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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their pay keep going up and up. how about the citizen? pay going lower and lower day by day.
Looks like a lot of people are pessimistic and can go down the slippery road to depression.
Wonder who can be optimistic about Singapore ? The millionaire dollar men ? Surely money can get almost everything for them including overseas home.
It is really depressing to read about the obsene salaries. How and why such a small group of people get so much and why do they need so much money ? If the wealth is not spread equitable in these difficult times, then the next survey will show desparation and open the road to anarchy.
Can someone inform the source of the article that they are way of the mark with the ranking. I believe our President, MM,SM and even some Ministers earn more than those listed after our PM. Effectively I believe at least the top 4 placing will go to our politicians. And they deserve it, that why they people vote for them.
i think the report is wrong, the best paid top 10 politicians are all from Singapore
1.SM 1
2.SM 2
3. PM
4. DPM1
5. DPM2
6. MOM
7. MOL
8. MOE
9. MFA
10. blah blah
All our ministers made more than than Donald Tsang!
Question: Are we the best performing economy in the world? How come we are the first in Asia to go into recession???!!!
I think our Perm Secs would be up there somewhere in the rankings too if they were included.
The combined annual household income of the nepostic father & son team, with the useless daughter-in-law, horny but useless second son, tomboy daughter and senile wife (from law firm with monopolistic legal control over housing transaction) probably runs into 30 to 50M inclusive of bonuses !
That easily puts them one of the richest, if not the most well to do family in Sillypore ! That amount is sufficient to last up to 10 generations for the famiLEE !
actually the top 50 best paid politicians in the world belong to us. Let me name our President Nathan for a start. How come gordon brown and the likes can come into the list?
Did the SG MSM publish this news yesterday or today? It shows that our politicians are insensitive, much much more arrogant than Lewis Hamilton and ignorant about the common citizen and thier hardship.
I am shock!!!! People have speculated this for so long. now it is reported in Times Online, which is a reputable press in the UK.
Will LHL attempt to sue Times if he feels it is not true but that someone else, e.g. Thaksin, was much much higher than him????
ehhh… dont say so much.
afterall 66.6% of the population voted for the PAP during the previous elections.
Want them to change? can. vote for WP!
http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2009/04/top-30-highest-paid-politicians-in.html
To 109) Jermin Chia :
“Want them to change? can. vote for WP!”
But do they have the intestinal fortitude to contest every GRC and stop the walkover charade? I have not voted for three general elections and getting fed up with the system of Taxation without Representation!
Voting is our constitutional right, they say but how can we vote if the opposition parties refuse to contest every GRC?
The GE is coming and the opposition parties had better get their act together. If the cost per candidate is too expensive then start the fund raising exercise NOW!
This is the best chance for them to win a few GRCs, as the people want change. If they don’t take it then they have to wait for the GE in 2016!
From The Australian
1. Lee Hsien Loong – Singapore
Salary: $US2.47 million
Per head of population: 54c
2. Brian Cowen – Ireland
Salary: $US341,000
Per head of population: 9c
3. Donald Tsang Yum-Kuen – Hong Kong
Salary: $US516,000
Per head of population: 7c
4. Kevin Rudd – Australia
Salary: $US229,000
Per head of population: 1c
5. Stephen Harper – Canada
Salary: $US246,000
Per head of population: 0.7c
6. Nicolas Sarkozy – France
Salary: $US318,000
Per head of population: 0.5c
7. Gordon Brown – UK
Salary: $US279,000
Per head of population: 0.5c
8. Angela Merkel – Germany
Salary: $US303,000
Per head of population: 0.4c
9. Taro Aso – Japan
Salary: $US243,000
Per head of population: 0.2c
10. Barack Obama – United States
Salary: $US400,000
Per head of population: 0.1c
Based on Per head of population, LHL earns 540 times more than Barack Obama and yet we have to depend on the later to drag us out of recession.
I simply cannot imagine how our ministers can look at themselves in the mirror. They may see $$ but I would see S as in Shame.
But why worry? we can Trust our leaders. If the pay is too much, they would Voice Up for the People to make it right, i presume.
What i mean is, these are honest people who choose this line to serve you and me right? so, i think leave it to them to voice up lor. If one day they feel something long with the salary system, then I have faith they would correct it. Afterall, you cannot expect non members of the parli to do this right? am i wrong in anyway?
yeah china chairman not even top 20? i think
greedy politician!
