PM to donate his increment to charities for the next 5 years
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Media Release: No need to donate increment, just repudiate pay hike
11 Apr 06
Obviously unable to stomach the backlash from Singaporeans and the eyebrows raised by others around the world, PM Lee Hsien Loong has announced that he will donate his pay increment of S$600,000 a year.
Singaporeans should not be so easily placated – or fooled. If Mr Lee has no need of the extra money, why did he allow the pay-raise in the first place? If, on the other hand, he believes that the move is good for Singapore, then he should have stood his ground and defended his actions.
Obviously, it is impossible to justify the unjustifiable. The pay hike was a colossal misstep on the part of the Government, especially when there is overwhelming evidence that the economic situation of Singaporeans has been deteriorating in recent years. The PM is obviously now trying to undo, or at least limit, the damage.
However, Mr Lee's move to increase his salary and then announce that he will donate it away seems such an unnecessary show. Wouldn't it have made more sense to not increase salaries in the first instance?
And what are we to conclude if the other ministers don't follow suit and donate their increments as well?
Singaporeans must not forget that even without the latest increase, Mr Lee and the entire cabinet are already way overpaid. The Singapore Democrats repeat our call for the PM and his ministers to revise their salaries downwards to less obscene levels.
At the same time, and in line with international democratic practice, ministers should declare their assets and the assets of their family members.
If fact, given the dismal economic situation that poor Singaporeans are being put through, Parliament should unequivocally repudiate any talk of salary increase and all MPs should forgo their increments and ensure that the funds are used to alleviate the suffering of the working poor.
It must never be forgotten that parliaments are institutions of service, not avarice.
Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General
Singapore Democratic Party
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Singapore PM to donate pay hike after salary furore
Reuters
11 Apr 07
Singapore's prime minister said on Wednesday he would donate his S$600,000 ($395,800) pay rise for each of the next five years as he defended a 60 percent increase in ministers' million-dollar salaries.
Lee Hsien Loong, who is set to earn S$3.1 million ($2.1 million) this year following this week's pay rise - or five times U.S. President George Bush's salary - told parliament he did not expect other ministers to donate their pay increases.
The government's decision to jack up salaries for ministers and top civil servants - already among the highest-paid in the world - has brought criticism from ordinary Singaporeans, many of whom consider the move tactless given the widening rich-poor gap in the city-state.
"For five years, whatever the increase in salary above the present level, I will donate," said Lee, who earned S$2.5 million ($1.65 million) previously, in parliament on Wednesday.
Lee said this would give him the moral standing to defend the move to raise ministers' salaries.
The salaries of Singapore ministers were raised by about 60 percent to an average of S$1.9 million ($1.26 million) on Monday, just short of the S$2.2 million that the government had initially proposed.
The government said the move was necessary to attract and retain top talent. ($1=1.516 Singapore Dollar) -
Although i do not agree with the increase of the ministers' wages,
but I Salute PM Lee for the move to donate his increament over the 5 yrs....
Well, I do agree that we need to scout for talents, esp the local ones, but its about the methods our government used. Since when have the roles of a civil serveant changed? Being a MP, the ultimate roles should be to serve the people...but now that we kept using carrots and more carrots to "seduce" the so-call talents, I really doubt that these people and "trueful" towards the nation, towards their job.
Then, just weeks ago the GST was raisen, isn't it abit too contradicting to increase the minister's pay now? And look at the gap between the rich and the poor here... an average Singaporean still earn about 1-2 k here...but our PM will be getting 100k per mtd...wow...thats almost 50 times more...
Will it be too demoralising for the average singaporeans out there? so does it means we can also put in 50 times less effort?
No doubt we need talents in the gov, but we need talents thr'out the nation too... pay us what we deserved, then we shall talk about your pay rise...
haa -
I would say that the talents they get now are reluctantly serving as PAP lackeys. If the PAP had not resorted to criminal intimidation and persecution of opposition voices, there will be more talents willing to come forward to serve the nation. It's all PAP's undoing. Using money now as carrot shows how corrupted PAP has become. Might as well call it the L&L family empire.Originally posted by ^MaRcUs^:Although i do not agree with the increase of the ministers' wages,
but I Salute PM Lee for the move to donate his increament over the 5 yrs....
Well, I do agree that we need to scout for talents, esp the local ones, but its about the methods our government used. Since when have the roles of a civil serveant changed? Being a MP, the ultimate roles should be to serve the people...but now that we kept using carrots and more carrots to "seduce" the so-call talents, I really doubt that these people and "trueful" towards the nation, towards their job.
