Motion: Terence Ho on government response to political salaries review
The government must be careful to avoid giving the impression that the only talents who are valued are those who command high salaries, or that it would be impossible to attract capable people to political office without high wages, said NMP Terence Ho. He said while many would like to see more leaders and senior professionals from the private sector step up, it would usually be appropriate for such candidates to start in junior political appointments. The salary scale must therefore be flexible enough to accommodate them. He suggested providing candidates taking large pay cuts with 60 per cent of their last pay, subject to an appropriate cap, for a few years to ease the transition. Promising private sector candidates should also be encouraged to come forward without the assumption or expectation that all, or even most, must stay in office for the long haul, he said. Assoc Prof Ho spoke in parliament on Thursday (Sep 10).
The government must be careful to avoid giving the impression that the only talents who are valued are those who command high salaries, or that it would be impossible to attract capable people to political office without high wages, said NMP Terence Ho. He said while many would like to see more leaders and senior professionals from the private sector step up, it would usually be appropriate for such candidates to start in junior political appointments. The salary scale must therefore be flexible enough to accommodate them. He suggested providing candidates taking large pay cuts with 60 per cent of their last pay, subject to an appropriate cap, for a few years to ease the transition. Promising private sector candidates should also be encouraged to come forward without the assumption or expectation that all, or even most, must stay in office for the long haul, he said. Assoc Prof Ho spoke in parliament on Thursday (Sep 10).
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