Its ok , they set high pay for themselves as a precedent, next time opposition party take over government also can get high pay , so next time they have to keep their mouth shut.
The PM earning millions yet there are homeless citizens around means only one thing… Legitimized Corruption.
To: 112) curious
Voting is your constitutional right. It is also a human right to vote for your representative in parliament. You can write to your MP and the opposition parties to bring this matter to the UN.
It is not correct to say that the opposition parties refuse to contest every GRC. The opposition parties will be able to contest all 84 constituencies if the GRCs are abolished. The PAP have created many hurdles to make it harder for the opposition parties to challenge them.
Fund raising exercise by the opposition parties is an uphill task compared to the PAP as many people and businesses are afraid of contributing for fear of retaliation and blacklisting by the government.
Looks like the cat is out of the bag. The truth is an eye opener. OMG All The Top 30 millions dollar annual salary earners are the one and only A-Team from our tiny island.
Are we singaporeans all retards, how did we allow this to happen in the first place?
All these greedy people will never stop self paying themselves those millions out of the taxpayers pockets unless the all the citizens unites themselves and do something very big like the tsunami to happen here in singapore. They are getting greedier each year, so what are they talking about paying high salaries to avoid corruptions, with those $millions salaries they are now getting already are worst than corruption, its robbery.
Perhaps this is the benchmark:
http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/10/the-worlds-10-w.html
It is the same as stealing from the company account….. I think so.
LKY has said something like western conspiracy to do us in. This Times Online article is part of the plot to do us in.
G20 represent the major govt; want to interfere with the excessive salary, bonus of the financial institutions etc. To do that, they must clean the house first. Our govt may now under pressure to change their fat salary package.
Obama has brought changes to Singapore??
Singapore govt is openly and shamelessly and morally corrupt.
Kaputt!
But Singaporeans vote them in, right. So Singaporeans are a bunch of idiots, what!
Below link shows minister mentor’s reply to your question.
Pay raise for Singapore PAP Ministers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZgH3wbYH4I
Do you agree with him? :)
I did a google search for information on this article. I found some videos of Lee Kwan Yew that touched on origins of PAP’s principle of governence. It might explain PAP’s ‘fortress’ mentality.
You might want to see these videos. You can do a search of the following on youtube.
Lee Kuan Yew (Part 1 of 3)
Lee Kuan Yew (Part 2 of 3)
Lee Kuan Yew (Part 3 of 3)
Singaporeans have been apolitical for so long, they deserve this from their gov.
So many have only cared about how much money THEY can make , to hell with what’s going on to their other poor countrymen. Its been everyone for themselves.
Politicians are also looking after themselves first. Right?
“To do that, they must clean the house first. Our govt may now under pressure to change their fat salary package.”
then we may see our dear MIW quiting their post to join private sector as the may is insufficient for their extraordinary talent. they need the high pay to prevent corruption, so what happen when there isn’t any high pay?
Funny that this is not reported in the Straits Times …. I thought that “newspaper” trumpets all achievements of Singapore ….
This unique problem arises because of PAP’s political monopoly covering all forms of governance and laws created to protect itself. Taxpayers’ money is generously used to pay for the loyalty of ministers and MPs, who in turn, have no incentives to go against the wishes of the ones in absolute authority.
Singaporeans are made to pay their MPs’ salary of more than $13,000 a month each, to represent them part time (except for opposition MPs) through the meet the people sessions. PAP MPs present themselves in parliament with token speeches and occasional questions for the ministers. The IRONIES OF IRONY is that they always support the ministers’ decisions after raising doubts.
The biggest IRONY for Singaporeans is that the PAP government, in unjustifiably and ridiculously justifying their ill-conceived pays, has never taken responsibility for their mistakes and mis-steps. Such is their emphasis on their integrity and honesty, which seems like an open “swindle” of the citizens’ tax dollars.
Why should Singaporeans continue to subject themselves to be short-changed by the PAP government whose only interest is growing the economy at the expense of its citizens?
Herein are some contentious issues.
1. Grow the economy by creating debts for Singaporeans through ever-increasingly costly public housing to support the appreciation of private property values.
