Comments on: Breaking News: Lower year-end payment for civil servants; up to 19% pay cut for top civil servants

By: aiyoyo

aiyoyo — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:07:27 +0000

aiyoyo,

we pay 80c for newspapers,

still got some news missing?

is it we need pay $1 or more, then can get all news in the newspaper?

aiyoyo

By: limpo

limpo — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:55:08 +0000

I am totally disappointed by the ways local main stream media play with the news.

ST only highlighted the good part of goverment, but never utter any single word about the wrong doing and mismanagement

sadly, millions of singaporean do not even realize that they have been mislead by the main stream media

By: aiyoyo

aiyoyo — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:48:51 +0000

aiyoyo

financial tsunami coming

and those civil servants still got so good package??

aiyoyo, dont see the logic..

By: Tan Siew Kim

Tan Siew Kim — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:22:36 +0000

Wow, I hope my boss give me PAY RISE in 2 years time.
oh, i am the employee of my sole proprietorship as well as the owner lah.
pun intended. hee heee..

By: hum

hum — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:19:28 +0000

Pay cut now is EXPECTED by many given the economic climate.

There was a news about them getting PAY HIKE in 24 months time right?

Guess after their salary adjustment, they no longer still the highest salaried employee in the world, in their category of work?

By: smallvice585

smallvice585 — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:51:19 +0000

if its a US$85 billion loss then divided by 4 million Singaporeans = US$21, 250 per person. – alky (#58)

Incidentally, the poverty line in the USA is earning less than US$21,250 per year for a family of 4. Are Singaporean funds being used to keep 4 million American families above the poverty line?

By: alky

alky — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:30:20 +0000

wow…..if its a US$85 billion loss then divided by 4 million Singaporeans = US$21, 250 per person.

imagine if they had only bothered to use the money to help the citizens instead of losing it away so easily. sigh.

By: hong

hong — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:29:02 +0000

pay cut??? not keen, just get out of parliament & don’t waste taxpayer money…period

By: J Tai

J Tai — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:12:58 +0000

“Pay cut” or “not pay cut” may not the issue anymore.
The policy makers has played themselves into a corner and what is clear is that the present bunch of ministers including president are not up to people’s expectation anymore if the insider account that the nation’s reserves is now down to US$180 billion is true; in the beginning of the year, it was said to be around US$ 265 billion.

Window dressing like lower year end payment makes headlines to distract the poor performances. Pegging salaries to private sector pay is meaningless unless all the poor performers are fired like private sector practices.

By: feedmetothefish

feedmetothefish — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:29:06 +0000

It’s tough not to “grandstand” when you are a $3 Million Dollar Man!

As the reason for their humongous pay rise was to match their talents, let’s brace ourselves for a 18%-19% drop of good governance from our government.

It’s a shame that their talents are no longer worth their original salt!

As they will not be paid their ‘worth’, will some decide to quit their ministership and move to greener pastures like being doctor or lawyer again?

It would be a shame if they do. If they go, the ‘golden period’ would be over and our mother, wife, sister, daughter and grand daughter may have to start looking for position as maids in other countries.

Meanwhile, let’s laugh, rant and be merry to cover the sorry state that we are in.

I’m afraid that if we do not laugh and take a satiric view of their knee jerk wayang actions, madness and anger would have consumed all of us. That’ll be bad as it’ll lead us to IMH, heart attack or even drive us to the jaws of white tiger and MRT trains.

By: smallvice585

smallvice585 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:47:16 +0000

I am amazed how Singaporeans interpret this news as pay cut. I am even more amazed by the audacity of the mainstream media to sell this news as pay cut. Receiving less bonus is not pay cut. Pay cut only happens when there is reduction in the fixed component of the salary on top of no or less bonus. It is not merely an absolute reduction in the annual salary.

By: isa

isa — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:06:04 +0000

This is what happens when you have a monopoly.
A monopoly have pricing power, they can price their products any price they want and the customers who need the products will have to pay for it.

By: nottrivial

nottrivial — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:04:53 +0000

I think the term “pay cut” is a misnomer. Its simply a variable bonus component that cannot be justified to be given due the the poor economy. In any case, after 19% reduction its still 3million+!!!!! my gosh…..

Remember when govt talk about kidney donations, they mention the donor should be compensated adequately but not excessively that would induce them to sell their kidneys, giving too much will result in sale of kidneys that will end up to be not altruistic….

