Singapore's exceptional achievements have been built on a foundation of clean, honest and capable political leadership, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
And this is why the country needs to continually get very capable men and women, often at the prime of their careers, to make a drastic change of course, committing themselves to a demanding calling, while subjecting themselves and their families to intense public scrutiny, he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Sept 8) evening.
But if this commitment also requires too heavy or unreasonable a financial sacrifice, those capable of making major contributions to Singapore will decline to take this path, he added.
His post comes after Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing delivered separate ministerial statements on political salaries adjustments on Tuesday.
In his statement, PM Wong said the Government accepts the new benchmark level proposed by the independent committee which reviewed the salary structure of political office holders earlier this year.
This will see benchmark salary for a minister at the MR4 grade — the lowest of four tiers — raised from $1.1 million to $1.8 million.
The norm annual ministerial wage has remained at $1.1 million since 2011.
But ministerial salaries will not move immediately to the new benchmarks. Instead, a one-off adjustment of up to 9 per cent will apply.
Thereafter, there will be no further special adjustments to close the gap to $1.8 million, with subsequent changes, if any, based on individual performance and responsibilities.
Strategic move that enables Singapore
Reflecting on the matter, SM Lee shared that he fully understands why Singaporeans feel strongly about political salaries, adding that the debate has never been an easy one.
"When I was Prime Minister, this issue was often top of mind for me, because it is so crucial to ensuring good political leadership and good government in Singapore."
The senior minister said he has encountered questions why public service cannot just rely more on idealism and passion.
He explained: "Possessing such passion is crucial — someone who enters politics for career reasons is making the wrong decision, for himself and for the country. But passion alone cannot sustain a system over generations. We also have to be practical."
And ultimately, Singapore's exceptional performance depends fundamentally on the Republic having clean, honest and capable political leaders.
"This salary adjustment is therefore a necessary strategic move to enable Singapore to continue fielding the strongest possible leadership team," he said.
SM Lee also highlighted that the adjustment does not change the salary formula — established in 2012 — and which he said, remains appropriate.
But it has not been updated since as the Government had chosen to defer this.
This, despite, the committee recommending that the framework be reviewed by an independent committee every five years.
A subsequent committee in 2017 found the framework sound, but recommended that political wages be adjusted annually in line with the movement of benchmark salaries.
The scheduled review in 2023 was deferred given the uncertain external environment and downside risks in the global economy.
Earlier in January, the Coordinating Minister for Public Services had informed Parliament that the salary structure and benchmark of political office holders will be reviewed by an 8-member independent committee.
Then, in May this year, in a written parliamentary reply, he said the Government has decided to defer consideration of the committee's recommendations due to the Middle East conflict.
"We should not defer this further," SM Lee said on Tuesday, noting that even with this update, the new minister's benchmark remains at 40 per cent below that of the private sector benchmark — reflecting the ethos of public service.
Turning to uncertainties around the world, the senior minister pointed out that good leadership is especially crucial.
"The cost to the country of mediocre leadership would be vastly greater than the cost of paying political leaders properly.
"This salary revision will help keep our country in good hands for years to come. I ask all Singaporeans to support it," SM Lee said.
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