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

"I can't believe it !
I am looking after 301 million citizens.
You are earning 3 times more than me."

discussion on ministers' pay

a group of us - teachers and former students - still communicate on a regular basis via email. appended below is the contribution of one of my ex-students on the topic of ministers' pay:

can i add on to the key rationale why we need to pay our leaders well?

we are a nation without resources and people is our key resource and we need to further enhance ourselves in ensuring we attract and possibly retain the top people to do the job with a clear perspective of strategically what we want; need to know how to build from what we have. those that can't deliver will be knocked off. it is not about how much pay they get but how effective and competent they are.

if you ask the top business people , none will be keen (to be ministers) and even those who hold top jobs in mnc. it is a neccessary evil if you like in this pragmatic world.

i am fortunate to say that in my last 28 years of business and travelling to more than 50 countries, hundreds of cities, at this point of time we are one up politically, economically and socially. the bottomline of any effective government is economy and we need to get it right.

culturally, sports, arts, technologically and etc... we still way behind but we have the reputation to leverage on our strength and build on it.

my opinion on gst is that it is the best system; those who earn more spend more pay more and ours is still low, better to reduce corporate and personal taxes.

don't get me wrong, i am not pap member, just a singaporean.

cheers.

civil service/ministers' pay increase

i was having breakfast at toa payoh lorong 4 food centre and could not help eavesdropping on a conversation among a group of retirees at the next table.

"i used to think of them as extraordinary people but now i realise they are ordinary people".

"blame it on the english footballers....if they are paid s$350 000 a week for kicking a ball about, our ministers should be getting more.."

"such a shameful thing to debate about pay increase of more than s$1 000 000 in parliament."

there were more disparaging remarks but i cannot list them here lest i be sued for libel and slander.