Isnt the minister’s pay EXCESSIVE?
Btw, the CEOs either got a BIG pay cut, or were booted for these credit crisis fiasco, but our HIGHLY paid ministers only get 19% cut? while 900 DBS staff gets retrenched?? 100% pay Cut??? Speaks volumes of how much they are in tune with the ppl.

btw 253SA, why do you talk as if its the Government or HELL…… all we are asking for is accountability, the Government cannot take credit when the economy is doing well, and then just shrug their shoulders and say too bad when economy is not doing well..

By: Teo the Noob

Teo the Noob — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:49:24 +0000

pay cut = wayang only

They bought Citi at $24, now is $5 … losses = $10 billion

So pay cut of few K can account for losses of few BILLIONS?

By: 253SA

253SA — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:18:46 +0000

Jeez folks, you all talk as if every civil servant and minister deserved to be hanged for their salary. Golly gosh, what do you want them to do? Flee to the private sector and ruin what’s left of the economy?

By: rankthem

rankthem — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:01:13 +0000

The performance of our public “servants” are decided by the subjective evaluation of their reporting officers and not by the people. So if the PM feels that WKS is doing a fine job despite creating a fine Mas since he said he know that guy all these years, WKS still get his fat bonus.

It’s time for the people to rank the performance of these public ‘servants.” What TOC can do is set up an online ranking system with up-thumbs and down-thumbs and see how they fared in their performance throughout the whole year. Those who get the biggest number of thumd-downs will get a reduction in their salaries pegged to these scores. Likewise for those with thumbs-up score.

By: The SS

The SS — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:43:42 +0000

Mr. Tan,
I support your bid for the Presidency. And I agree that this is a right direction. But it has to be a little further down the road. We need ACCOUNTABILITY not gestures. The Time is way Past Gestures. Like our support for your intentions. It’s time to ACT decisively.
The PAP cannot talk about Meritocracy without being made Accountable for thier failures.
Their percentage drop is nothng close to the finance industry where bonuses are Wiped OUT… that can be as high as 50% of their annual package or more. And may of those affected did not even partake in the decision making process. Just as an example : Compare this with the voluntary pay cuts made at Temasek whose investment decisions are ridiculously poor by any standards and yet no heads rolled.
This has to change and I hope if and when you are elected, this will change. No one should be able to claim the past 30 years’ performance as an excuse for a utterly bad performance/judgement this year – this is called a Look back Option. No one in the finance industry has such a privilege, not even CEO’s of the world’s largest banks. Don’t talk to me about a 30 -50 year long term horizon.. I don’t buy that.
I am happy that you are worried about the lower income and suport a minimum wage, but as a President, how can you manage this as it is not in your mandate? That job will be the gate-keeper (the other key) of the reserves and that’s it, besides ceremonial stuff.

By: Feverguy

Feverguy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:37:36 +0000

Jinx,

I shared your view that Town Council should reveal all their investments. Keepin g them in the skeleton closet is not going to improve people ‘s confidence in them unless they think we are not importan.

The TC cannot at this present time continued their “my way, you follow only” attitude. This is not acceptable. I pay S&C every month to my TC, i am entitled to know what they do with the money and not when things are not good/smelly then they annouced it in bits and pieces. Wtf?

Thats why more needs to be done to open up this clam shell TC management, if you need eat that flesh in the clam throw them into hot water so they opened up. Give them pressure, dont let up. The media will moved on, MPs will move on, TC will move on and should we move on? NO!

By: Feverguy

Feverguy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:28:13 +0000

Mr tan,

I am sure that any example you set as president of Singapore in the future will be shocking and inspirational.

I think paying yourself $1 is no surprise. In the US, company such as Chrylser in the 1979 USG bailout, CEO ask for $1 for salary. Chrysler managed to get out of othe mess. I am sure that your participation in presidential election is not about money but about serving the people. Show to the rulling class that $1 salary is still good enough for you to serve the nation wholeheartedly.

I am truly happy that after JBJ, we have TKL. Thankful!

By: Jinx on Hold

Jinx on Hold — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:21:45 +0000

#40) Gilbert Goh
…..A billion dollars (1,000,000,000) for your info can be utilised to fund 100,000 retirees for ten years comfortably providing them a few thousand dollars a year each without counting in FD deposit interest per year.

I don’t mind we lost billions but the people must be taken care of properly…..

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I find what your comment very meaningful.

From the voices we hear on this blog, I believe many are not commenting for the sake of disagreeing with them.

I feel that the reason is very plain and simple. The people want basic things only – access to information that affect them or are of public interest. Wanting to know how well the investments have been is caring for the country. Afterall, i believe they must have done such a great job, there is nothing to worry. TC got competitor or not? Despite assumed doing a great job, it is still commonsense that people would still want to know FOR SURE what is going on.

So, I fail to see any harm. Fear is nothing but fear itself.