<table class="ipbtable" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="post_head" valign="middle" width="99%">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="post1 post_left" valign="top">
2nd Gear
Posts: 247
Warn:
</td> <td class="post1" id="post-main-3636160" valign="top" width="100%"> Old news....think of the Pigs from George Orwell's Animal Farm....Sinkapoor is the farm...guess who the pigs r?
Singapore Ministers Pay, Legitimised Corruption
With the extended downturn in the recession we see large banks falling,
accompanied with salary cuts and retrenchments in the private sector.
One looming question is whether the pay of Singapore's Million Dollar ministers
(which are supposed to be pegged to private sector salaries of top income
earners) will also see a 50-70% pay-cut?
We think not and circulate an old article which discusses this issue
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/QKgPRJ1g291aU...8ok-QJiK5\
xGY1KbdcQm03b-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
</td></tr></tbody></table><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();}else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
</td></tr></tbody></table>
at the expense of the people.