Then, just weeks ago the GST was raisen, isn't it abit too contradicting to increase the minister's pay now? And look at the gap between the rich and the poor here... an average Singaporean still earn about 1-2 k here...but our PM will be getting 100k per mtd...wow...thats almost 50 times more...
Will it be too demoralising for the average singaporeans out there? so does it means we can also put in 50 times less effort?
No doubt we need talents in the gov, but we need talents thr'out the nation too... pay us what we deserved, then we shall talk about your pay rise...
haa -
It could well be a briliant twist in their plot to regain public trust and support, and HOW can we know if the money really goes to a "good cause" and which "good cause"???Originally posted by ^MaRcUs^:Although i do not agree with the increase of the ministers' wages,
but I Salute PM Lee for the move to donate his increament over the 5 yrs....
Well, I do agree that we need to scout for talents, esp the local ones, but its about the methods our government used. Since when have the roles of a civil serveant changed? Being a MP, the ultimate roles should be to serve the people...but now that we kept using carrots and more carrots to "seduce" the so-call talents, I really doubt that these people and "trueful" towards the nation, towards their job.
Then, just weeks ago the GST was raisen, isn't it abit too contradicting to increase the minister's pay now? And look at the gap between the rich and the poor here... an average Singaporean still earn about 1-2 k here...but our PM will be getting 100k per mtd...wow...thats almost 50 times more...
Will it be too demoralising for the average singaporeans out there? so does it means we can also put in 50 times less effort?
No doubt we need talents in the gov, but we need talents thr'out the nation too... pay us what we deserved, then we shall talk about your pay rise...
haa
Besides, regardless of donation or not, it is still our money and they are still OVERPAID - by World Standards. -
Hi moderators, could you please combine several topics all related to the ministers' pay increase so everyone can get a clearer view of how everyone here thinks.
Honestly, with such dissatisfaction among the singaporeans, how can the govt leaders still go ahead with the pay increases? and what are singaporeans doing, or rather what can we do to express our dissatisfaction with the govt's decision?
i'm in the middle of my freaking take-home examination but i just couldn't reisist reading up all the news and opinions about this issue, to see if perhaps my thoughts are incoherent and illogical, but apparently thru newspapers, blogs, forums, and even my friends on msn, all have similar views on the pay increases.
1. Ministers do put in their effort n deserve good pay. But how exactly does earning more money motivate them to perform better? Many forum writers already expressed their point, money shouldn't be the incentive to get people to join the government.
2. Economic students would be familiar with this theory, once you spend a certain amount on necessities, the rest you spend on are luxuries. A minister already earns about $100,000 a month. Even if they could earn more in the private sector, that doesn't deny the fact that the amount is already ridiculously huge. What are they doing with their pay? Investing into government holdings?
3. They say we shouldn't have a say in how much pay rise they get. People then ask for an independent committee to look into it, compare their pay to international standards. Of cos they refuse to do so, becos their pay is comparatively way above other civil servants according to international standards. The arguement is Singapore is ranked 5th in terms of corruption in the world. Well, what is it that the other 4 countries are doing right that doesn't require obscene amounts of money for the ministers?
4. Pegging the pay of ministers to top earners in the top industries is just plain ridiculous. If the ministers would really earn 5 -10 times more in the private sector, then shouldn't they do that in the first place and bring in more money for GDP growth? If they're gifted to work in the private sector then why drag them into government with the lure of money? One more important point: TOP EARNERS IN TOP INDUSTRIES MAY CONSIST OF DIFFERENT PERSONS EVERY YEAR BUT OUR MINISTERS ARE STILL THERE FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS, MOST MUCH LONGER. People in the private sector take risks to earn that much amount of money, and occasionally risks results in failure, thats why they have to draw so much money. Think about this point further, n you'll see why it doesn't make sense to peg minister's pay to top earners in top industries.
5.If the "bottom line" is just simply money, then all political science students should throw in the towel and start doing other modules. Since nobody believes that some people would want to work for the government for the good and betterment of society, and all citizens are materialistic and selfish buggers, then the rest of Singapore should seriously reflect on themselves - is this what Singaporeans are made up of? No honour, no desire to help, no altruisic desire?
I felt like writing into the newspapers, but then again whats the point, we all know who SPH is run by. -
i read in today's papers that someone suggested pegging the ministers' pay to the average of the LOWEST paid people in Singapore... of course with a factor of about a hundred..
now, i'd say that is a fairer pegging since the Ministers are supposed to minister to the people, not just the top ones who do not need it but those who are poorest...