2. Means testing of medical services subsidies to indirectly increase medical costs for Singaporeans. Vast majority of Singaporeans belong to the middle class as defined by the income group. Therefore, vast majority will pay more for utilising medical services. Subsidy for the low income group is just a ploy as this forms a very low percentage in Singapore. (Too much money in the medisave account, on average, is the likely reason for drumming up this policy)
3. The next president is likely to be LKY himself. The challenge posed by other than PAP approved candidates is threatening the hierarchy. However, the greatest concern is the accountability and transparency of the nation’s foreign reserves.
4. PAP always credit itself for all the good times that befalls on Singapore and always unequivocally absolve itself of bad times that strikes Singapore. If PAP is that good with its policies, then the hard times should not always befall on Singapore parallel with the rest of the world.
5. Under the PAP’s 40+ years of governance, Singaporeans have gone through the same if not more rounds of recession and recovery as the rest of the world. Does this not testify to the fact that Singapore’s fortunes is tight very closely to the world’s fortunes rather than because of the PAP’s policies?
6. If elderly Singaporeans cannot afford the fees in elder care homes here, they will have to opt for those in neighouring countries. Where is the social and moral responsiblity of the government which collects so much taxes? For investment only?
The on-going crisis is a godsend. The general public has been misled by many of society’s so-called top talents through trickery, manipulation and fraud fuelled by GREED. If this crisis does not make the public smarter and much more inquisitive, then, the public has given the mandate to others to rip them off again in future.
What is there for citizens anymore ?
Remember the French Revolution – this economic crisis will trigger the Singapore version when all citizens rush to join the pap to get at the goodies….
harrison,
what u said here is absolutely correct!!. i really look forward for changes to be made soon.
i am very frustrated of my life in singapore at this point of time.
125) korrupter on April 4th, 2009 10.11 am
I cannot say that i agree with you. ;)
I really CanNot ;) ;)
In a democracy, the majority votes give a party the mandate.
Its a collective effort. Where the decider is the People.
If people wanted change or voice dissentment, they could have done so in the last.
If the People do not like Walkover system, would they not have voiced out loud?
If the Salary system is too much, would not the People’s Representatives have voiced out for the People?
As long as the majority is ok, I am sure there need not be change since policies are accepted where acceptance is of many types. ;)
I suspect the Majority do not see any problem with the policies and systems.
I expect the same if not better results in the coming e.
The decider is the People.
“To do that, they must clean the house first. Our govt may now under pressure to change their fat salary package.”
A lot of people still feel that they deserve to live on the past glory of the great bubble. By now, they should know that the earth that the financial crisis has brought them down is solid ground and is no longer filled with bubbles.
126) Lachlan on April 4th, 2009 10.29 am
Below link shows minister mentor’s reply to your question.
Pay raise for Singapore PAP Ministers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZgH3wbYH4I
===========
Thanks for sharing the video by CNA.
Its really enriching as I learn that Some european countries actually could afford a mediocre gubbermen.
Every day is a learning day.
To #134,
Well ,its a no brainer that the People decide who is in power.
By virtue of this, I feel that many do not fully completely absolutely understand who is RESPONSIBLE. The People are definitely the most responsible ultimately. I hold myself responsible as a citizen of a democracy. I will do the right thing.
Haha, no one will know what thing i mean. :P
Even excluding the additional 8 months bonus and the pension while still on the job, the three million dollars per year which a minister is getting is equivalent to about $10k per day, every day of the year including Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. It is like winning a huge lottery every day.
With so much money to lose it is only natural for anyone in this position to try to keep the opposition out for as long as possible.
134) From Within by the pseudo alternators illusionists on April 4th, 2009 2.37 pm
From the way you have penned down your thoughts, you may be a very young chap or you may not really understand how the human psyche works. If it is so straight forward, why would our msm be so controlled. y the grc. y the 4-man assembly law. y the democracy here is so different from a freer democracy pratised by other first world countries.
if there is path that is carved out for you, you will likely walk the path even though the shortest path needs you to bash through a little more difficult not-so-noticeable pathway blocked by obstacles
The system other than seeking to reward the minority pap club actually stems from the inferiority complex of the PAP – they need money to boost their egos otherwise they will always be looked upon as employees, and at best managers and not owners.
