What does he mean by that? Should I take it to mean that he feels that cutting ministers’ pay is playing to the audience and therefore it shall not be done? Or was he telling the reporter not to sensationalize this topic, but that they will take a pay cut honorably and quietly?

1) logicalman on November 22nd, 2008 10.38 am

If the MSM continues its path and wanting to glorify the “sacrifices” referring to the TBA pay cut of the top leaders, then they will be seen as people with pea-brain (at least that reporter who posed that question) who does not know how to read messages between lines.

The series of events unfolding and the recently announced measures that the government is taking or planning to take is at least some assurance that they have not lost their conscience totally. Will this be enough to boost the market confidence and calm the disgruntle citizenry? I will say at least it is a right step forward and hopefully they go further to keep in touch with the ground people and listen more with an open mind frame to what people on the ground are saying.

Hopefully more can be done as what Tharman put it “, will be looking at helping the lower and middle income groups”. Let’s stay tune how the 2009 budget will unveil. Besides stimulus packages announcement, I certainly hope they do not just let the TC off the hook easily. It is time to call for more transparency and accountability. I sure hope the next parliament meeting, more MPs will debate on the this issue and table a motion to revoke the liberty given to TC and get them back on track, just being TCs and nothing more.

Nevertheless, concerned citizenry must continue to stay united and vote for check and balance. History tends to repeat itself if we citizenry let it happen.

Too high pay all these ministers. 1 million per annum for PM is considered too much not to mention 3.7 million. So pay cut even 20% is of no use, it is still too much, not commensurate with their duty, because they say they can’t control external factors. So just put Ah Seng , Ah Meng can do the job, why waste money???

“it is still too much, not commensurate with their duty, because they say they can’t control external factors.”

They can’t even control internel factors let alone external factors.

On a side note, the problem with many singaporeans is that we’ve been “programmed” to accept certain “truths”.
I watched on television, a lady being interviewed who expressed helplessness at being an employee at the mercy of the employer. Such is the reality we have been told to accept in Singapore. Labour unions have little say; there is hardly any organization of labour, unless one accepts NTUC, which is hardly more than an organization providing discount to members.
The same can be said for ministers pay cut. Sooner or later, most of us will accept the fact that our leaders will sit and watch most of us lose our jobs, and take a pay cut while they sit in parliament and praise themselves for a job well done. We have been told that many things are non-negotiable and somehow, whether we like it or not, it is forced down our throats.
My suspicion tells me that the they do not want to set a precedent by taking a pay cut during the recession. In Singapore, the fear has always been setting precedents. Even our leaders have that mentality. They know that if they do it this time, they will have to do it again. And Singapore being vulnerable to recession will probably mean cyclical pay cuts every few years for our leaders. Do I agree with pegging of public to public salaries? No. Do I agree with our leaders refusing to “grandstand”? No. But what can we do other than vent our frustration here? that itself is frustrating for me.

Not going to grandstand? Isn’t that what the government is doing all the time, boasting their records of good and clean governance, albeit an expensive government, possibly the most expensive government in the whole world.

Now they want their cut of the bonuses for what? For taking their own sweet time to study how other government are actively helping their citizens and copycatting their policy actions.

Apparently, we have the best and brightest and highest paid political copycats in the world, that is a record that Singapore should be proud of.

In the MOM’s recently released ‘Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower’, para 20 states:

The ‘Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower’ aims to help employers and workers to better manage the economic downturn and at the same time reposition our workforce to seize opportunities when the economy recovers. When there is a need to implement any of the above measures, the principle and spirit of leadership by example, close consultations and transparency should prevail. This will enhance the level of trust between employers and workers/unions and help to smoothen implementation. For instance, when salary needs to be adjusted downwards, senior management should lead by example by cutting their salaries earlier or accept similar or deeper cuts.

Now the Ministers are saying that cutting the Cabinet’s (i.e., senior management’s) salary is grandstanding?

When is the time to buy Singapore shares? These are the indicators:
1. When GIC & Temasek’s AAA grade downgrade to BBB.
2. When the cabinet downsize.
3. When there is not more bonuses for Govt Officials, except 13th month.

As extracted from dictionary.com:

Grand⋅stand

–noun
1. the main seating area of a stadium, racetrack, parade route, or the like, usually consisting of tiers with rows of individual seats.
2. the people sitting in these seats.
–verb (used without object)
3. to conduct oneself or perform showily or ostentatiously in an attempt to impress onlookers: The senator doesn’t hesitate to grandstand if it makes her point.
–adjective
4. situated in a grandstand: grandstand seats.
5. having a vantage point resembling that of a grandstand: From our office windows on the third floor, we had a grandstand view of the parade.
6. intended to impress an onlooker or onlookers: a grandstand catch.