Minister: To attend to the wants and needs of others: Volunteers ministered to the homeless after the flood. See Synonyms attend.
so.. our Ministers should look up the origin of the word... and start performing their sacred duties.. that of SERVING the people and the country, not themselves... -
We want to pay fair wage.
Why only peg to the highest paid in singapore?
Why not peg to the average wage in singapore?
Why not peg to the average wage of politician worldwide? -
I think LHL is himself not convinced that the pay increment is necessary but as the leader of the ruling party, he needs to make consolidated stand under the PAP party whip.
So to get out of this wrangle, he offered to donate his increment to Charity.
Let's look at it this way, he may be the reluctant guy being forced by circumstances to go along the party line. We all know that stress causes cancer and he got it at such a young age. Even though brilliant, for all u know, he is under tremendous pressure to follow the party line. -
Singapore govt have grossly over-estimated themselves. They forget that this is the information age. News get around very quickly and esp controversial news. They might be able to control, stop or ignore us but they can't prevent the foreign media from exposing their excesses or turning them into laughing stock.Originally posted by ShutterBug:Media Release: No need to donate increment, just repudiate pay hike
11 Apr 06
Obviously unable to stomach the backlash from Singaporeans and the eyebrows raised by others around the world, PM Lee Hsien Loong has announced that he will donate his pay increment of S$600,000 a year.
==================================
Singapore PM to donate pay hike after salary furore
Reuters
11 Apr 07
Singapore's prime minister said on Wednesday he would donate his S$600,000 ($395,800) pay rise for each of the next five years as he defended a 60 percent increase in ministers' million-dollar salaries.
Lee Hsien Loong, who is set to earn S$3.1 million ($2.1 million) this year following this week's pay rise - or five times U.S. President George Bush's salary - told parliament he did not expect other ministers to donate their pay increases.
The government's decision to jack up salaries for ministers and top civil servants - already among the highest-paid in the world - has brought criticism from ordinary Singaporeans, many of whom consider the move tactless given the widening rich-poor gap in the city-state.
"For five years, whatever the increase in salary above the present level, I will donate," said Lee, who earned S$2.5 million ($1.65 million) previously, in parliament on Wednesday.
Lee said this would give him the moral standing to defend the move to raise ministers' salaries.
The salaries of Singapore ministers were raised by about 60 percent to an average of S$1.9 million ($1.26 million) on Monday, just short of the S$2.2 million that the government had initially proposed.
The government said the move was necessary to attract and retain top talent. ($1=1.516 Singapore Dollar) -
35% man! i think if we commoner jump from one company to another for a few time also cannot get that kind of % increment
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I agree with most of what you said except for the statement aboveOriginally posted by ^MaRcUs^:Although i do not agree with the increase of the ministers' wages,
but I Salute PM Lee for the move to donate his increament over the 5 yrs....
I think you are too easily persuaded.
(1) The pay hike is not justifiable in the 1st place
(2) He did it after immense pressure from public. nothing noble
(3) The fact remains all the rest still gets their pay hike
(4) He has not done anything of significance for singapore for so many years since he got on the seat. -
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Sorry I don't agree with you. He is the PM. If he is not the one that can make the decision who can? Don't tell me MM Lee is the true head. End of the day, constitution says the PM is the head of our country. If he cannot make his own decision, then he is not fit to be the PM.Originally posted by livspore2006:I think LHL is himself not convinced that the pay increment is necessary but as the leader of the ruling party, he needs to make consolidated stand under the PAP party whip.
So to get out of this wrangle, he offered to donate his increment to Charity.
Let's look at it this way, he may be the reluctant guy being forced by circumstances to go along the party line. We all know that stress causes cancer and he got it at such a young age. Even though brilliant, for all u know, he is under tremendous pressure to follow the party line.
And since when is he brilliant? Name me one of his achievement. Till now, no one can do that -
Originally posted by livspore2006:I think LHL is himself not convinced that the pay increment is necessary but as the leader of the ruling party, he needs to make consolidated stand under the PAP party whip.
So to get out of this wrangle, he offered to donate his increment to Charity.
Let's look at it this way, he may be the reluctant guy being forced by circumstances to go along the party line. We all know that stress causes cancer and he got it at such a young age. Even though brilliant, for all u know, he is under tremendous pressure to follow the party line.
reluctant? being forced? tremendous pressure?
ermmm..... he can choose not to when he think he can not make it?
disgusted? we did not used knife on him to take up the seat. please stay inside the well and think. oh ya... i think the sky is just this BIG. -
Speaking of pay increase of civil servants, most only get a on time bonus, as seen by the army regualrs (assuming that they are civil servants too) while those at the top get pay increases. So how in any way does it help to attract talent? By encouraging people to rise to the top? Nono. people don't need an increase in the salary that the top pple get to strive to rise up the corporate ladder, or rather, the government's equivalent.
