From Times:
There is nothing like a scandal involving porn films claimed on Commons expenses to focus attention on the pay and perks enjoyed, sorry earned, by our public servants.
Even before Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, was forced to apologise for her husband’s blue movies there had been calls for the whole system to be overturned. The committee on standards in public life which has promised to report on MP pay and expenses by the end of the year is under pressure to do something radical.
Whenever MPs come under attack over pay they are quick to argue that compared to executives in the private and public sector they are not particularly well paid.
With the G20 leaders in the country we thought it was worth getting a snapshot of how much the highest paid presidents and prime ministers around the world earn. For comparison’s sake all earnings have been converted into dollars. It also shows basic annual salary only, not the expenses claimed on top.
So, where does our own Gordon Brown stand?
1. Lee Hsien Loong – Singapore
Salary in dollars – $2.47 million
Salary in local currency – S$3.76 million
2. Donald Tsang Yum-Kuen – Hong Kong
Salary in dollars – $516,000
Salary in local currency – HK$4 million
3. Barack Obama – United States
Salary in dollars – $400,000
4. Brian Cowen – Ireland
Salary in dollars – $341,000
Salary in local currency – €257,000
5. Nicolas Sarkozy - France
Salary in dollars – $318,000
Salary in local currency – €240,000
6. Angela Merkel - Germany
Salary in dollars – $303,000
Salary in local currency – €228,000
7. Gordon Brown – UK
Salary in dollars – $279,000
Salary in local currency – £194,250
8. Stephen Harper – Canada
Salary in dollars – $246,000
Salary in local currency – C$311,000
9. Taro Aso – Japan
Salary in dollars – $243,000
Salary in local currency – Y24 million
10. Kevin Rudd – Australia
Salary in dollars – $229,000
Salary in local currency – A$330,000
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In the eyes of a european businessman that i met for the first time, he had an impression that a typical singaporean is repressive , tractable, and never think out of the box, type of people.
He also noted that there are no labour union of any sort in Singapore and concluded that they must alway have a country representive station here to do the business because of the people’s mentality here.
This i think is the fault of our ruling party
(61)feedmetothefish, I believe, quotes HSL as having said “We go on a system which is open, honest, transparent. What is the job worth, what is the quality of person whom you want. You need the best people for the job and these are jobs where you make decisions which are worth billions of dollars” to apparently justify paying top dollar to our Ministers. BarakObama, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel , Gordon Brown and Taro Aso decide on decisions worth even more billions than the billions of dollars our Ministers do and yet they are paid only far much lesser . I am all for paying our Ministers more than handsomely to ensure and maintain standards of honesty and integrity (a badge of honour our current Ministers can pride themselves of already carrying) and keep temptation at bay, but not to the extent of paying them obscenely. I note PM being paid $2.47 million salary and the other Ministers much less but I wonder does this include the 13th month pay, mid year bonus and the 6 to 9 month(?) salary payment given as performance bonus – layered topups unknown to Western leaders. If not, it gets even more vexatious.
What exactly are the individual Ministers contribution to the growth of the GDP and the general well being of Singaporeans? There is very little light shed on this. Things like increasing ERP to keep expressways free flowing (and divert the jams elsewhere as a result) is something an average Joe can do. In the 60s it was the PAP Ministers who conceived and initiated bold plans to transform Singapore like getting rid of the ubiquitous pirate taxis and toady shops, introducing public housing, smashing militant student unions, banning strikes and bringing discipline into trade unions, providing jobs in thousands by setting up a manufacturing base at Jurong Industrial Estate with foreign investment flows (by seeking the advice of a Dutch Economist), and acquiring land for economic development .
Except for LKY and possibly Goh Chok Tong, what have the other current Ministers contributed substantially will be a revelation. My hunch is that most policy initiatives come from top officials in the Admin Service. The Ministers at best may give the general outline of requirements and refine what comes on plate. It is to the credit of the pioneer PAP leaders to have laid the foundation and mould the Admin Service to what it is today. It is so extraordinarily efficient that it makes the PAP Ministers a tad redundant. Ten committed individuals, like Mr. Tan Kin Lian’s type, in their place, can equally deliver and make Singapore to continue to grow and prosper.
Cheers to LKY and the Admin Service
Which country needs to pay ‘Retaining Salary’ to keep their ministers? Only Singapore.
In my opinion, if these smart people think they would move on to other jobs or even other countries, because of being under paid, we should just happily let them go.
If he think he need to pay more than the other world leaders, he can step down immediately and his others followers can follow too. Singapore don’t really need leaders thinking of earning more money than the corporate world. If the corporate world can pay them millions, go ahead and left the post and go to work for the corporate. You think of highly on yourself yet you look at USA for answer….
What we need is a leader than is not self centered, thinking others ahead of self. To be the leaders of the nation of Singapore is a calling, not corporate ladder.
The leaders are thinking of ways to generate more money out of Singaporeans. I tell you that next time if you drive out of your carpark, the ERP is just outside of your carpark entrance….
Singapore GDP is penanut, but they are paying themselves millions. Shame on you who thinks you deserve every cent you paid…..
“For me, I would say that I support such a high salary system.
Why would anyone expect me to say I disagree?”
bcos you are one and part of them or sent here to do fire-fighting. No ???
Same here, why would anyone expect me to say I disagree?”
“144) sinman on April 5th, 2009 12.20 am Leaders of other nations, mostly much bigger, are not envious of Singapore Leaders’ incomes, neither have they been critical of the World Record Remunerations the Local Political Leaders award themselves. This then begs the Question why the Citizens of Singapore are so unhappy with their Statesmen incomes ?”