Remember our hip hopping elites anyone?

Zero sense of solidarity with the citizens.

Yes, they better not grand stand.
Because they better not boast of sacrifices,
as there were and are none.

AND

all the more they should not grand stand
to showcase their competencies and abilities
in money makings and investments.
BECAUSE ALL THE MONEY THEY MADE BRINGS
NO HAPPINESS.

AND

Why no happiness?

THEY SHOULD KNOW !

patriot

Er, that’s three hundred taels of silver from the ex-convict minister

Dammed ya ya nowadays ! As if he speak for all the ministers including PM who at least had contributed a little of his salary to charity.

It is a sad day for Singapore when humility is thrown to the wind ; where was he before and if not for his father’s connection to an old guard ?

Wonder if he dares to take on the opposition in a single constituency seat in the coming general election.

They are not there to grandstand?

They have grandstood themselves for so long that they do not know what cheap gallery seat is all about.

If only they can be less greedy but more human, Singaporeans would have been more forgiving when they sleep on their watch.

If only they knew how to treat us as human and not morons, we would not have taken every opportunity to treat them like clown and irresponsible idiot when they behave like one. Eg: Mee Siam Mai Hum; Mas Selamat, Town Council’s Lehman Sinking Fund and Minister’s Monthly CPF statements

If only they do not come at us with their threats and knuckle dusters all the time, we would have been a more gracious society.

If they instil fear less but care more, we would have more happy caring Singaporeans and less kiasi, kiasu & kia chenghu scaredy cats.

If only they were more humble and less arrogant, we would not have become a Disunited Nation of Singapore of highly paid elites, struggling confused middle class and disenchanted suicidal poor.

The guy who counts his CPF every month, Lim Swee Say spoke about lose-lose “cutting cost to save jobs or cutting jobs to save cost ?” I’d say for Singapore and Singaporeans to win-win, the cabinet should do both. Cut cost and cut jobs by retrenching some in Parliament.

No, they are not there to grandstand, they are there merely to pay themselves and playing to the gallery.

feedmetothefish

so unlike PM Lee who out-grandstood other MPs by DONATING his pay increase, and subsequently disallowed the other Ministers from grandstanding themselves.

That was fun.

If they don’t grandstand it how do we know they take a hefty cut. The cut must be at least 40% to show they resonate with the people’s suffering. They still have 60%. Imagine many out there who lost every thing. What about the investors, they also lost everything.
Come on, do the right thing.

The ministers don’t need a paycut, they need a retrenchment exercise to save the Tax payers money.

Meaning:

The Government is not here to “Pai Sui” (In Hokkien for showcase), we are the Elite. You (Singaporean) don’t want to under pay the Elite because you don’t want us to under perform.

Don’t worry, we are not worry about the next election. We will always win because there is no opposition to fight with us. You people (Singaporean) just watch as we rise the GST right in front of your face.

I think the above is what in the “Elites” mind most of the time.

Of course they do not want to highlight or grandstand their astronomical salaries.
They know too well that their outlandish salaries may be legal, but are very unpopular, and very far from being moral or righteous.
For this reason they would try to minimise any discussion of their salaries as much as possible. The subject is taboo, and apart from their announced basic salary, we don’t know how much each minister is getting in terms of additional performance bonus, variable bonus, GDP bonus, mid-year bonus, end-of-year bonus, pensions, etc.

tharman has a difficult job ; before him were PM (LHK), TT, RH, HSU and Dr GOH KENG SWEE. he is also given a 2nd chance and netizens must try to be more gracious before shooting out e-mails without kind consideration

Think know what tharman trying to say; but brevity causes problems such as:

(1) he is out to embarass PM who grandstood by donating part of his salary when getting the increment ? Implication is that only one ma can decide on salary increment and the same one take or can give away – like a demi god!

(2) tharman cannot talk much -otherwise his past will alway catch up with him; pap must be desparate with no more capable people joining them ?- also the reasoning that hence the use of big salary to try to attract people over

(3) worst there are may be citizens calling for tharman to resign vis a vis the hurt and harm done by the mini bonds and rest of structured products, the unnecessary gst hike, etc .

Advice to tharman if you are reading netizens – better not talk, just do more- as the more you talk the more the ground will swell against pap. Best wishes.

The word grandstand has a few ‘verb’ meanings.
I wonder which one he meant?

They keep telling helping the poor, how many millions set aside for training ? Any statistics to prove ? We don’t want help actually, we will be contented if they don’t suck from us every now and then, they increase 22 % of the price and then decrease 5 or 10%, no use at all !!