Stop kidding yourselves and acknowledge the fact that the increase isn't necessary. Help the poor and the middle classes. only with everyone's support will you actually reach greater heights. A vice around everyone's throat isn't going to help. Except increase the size of your wallet (which i guess. no. i affirm. is the main motive) -
Disappointed & ridiculous.
I hope they will not promote $$ ideology into the key leaders or personnels of government. If a person no matter talented or not, is recruited by the pull factor of $$ and abandon when they feel that they deserve more elsewhere, I will not be surprise if one day these ppl may 'betray' the country or make decision that benefits certain cause but not the country or the ppl.
What are leaders? To lead or to gain?
What is sufficient? What is individual worth? 500k? 1 million? 2 million? 10 million? or 100 billion? Love to compare? How about benchmarking to have all the working ppl $$ to be more than the best in the world?
Without this legal increment, will the key leaders or personnels suffers materially or in quality of life, whereas a lot of the country's comrades are still struggling to stay afloat or sinking? Do they encountered/suffered such huge $$ cut previously that its unbearable?
Why are they keep saying about taxing their comrades directly & indirectly every year, but rewarding themselves in the meantime?
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mee siam mai hum?Originally posted by soul_rage:Sorry I don't agree with you. He is the PM. If he is not the one that can make the decision who can? Don't tell me MM Lee is the true head. End of the day, constitution says the PM is the head of our country. If he cannot make his own decision, then he is not fit to be the PM.
And since when is he brilliant? Name me one of his achievement. Till now, no one can do that -
Originally posted by mhcampboy:
What will the market worth of Lim Boon Heng after having served in such high Public Office with supposedly recognised accomplishment ?
S'pore governed by extraordinary men willing to make sacrifices: MP
SINGAPORE: Singapore is governed by extraordinary men willing to make personal sacrifices, said MP for Tampines GRC Irene Ng in Parliament.
The MP, who supported the civil service and ministerial pay revisions, cited the contrasting fortunes of two former labour chiefs, Lim Chee Onn and Lim Boon Heng.
The first left public office for the private sector, while the latter joined the public sector after a successful stint in the private sector.
Ms Ng said that Mr Lim Boon Heng is currently paid "a small fraction" of the $5.5m-$5.7m that Mr Lim Chee Onn now earns in the private sector.
This, she said, is a "stark contrast between the reward systems for high-calibre people who stay in politics and for those who leave it."
Ms Ng added, "I don't believe Mr Lim Boon Heng or any of our Ministers would work less hard or be less committed if their salaries remain as they are. But, if we apply the principle that we in the labour market have been fighting for on behalf of our workers - pay our workers according to their abilities and performance - why should we adopt an opposing standard when it comes to those who make it possible for us to enjoy a better standard of living year by year?"
Why was he not allowed to leave Public Office to pursue his choice of private careers - if his goals are money and not serving the public ?
If the Ruling Party aka the Government has the Politicians interest at heart, why does it not develop a scheme or fund that will protect the interests of all politicians who are prepared to enter politics to serve Singaporeans ?
Why make politics the exclusive domain only for its own Political Party ?
Why do they not extend the same opportunities to all who are prepared to enter Politics and serve it with honor ?
Did Singaporeans press LHL to enter politics, or was it political vanity and political ambitions of LKY to press his son into Politics ?
The example set by the Prime Minister was also brought up.
In 1992, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, as then-Deputy Prime Minister, had held a media conference just after undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma.
"I don't think he allowed the media to interview him for his own sake or because he liked the publicity. For sure it was not. It was for public interest. It was to assure the public that life and business in Singapore was going on as usual. I think if you talk to any cancer patient going through chemotherapy, I think their instinct is, 'Please let me recover quietly, let me focus on my health'. But he (Lee Hsien Loong) was thinking of Singapore even in his time of need," said Ms Ng. - CNA/ir
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EXTRAORDINARY !!!!
Yes, he could sit back and relax and not aggravate his condition that will cause a relapse of the cancer that has been fought into remission; then again, LHL as PM has enlarged the Cabinet and with more ministers in the PM's Office then any other PM before him.
The cost to run the Cabinet is higher due to the larger pool of manpower needed to keep the Government machinery humming.
Is this efficiency ?
Who is paying for these increases in the operating budget of the Government but the Citizens ?
Now we know why it was necessary to increase the GST from 5 to 7 per cent.
