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SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says he agrees with some Members of Parliament that as leaders of Singapore, financial sacrifice is necessary.
They cannot expect wages comparable to the private sector because public service is selfless and requires one to make sacrifices.
That's when the leaders will have the moral authority to lead and not just manage a country.
PM Lee was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday as the House continued its debate on salary revisions for government ministers and civil servants.
The traits that separate a leader from the crowd are his ability to care, improve people's lives, and the motivation to serve others while not enriching himself.
Still, Mr Lee feels that a leader's pay must not be too far from what someone with similar ability is paid.
Otherwise, the system will not work.
That is why benchmarking public sector salaries to the private sector was adopted.
As members of parliament have debated, this is not a perfect system.
Suggestions have been made to improve it.
Prime Minister Lee said the government would consider doing that incrementally.
But on the whole, he said, the benchmark is sound.
Mr Lee said: "...I apply a reality check. First reality check...Are there 206 jobs in the private sector which are more important than being a minister and being a permanent secretary? My second reality check... what are the CEOs of the companies earning?
"If Singapore Inc were a listed company, what would its market cap be? Think about it. My GDP, which is profit earned in a year, is S$210 billion. The price earning ratio on SGX - average is now 20....I calculated if Singapore Inc went IPO, it is a 4-trillion-dollar company. So I think we are well within the right ballpark for what these jobs are worth, as ministers. But whatever the formula, whatever the detailed number, the reality you cannot run away from is that private sector is moving and it's moving up and so must we."
Mr Lee said revealing how much the civil service is paid is an open, upfront and transparent process.
Even then, the timing of such pay increases is not easily accepted by many Singaporeans because of the widening income gap.
On top of that, the government also recently raised the GST.
Mr Lee agreed that it may not be the right time, but there is another reason to increase public sector pay.
"The private sector is already hot. Looking ahead, the whole of Asia is booming. Many Singaporeans will be going after opportunities. If Singapore does as well as we expect, the opportunities and rewards in the private sector will be tremendous. Not just in Singapore, but all over Asia and beyond. If we wait, next year we will have to make a bigger move. Meanwhile government will lose people. We cannot afford that. Hence we must move now," PM Lee said.
The Prime Minister said that salaries will always be a controversial and emotive issue, but he is convinced the government is making the right move.
He stressed that the cost to Singapore of having the wrong team of leaders is incalculable. - CNA/ir
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