Comments on: Paying more for good people – what if it backfires?

By: John Harding

John Harding — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:59:41 +0000

Yeo is totally incompetent. Now he is linked with his wife’s sister’s boyfriend who just opened up a “bistro” in Kabul Afghanistan. The wife’s sister lives in Myanmar. Draw your own conclusions.

By: Gary

Gary — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 02:57:04 +0000

Top $ for top people. It seems like we have very quickly forgot the NKF affair. Only when the shit hits the fan then we start learning.

By: carbang4

carbang4 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:08:36 +0000

I agree with Superman. It seems a that a certain culture of non accountability has evolved within the PAP and civil service machinery. They get top dollar without having to worry about being answerable to anyone. Could this possibly be described as “legalised corruption”?

By: superman

superman — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:31:27 +0000

Attracting and retaining talented people in the government service is one thing. Firing people who do not perform is another. While we have clear benchmarks to peg salaries to top performance, we don’t have clear performance standard to fire people who do not perform. Either that, we have done an excellent job in hiring great people, because the last I recall no minister has ever been fired for poor performance.

By: TuraiKiller

TuraiKiller — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 02:34:31 +0000

Mr Yeo is earning less then $15k per month. So do u quy think they are ready worth so much as they demand even one of newly minister last tme was a GM with one of freight coy & was question on TV as well as he claimed, make a guess could a GM earn than $100k per month, I guess the most he is getting $12k/monthly max. So they just make up story alright, so we got to think more & to be smarter …

By: Lyer

Lyer — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:15:58 +0000

Many ministers are far from talented….including Yeo. It is very obvious why PM Lee did use Yeo as an example of “talent” leaving the cabinent. Most likely it’s becos Yeo’s current pay is lower than what he drew as a minister.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:09:05 +0000

Anyone knows what Yeo Cheow Tong is earning now?

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:48:02 +0000

The Singapore GP is asking for hundreds of volunteers to be marshals for the F1 race next year. Free labour to help generate revenue for the govt so that they can claim credit to increase pay even more. The irony is that the govt always say that there is no free lunch in S’pore.

By: Lyer

Lyer — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:29:09 +0000

Govt kept saying good senior civil servants are leaving becos of PAY, but it never produce any statistics to support that claim.

If ministers are only in it for the pay, then we should pay our NS boys private sector salaries as well!! Why should our boys sacrifice for this nation when even ministers talk only about money??? I say, NS boys’ salaries should be pegged to average private sector pay becos I’m sure there are many talented boys wasting away in NS.

By: cblee

cblee — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:58:54 +0000

even if they increase their pay by 50% now we also must accept it bcos what can we do. cannot protest, no one to represent us, people with no power. singapore is their country not ours. have opportunity will leave this sick place for good.

By: saintmoron

saintmoron — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:30:35 +0000

“will these people pack up and leave then?”, unquote. And when they pack and leave, will they leave anything behind? Eh I mean will they ever think of their subjects(local born citizens) and feelings for their once ‘motherland’?

When they do settle abroad, they will naturally become big time foreign investors, consumers in their adopted countries with plenty of freedom to splurge without inviting envies and suspicions.

By: SS Lee

SS Lee — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:28:29 +0000

Which Minister/MOS has left and found a real private sector job that pays the same or more?
Their packages are totaly unjustifiable! Does a CEO of a private company have 2 senior CEO’s holding his hands?

Thanks to the 66.6% who don’t see the forest from the trees and allow themselves to be cajoled by the machinery of the propoganda machine.

By: dominique

dominique — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:27:06 +0000

just imagine one fine day, Singapore realised it cannot afford to pay so much for its civil service.. will these people pack up and leave then?

By: Daily SG: 21 Dec 2007 « The Singapore Daily

Daily SG: 21 Dec 2007 « The Singapore Daily — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 01:58:44 +0000

[...] by The Singapore Daily on 21 December 2007 Get Rich or Die Tryin’ – The Online Citizen: Paying more for good people – what if it backfires? – Andrew: Inside & Insights: For Self-interest or People’s Interest? – Yawning Bread: New [...]

By: abao

abao — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 01:27:59 +0000

Go read the Spring and Autumn Analects. Then analyse it slowly.

FYI the entry is at: 鲁襄公二十六年，蔡声子复伍举。

That is what the State is doing and also what the State has become.

By: Kaffein

Kaffein — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 01:08:26 +0000

Look, I would not mind paying good salary for good policies and able people. But for PAP to quote that the ministers are highly sought after people in the private sector? I find it amusing as I have yet to see any holding a CEO or senionr director in such companies (GLCs don’t count!).

For any CEO, when he fails to perform, he gets the boot (just like Citigroup’s chairman) from his stakeholders. We, Singaporean Citizens are the stakeholders. I don’t know what we have been doing.

But for SG Inc, even with the tremendous losses in Temasek Holding’s shares and investments, I still do not see the chairperson’s head on the blocks.

And that constitutes one of the main reasons why dynastys fall in past China histories.

By: Leong Sze Hian

Leong Sze Hian — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 01:06:31 +0000

With the 3rd scheduled pay increase for Ministers on 31 Dec 2008 to catch up with the private sector benchmark of 88%, the President’s 5-year total pay may be even more than $21 million!

Cheers

Leong Sze Hian

By: Alan Wong

Alan Wong — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:23:15 +0000

Our leaders like to say that “If you want good people in government, you have to pay them good salaries commensurate with the private sector”.

The irony of the above argument is that it would be equally correct to say that our previous leaders such as Goh Keng Swee, Rajaratnam, etc. may have been up to no good since in those days our Gahmen had not paid them salaries commensurating with the private sector.

And this also implies that our current Minister Mentor had suddenly become “good” in recent years only because his pay is now benchmarked to the private sector only recently.

Such is the wisdom of our shameless leaders!

By: Clement

Clement — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:25:02 +0000

Totally agree with you, but I am sure the PAP will have a counter argument..to justify their salaries. I still believe that we should pay what they are really worth, but not a flat rate for everyone. Don’t tell me a ORD general was earning 2 million dollars a year before he joins politics? Then, how many generals are there in SAF – how many millionaires are there – fighting for money only? I dread to imagine my country degrading to a money-only nation. I am really, really very sad – because I WAS so faithful a PAP voter in the past…there are still 3-4 years more..hopefully I see a good change either in the PAP or the opposition, otherwise, I think patriotic Singaporeans will be listed as an endangered species – don’t count on instant species (like the newcomers.. it takes time for patriotism to build up).

By: Gerald

Gerald — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:43:42 +0000

I think you have a good point there. There are already very few Singaporeans who are even remotely interested in politics. Assuming that the future leaders that S’pore needs are those who can easily earn tens of millions in the private sector, why would they be enticed to public service with a “mere” $2 million a year? It would be primarily a passion for service that would lead them to enter politics. (I’d hate to be led by anyone with any other goals.) The current salaries are therefore neither here nor there. Might as well lower it to say 10% higher than the OECD (i.e. the rich, developed countries) average — that will probably be work out to about $500K for the PM. Isn’t that more than enough for a passionate, public servant?