Was it LHL's choice to enter politics, or was it his father's choice for LHL to enter politics and help to continue keeing a lid on the Reserves, and for his wife to help him clean up the skeletons within the period of his term as PM for at least 2 to 3 elections.
Can LHL achieve LKY's plans to clear all the skeletons that are hidden in cabinets of the GIC and Temasek - that have always hindered clear and transparent accounting even to help the Elected President to perform its role as guardian of the Second Key to the National Reserves ? -
The money "donated from his "increment over the 5 yrs..." remains as Public Money collected as taxes paid by Citizens into the State Treasury - before being temporarily paid into his bank account, then to Public Charities.Originally posted by ^MaRcUs^:Although i do not agree with the increase of the ministers' wages,
but I Salute PM Lee for the move to donate his increament over the 5 yrs.... -
JFK once said "ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what can you do for your country". Seems that perhaps Singapore's leaders need to ask themselves this question. Perhaps it's about time not just the PM, but all ministers and superscale civil servants donate all their pay increments to charity.
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alright guys, I meant, at least he "tried" pleasing the public....
haa...honestly, PM Lee stunned me this yr....
after his showing in his AMK GRC last election, I thought he will be more humble... but.... Look what the "reactions" were.....
everything up---except laymen's wages....
yah...they can try all the increament methods in recruiting the so call talents...
however, i think more and more home grown ables will leave SG to pursue their career elsewhere... the talented ones in the US, UK....
the okie ones in China and rest of SEA region...at least this trend is growing ...
Seriously, If these issues like the raise of GST and Minister's pay happen elsewhere, i believe there will be thousands of citizens protesting outside the parliament this week.... even here, there are only so many Netizens speaking up.... so...my question....Singaporeans, you guys really just agree to whatever the Government says and follow?? I wonder is there anyway we can sound our displeasures to the Gov???
Haiz, i can only predict the future to be tougher and tougher for us.... 5-6 yrs ago, a freshly University graduate can expect a salary in the region of 2.5-2.8k monthly, nowdays, even a 1.6k we also "bo bian" have to accept...
so...Dear PM Lee, how would you expect us to accept and approve your increament? As the smallest country in the world map, you are earning 5x of George Bush, and 8x of Abe... How can we be convinced? The message i recieved is...."unless you are the best, else u can leave. Singapore is only for the Top Talents....no matter where you are from".
I just feel that, at times, we must really be realistic. What we have achieved so far, already have been very much envy and respected by many.... what else we want? Be the best in everything and be a Public No.1 enermy?? Like the Tao Te Ching says....Wei Er Bu Zhen.... but this country where i'm born, i have been instilled with the Culture to Fight for the number 1 in whatever i do, and that earning lots of $ is most important.... But, we live only 1 life... Can we bring the $$ when we die? PM Lee...personally, I just want a peaceful life where i need not stress over my 3 meals, and as long i dun have any debts.... but yet again....its so tough! Here we are sweating and tiring ourselves just for the 2-3k per month.... the same 24 hours per day, you wanna earn 100k per month? Is that justified?
In my own opinion, if one is only for the money and carrot, go to the private sectors, YOU ARE NOT SUIT TO RULE OUR COUNTRY...
So now, I'm hoping for the next election to come soon.... I wanna see if PAP can still get the MANDATE? -
He is the Sec-Gen of the PAP, what toe the party line. He can remove the Whip if he disagrees with it.
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That's coz he bo bian, under public pressure. I think the PAP has been so arrogant that they thought they could get away with this move.Originally posted by ^MaRcUs^:alright guys, I meant, at least he "tried" pleasing the public....
haa...honestly, PM Lee stunned me this yr....
after his showing in his AMK GRC last election, I thought he will be more humble... but.... Look what the "reactions" were.....
everything up---except laymen's wages....
I cite an example of the past on why dynasties fall. Emperors rule dynasties. Usually the founding emperor of the dynasty is one that understands the commoners' pains, and does not lead a life of overindulgence.
A few emperors down the road, the corruption creeps in. The new emperor starts using people's taxes to overindulge, resulting in unhappiness in the commoners, and slowly sow the seeds of destruction
Distribution of wealth is an important consideration in a society. Keep too much wealth at the top, and risk a revolt of all the poor (coz 80% (in singapore this could be more) belong to the poor. The rich is of a much smaller percentage).
To keep the people happy, wealth should be distributed to the people, in turn keeping stability in the society. -
Donate increment also wrong, don't donate also let people say u R greedy. So the best solution: your salary remain the same lor! Increase only those that are not happy. Tell the public who they are and the people can judge them accordingly.
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maybe after the next ge he will increase his pay again. to make up for the donated amount. just maybe.