discussion on ministers' pay
appended below are the views of another former student on the same topic
on-going topic on pay and the singapore government:
pay is always an emotional topic (for the haves and the haves-not) - what more when it is public money. however, we must as a nation grow up and learn to accept that if you want good people to run it - you pay for it. many people can just talk about it (because it is foc) but are they willing to go serve the people if they are qualified and given the opportunity? many of these are from segments that unfortunately are not at that calibre or are not appointed to do the job. of course, these senior pay levels looking from the perspective of someone earning 30k or even 100k per annum is too much but do we hear people earning that level and knowing the worth of such job make any noise? so i agree that ministers pay should not be a public referendum to debate upon but the system needs to be transparent enough for people to understand this is what it needs to be paid. you can debate on the system of how it works up to the structure but not why so and so is getting too much compared to another country. we are not comparing apple to apple because there are too many components in each country's pay structure that we do not understand and do not see. ultimately, the consequence of each policy or structure will bear its price on the people and by then it does take another a long time to correct a bad policy.
do you know how many people outside of singapore are so envious of our clean government, systems, standard of living etc? many things we take for granted but like what ron reflected upon - we have come a long way from those days? we all can relate and we know what it means to be poor (in monetary as well as living standard) and struggling. we have been successful in many ways as a nation but i wish we could also learn to count our blessings regardless who is/are part of the conduit of our success and then tackle the disagreements from a different perspective. succeeding in the 'hardware' is one thing we have attained but we still have a way to go on the 'heartware' - the government officials included. i do not always agree with the policies but i understand now that there is no way you can make everyone happy (people management 101). if i can see the benefit to a majority of the group, then its a viable means.
of course, those who think that they can run the show better they should really stand up and be counted. don't just criticise (i know that's easiest) but come up with a viable solution.
as they say: its lonely up there (in management) but that's how it is - not everyone can sit up there. i sometime wonder why our ministers & pm even bother to be there when they can get better life somewhere else than the hot seat.
passion to serve, passion for power etc - i don't really care but i know i want to live in a place that is safe, system that works (iras is my favourite gov agency), a governance that I know is based on transparency, common logic rather then 'paying my way through favours' and i pay my price be it in tax, higher car prices, higher housing or even being called a dull city.
i am proud of my country, i am proud to be a singaporean and i am not from pap - isnt this nice for a change?
rgds/PH
on-going topic on pay and the singapore government:
pay is always an emotional topic (for the haves and the haves-not) - what more when it is public money. however, we must as a nation grow up and learn to accept that if you want good people to run it - you pay for it. many people can just talk about it (because it is foc) but are they willing to go serve the people if they are qualified and given the opportunity? many of these are from segments that unfortunately are not at that calibre or are not appointed to do the job. of course, these senior pay levels looking from the perspective of someone earning 30k or even 100k per annum is too much but do we hear people earning that level and knowing the worth of such job make any noise? so i agree that ministers pay should not be a public referendum to debate upon but the system needs to be transparent enough for people to understand this is what it needs to be paid. you can debate on the system of how it works up to the structure but not why so and so is getting too much compared to another country. we are not comparing apple to apple because there are too many components in each country's pay structure that we do not understand and do not see. ultimately, the consequence of each policy or structure will bear its price on the people and by then it does take another a long time to correct a bad policy.
do you know how many people outside of singapore are so envious of our clean government, systems, standard of living etc? many things we take for granted but like what ron reflected upon - we have come a long way from those days? we all can relate and we know what it means to be poor (in monetary as well as living standard) and struggling. we have been successful in many ways as a nation but i wish we could also learn to count our blessings regardless who is/are part of the conduit of our success and then tackle the disagreements from a different perspective. succeeding in the 'hardware' is one thing we have attained but we still have a way to go on the 'heartware' - the government officials included. i do not always agree with the policies but i understand now that there is no way you can make everyone happy (people management 101). if i can see the benefit to a majority of the group, then its a viable means.
of course, those who think that they can run the show better they should really stand up and be counted. don't just criticise (i know that's easiest) but come up with a viable solution.
as they say: its lonely up there (in management) but that's how it is - not everyone can sit up there. i sometime wonder why our ministers & pm even bother to be there when they can get better life somewhere else than the hot seat.
passion to serve, passion for power etc - i don't really care but i know i want to live in a place that is safe, system that works (iras is my favourite gov agency), a governance that I know is based on transparency, common logic rather then 'paying my way through favours' and i pay my price be it in tax, higher car prices, higher housing or even being called a dull city.
i am proud of my country, i am proud to be a singaporean and i am not from pap - isnt this nice for a change?
rgds/PH
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