inflated, especially in these lean and
difficult times.
Said a long time forumer from an internet political chat
group:
"First of all the Ministers are NOT leading on pay cut. Workers'
salaries have been drastically reduced since the beginning of the
recession while thousands have been unemployed. so the Ministers
are NOT LEADING. they are only CATCHING UP. And they have several
decades to catch up on."
"Secondly, how much of a pay cut will Ministers take? 10%? 20%?
unless its a cut that will affect their lifestyles, it is merely
symbolic and they would still not know what it feels like to be a
normal worker. as such, this is not Leading by Example. Its just
another bogus political propaganda stunt"
A 29 yr old executive who requested to remain anonymous admitted
sheepishly ; "The numbers (ministerial salaries) are a national
embarrassment really, because it reflects the underlying
materialistic value systems of Singapore Ministers. No matter how
you look at it, the fact remains that our ministers are money
faced, and these are supposed to be Singapore's leaders, with value
systems that Singaporeans should follow." "It (the ministerial
salaries) puts Singapore in a bad light in the eyes of the world.
The rest of Singaporeans really put in an honest days work for
every penny they earn. And the process for review and approval of
the ministerial salaries is also a joke. Imagine sitting on the
board and approving (on White Paper)your own salary increments! Its
all a wayang show".
This also raises the question as to the authenticity of the actual
process for review and approval of cabinet minister's salaries. Who
decides on these numbers? Is there independence and
transparency?
Veteran opposition figure J.B. Jeyaretnam on Wednesday, Nov 20,
2002 challenged Singapore government ministers to take a pay cut to
show they understand the economic hardships faced by the public.
And the over-riding concern is that Singapore's Ruling Elite are
unable to appreciate the economic hardship that the masses face in
these tough times.
The growing public resentment comes afew months after PM Goh's
careless comments that "lay-offs were not all bad", drew a backlash
from the public with a flood of e-mails being sent to the foreign
press to register public indignation.
It is a revelation that when the "paycuts" were finally effected
they amounted to a miniscule 10% haircut from the massively bloated
ministerial salaries.
It is also a revelation that barely a year later (in June 2004) the
bloated ministerial salaries were restored and increased beyond
their original levels even as the rest of Singapore was still
struggling in the throes of a recession. (There were no CPF
restorations for the rest of working Singaporeans).
Source Sg_Review group
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