With such glaring difference in salary, even if they (foreign leaders) are envious and want to think and say out loud, they have to think twice. With such logic of high pay for no corruption, their own citizens will ensure (comes their next election) that they kiss their potical office good-bye for even daring to bring it up
Some of them are really from first world developed countries and pratise capitalism, do not say they will not understand high pay for high talent and why they do not practise it their high ministerial positions.
The race to the White House is a long and tedious road, and you need to raise alot of money to finance your campaign. The successful candidate becomes Prez and draws only S$600,000.
To be a Sin Minister, all you need is to become somebody’s blue eyed boy,
‘invited’ for tea, assured the position through a GRC walkover, mentored by the Mental Mininster and get paid 3 x that of US Prez.
Sometimes life isn’t fair.
Hi Guys,
Some more info from web site below.
http://www.littlespeck.com/new/CTrendsPolitics-090403.htm
#158
Thanks for telling us about the website:
http://www.littlespeck.com/new/CTrendsPolitics-090403.htm
Wow!!, I didn’t know that even just the basic salary of each of our Ministers of State is more than twice the salary of Barrack Obama. I am glad that the article also pointed out that over and above their basic pay each MOS also gets additional performance bonuses and pensions.
Assuming that each MOS gets a further 6 months (unannounced) bonus and an additional pension (even before they retire) equivalent to their last pay, then I am completely overwhelmed. No amount of explanation can convince me that so much money must be drained to the Ministers of State to avoid corruption in Singapore. In spite of such high pays, we are not even ranked the highest non-corrupt country in the world?
I wonder whether our Ministers feel ashamed when they discuss ministerial pays with their foreign counterparts.
must pay so many on How embarrassing for Singaporeans to meet the world.
I thank those who responded to my post(144).
Please bear with me, it happens that me has a different interpretation to the meaning of wealth and power. Life is definite and short, me believes that nature has ordained it so, so that a definition of greed can be determined. There is only so much one can consume within ones’ lifespan, anything beyond that is needed and essential to ones’ existence is excessive and me considered it greed.
Having, hoarding and going after more after having huge excesses while at the same time knowing others are living in poverty and struggling to survive simply makes me wonders why man(kind) are so selfish and cruel.
What confounds me(simple-minded) and me wish not any explanation, is that man is ever so greedy that he/she can be devoid of concience, justice and humanities, the very tenets of humanity and yet claim to be the best(human quality) in our society. Weird !
It would have been being good and acceptable, if says the lowest paid inhabitants are not exploited to labour hard and long(working hours) for miserable incomes and have to struggle to survive, while our leaders are enjoying their sky-high remunerations.
160) sinman on April 6th, 2009 2.32 pm
I have to concur with your measured and well explained response.
In post #144, wrong interpretation was made that you were lending credence to that high pay thingy.
159) shameless on April 6th, 2009 1.40 pm
With the amount of $$$ they still paying themselves even at this point of time when the entire world is facing its worst financial crisis is worst than corruption itself. Name me any non-communist country in any part of the world that dares to do this other than our uniquely singapore. At least not every corrupted politicians dare to do things openly in public, where else here it becomes a legal rights to most but not all who are still drawing such obscene paychecks.
Exceeding the limits of paying themselves too much, considering what little all the A-Team have done in this crisis up to now.
In first half of 2008 all of them was in denial,
In the second half of 2008 trying to give all sort of excuses that it not their fault, everything that happens depends on external factors.
Things are beyond their control, then why draw such huge salary?
So far in 2009, still nothing to help the people. BUT can lose Billions and take such large paychecks and doing nothing at all.
Where is the guilt?
No Shame at all !!!!!
To: Poster #161;
am very glad to have your concurrence and a pleasure
to have your interactions.
sinman
The real reason PAP pays ministers and civil servants so much is not greed for money; it is greed for power. By paying people in these positions so much money, the government indirectly discourages capable individuals who might be interested in politics from joining the opposition. The high pay offered to anyone who becomes a minister or a senior civil servant would be one more reason (certainly a strong one) to entice any capable individual who is thinking of joining politics.
In other words, the current crop of highly paid ministers and senior civil servants can count themselves exrremely fortunate because they are highly paid not because they deserve the pay or they are superman-like as claimed, but because they happen to be beneficiaries of PAP’s strategy to hold on to power.
No amount of excuses could justify the pay ministers received. We as a country spend hardly any resources for the economically disadventaged, homeless, etc. But our ministers are paid in millions of dollar a year. Could any one think of a good reason why they deserve such high remuneration? A country run by a single party state without any opposition certainly had its down side- legal corruption. While many poor Sinkaporean suffered, gahment total indiference to their suffering speak volume to their callous altitude toward a compassionate society. We had alway been asked to make surifices and work together as one but when money is involved, it is us and them. We get paid peasnut while they paid themselves in million. What about the spirit of public service? We are certainly unique and put to shame many of the despots of the past around the world. Have we set an example for many 3rd world countries how to take a nation wealth legally without having to dream of way to steal it?
I keep wondering. They say the PM and MInisters are paid such high salaries, to prevent them being corrupted.
So many questions crop up:
1. Does this mean if they are not paid this much, they will be corrupt?
2. Does it mean, if they are not paid this much, they can dare be corruptd, and not afraid of the draconian laws and penalties we have here to prevent or penalise such action?
Hmmm… I always thought most people dare not do this or that because the laws are strict here. Does it not extend to PM and Ministers too?
3. Does it mean, civil servants should also be paid very high salaries, so they also don’t become corrupt?
Sigh… I know my questions will never get answered…
Singapore is a classic example of the type of Asian Godfather control of a country . How can I say country , Singapore is only a small city , and not that well run or economical as well . If I were Singaporean I would be ashamed of my government