The late Dr Tay Eng Soon had some things to say about bankers and employees. owners and workers and the PAP cannot take it … so the high salaries for their own kind.
” If it is so straight forward, why would our msm be so controlled”
are they controlled? In what way? I think they operate independently. They just know what to write. I mean very fair and unbiased articles they have. For TV, we have Debra Soon. Very unbiased and fair person. Listen to her programs and you will know. Her capability is confirmed by her recent promotion. They operate independently in my opinion. Ask Andrew Chuah. He probly agree with me.
So, I do not think they need to be controlled totally as the talents inside knows how to do their job. and know how to write or say.
did anyone get my drift?
To: 136) Albino Great Granny on April 4th, 2009 2.43 pm
You are welcome. :)
#125)
‘But Singaporeans vote them in, right. So Singaporeans are a bunch of idiots, what!’
#134)
‘If the Salary system is too much, would not the People’s Representatives have voiced out for the People?’
…………………………………………………………
Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. Right? But people use guns to kill.
PAP have done a good job over the years. 66% of Singaporeans voted for them. If the PAP are so good and confident, why do they need to erect more and more hurdles to prevent the opposition party candidates from getting into parliament?
Singaporeans are not a bunch of idiots. They are bribed with goodies before each GE. People are indoctrinated that the PAP have sourced the whole of Singapore for the best candidates so much so that even a WP candidate voted for the PAP instead of his fellow opposition party candidate in the 2006 GE.
I know of many civil servants who dare not vote for the opposition. The NTUC readily admitted that it sacked a member of its staff for standing as a candidate for the oppositon party. The original GRC consisted of only 3 members. PAP almost lost one GRC. Then they increased it to 6 members. Why? So as to make it more difficult for the opposition parties to win.
So, don’t just blame the people. Fear is in the air! Remember what LHL said at Raffles Place if more than 10 opposition party members are elected?
I ‘LL FIX THEM
PAP MPs will not and dare not voice out for the people even if the ministers’ pay is increased again.
I hope readers will bear with me for explaining certain points to others who are so naive.
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 ?
# 144)
They are probably laughing all the way to the …. at the obscene sums each member is getting
Wonder why we dun hire George Bush or Clinton as Senior Ministers…. Offer them citizenships as well…
From memory there is only one good political act – only one good thing which the PAP did – MM took Singapore out of Malaysia or rather Malaysia kicked us out.
For this single act, Singaporeans are made to be bonded to pay and pay back to the president, ministers and their supporting staff – fair and square, right ? MM had said something about rejoining Malaysia – it is impossible but it is a timely reminder.
When it comes to money as reward – all man are the same.
So if the ministers have screwed up with Mas selamat, etc, it is not their fault and would not resign to lose their pay – they all know that once they step out, it is full time retirement for them and not to even think that they can still get back to the private salary benchmark ; SM did utter on TV his worth in the private sector – a sum of S$3 million per month !
The solution is simple – you do not like it yo leave if you can get another country to accept you; the rest of asia and some of europe are waiting to come in as PR- europeans are already doing national service.
You are old and do not like it here – go to JB or Batam.
Dismiss the subject man, let them have all they want – they cannot bring the money along with them when they leave this world.
I wonder for how long will such salary system last ? (afterall in life everything is finite)
I suspect the answer might probably be linked to the People’s general opinion.
Some say linked to external trade.
For me, I would say that I support such a high salary system.
Why would anyone expect me to say I disagree? ;)
#146) one good thing
‘MM had said something about rejoining Malaysia – it is impossible but it is a timely reminder.’
…………………………………………………………
It is NOT impossible.
No one can predict the future. In 25 or 50 years’ time if and when the PAP is corrupt and inefficient, they may deplete the reserves trying to prop up their failing regime. When finally a Chee S J takes over a bankrupt Singapore, he may have to beg Malaysia for help. This is the scenario LKY used to fighten Singaporeans into voting for the PAP and that antagonized Malaysia.
I guess our political leaders are all legends in their own minds. No matter what kind of logic you can give, it can never justify such pay.
What does it mean to serve a country and its people? What drives these politicians? Do they believe in a Singapore that we can call our own? Businessmen or patriots? Maybe Singaporeans are difficult to serve so must pay high high; if not, they might as go and do business. Clearly, values such as righteousness, patriotism, faithfulness etc don’t mean nothing.