#10) retire

Oh I think the Singaporean had given ENOUGH kind consideration to these Elites considering the fact that all these years they had been “mandate” without much of a contest! You might be one of the lucky lots that voted for PAP and have a comfortable retirement but we believe there are many much more is still cleaning the toilets, mopping the floors and clearing the tables all over the island that do not have the luxury of that your kindself can sit on the desk comforably typing these words into this
Blog!

Whatever their freaking reasons for behaviouring this way, with all due respect, they are elected to serve the people and not self service into tax payer money. Thanks for the enlightening!

i think it means no cut

Ya recently I returned to Singapore last month from Sydney to visit my mum. It was still the hyper inflationary stage and people were complaining alot on this and that.

Many faces looked strained and stressed. The students hurried as it was exam period. The workers hurried to catch the packed trains as they don’t want to look bad when late for work. The housewives were hurrying to the market to catch the best prices as things were expensive. The retirees hurried to get their free copy of Today at the MRT station.

We are indeed a nation of hurried people. We walked too fast and often missed out on theings along the way.

Here in Sydney I have time to smell the roses and even catch a latte on the way home sometimes. Though things can be rather fast at times in this bustling city, back home where it is rather distant from the city, we tend to take things easy abit here.

In Singapore, I hardly have time for myself as I felt like being hurried along in life. There is this motion force that keep pushing me forward without me knowing it. It can be frightening.

I know people are concerned about so many issues back home. I sense a crisis mode has seize the nation with so many things happening.

The future may look bleak with so many negative news flooding in. SOme of us may even be jobless some time soon. We don’t know the future yet. Let us join hands and help one another for a better tomorrow.

I don’t know why I write this now. Maybe some of us need this. As we complained here and there let us not forget to fulfill whatever goals and dreams we have in this world. The imperfection will be there. Ministers will still get their million dollar salary. PAP will still be in power. But that does not deter us from going after our life goal.

Friends – Don’t be surprised that they may even get a pay rise. Reason ?. Their pay is still below the market rate of the top earners in the private sector. Even with a pay cut of say between 15-25%, it won’t hurt the super scale people at all.

ARROGANT ???????????????????

It’s about time we stop giving our ministers recogintion and inviting them to any functions that are organised. Why must they be the guest of honour. Why cant we get ordinary citizens who do more to be the guest of honour or guest speaker.

They the mnisters do nothing dont contrbute or donate anything so why use them at all. Its time we let them know that they are dispensable.

Time to stand up for the real honest singaporean. They have all become arrogrant to the core. Thinking that they are high and mighty.

Hi Yodi
I strongly agree with your suggestion to stop this nonsense of “guest of honour” for our politicians.
This is a very unique term used only in Singapore, and nowhere else in the whole wide world outside.
Such a term is never heard of in all the developed countries like US, UK, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Japan, or even in lesser developed countries.
In a democratic society everyone is equal. There is no such thing that the guest of honour is more equal than others.
If you ever use such a term in other countries people will laugh their heads off.

Thanks Anonymous for your support. I have always wondered why must our ministers or so called MPs get all the attention. Its ordinary singaporeans that do all the hard work and they just step in to claim all the glamour as if they did any of the dirty work get things ready.

Its time there is a stop to all these things. Its just like if they want to visit an estate , all of sudden the area is given extra clean , grass is cut , drains are cleaned lifts are spotless for their two bits of appearance. And after they are gone, its back to the old dirty uncleaned unkept estate till the next visit. What utter rubbish and this is what the tonw councils are also doing.

So thanks again, my fellow singaporean.

“A panel of ministers was asked if senior officers and leaders in the public sector would lead by example and take pay cuts in difficult times. ‘We’re not here to grandstand,’ Mr Tharman said.”

Neither are we the audience at a Circus Show, Mr. Minister. And even if we are, we need not pay what we pay you for the ‘amateurish’ show that you put up. I’m sure many of us Singaporeans have travelled abroad and seen Circus Shows featuring artistes performing feats which even our eyes could not believe what they had seen. And even then, we pay only a miniscule fraction of what we pay you for your ‘mini’ act.

The arrogance in the Minister’s reply serves to drive home the point only too evidently that when one achieves power, status, and very good money very easily for too long, one takes the people for granted. This reason in itself is all-sufficient to justify the people’s yearning for a multi-party system.

But we must not stop at yearning. We must in fact stop yearning and start the process going for the ultimate goal of a Nation governed along the lines of a “Government of the People, by the People, and for the People’.