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Have ministers undermined their moral authority by giving themselves such large pay increases?
This was the line of questioning advanced by at least three MPs.
Nominated Member of Parliament, Associate Professor Kalyani Mehta, said the Cabinet would be the "target of envy" among Singaporeans, especially the lower-income group, who were struggling to make ends meet.
"The management of envy is a very difficult task. If the envy rises year after year, the social compact could collapse," she said in an impassioned speech on the second day of debate on the pay increases for ministers and civil servants.
Responding, Mr Teo Chee Hean, the Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service, stressed that the Government has not lost its grip by revising salaries. "What is most important is the motivations of the person and his willingness to devote the time to serve. If a person is motivated by money, then even a low salary has its dangers," he said in a wide-ranging speech to address concerns raised by MPs, after Monday's announcement that salaries of ministers and civil servants would go up by between 3 and 33 per cent — an increase that will cost the Government $214 million.
Was this the wrong time?
Other MPs, such as Mr Inderjit Singh (Ang Mo Kio GRC) and Mr Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), were more critical of the timing of this pay revision, coming less than three months before the 2 percentage-point increase in the Goods and Services Tax, which kicks in on July 1.
Mr Michael Palmer (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) was worried that the pay increases for ministers and top civil servants had undermined support for Workfare and GST offset packages. "I don't think we have been sensitive to the feelings of many people. Many people have asked me: Did we increase GST to pay for this increase in salaries? While that is clearly not the case, it is most unfortunate that a support package so carefully crafted in good faith to help our lower income families should be seen as such light," he said.
Responding, Mr Teo said it was crucial that any salary adjustments be done "in good times". "We have had no major adjustments since 2001. We've already waited six years. Economic recovery has been going on for the last three years. We've not raised salaries as quickly as we should have. If we wait too long and fall too far behind, it will be difficult to revise salaries and in the long term, this will be detrimental to Singaporeans," he added.
Should an independent panel decide their pay?
Over the past two days, several MPs also called for an independent panel to be set up to review the private sector benchmark for ministers' salaries. In a pointed speech, Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) compared the situation of ministers deciding their own pay increases to CEOs in the private sector using their power to influence the board of directors to write them higher paycheques. Other MPs like Mr Alvin Yeo (Hong Kah GRC) and Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) suggested doing away with the benchmark and setting up a remuneration committee, a practice adopted by many large companies in the private sector.
Mr Teo, however, pointed out that even with such an independent body, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet would have to step in at the end of the day to decide whether to implement its suggestions.
"You can't escape from that responsibility," he said. "What happens if the (proposed) number is too high? Do you just go along and say that this was an independent panel that decided it? I don't think you can escape the same difficulties we face today," he said. - TODAY/sh
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