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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?"
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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