PAP government rejects using higher pay to entice political candidates, says PM Wong
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the PAP government does not believe in using higher pay to draw people into politics, but competitive salaries prevent candidates from having to upend their financial responsibilities. He made the remarks during the parliamentary debate on Singapore's revised politi
SINGAPORE: The People's Action Party (PAP) government does not believe in using higher pay to draw people into politics, but competitive political salaries mean that potential candidates do not have to “upend” financial responsibilities they have taken up for their families, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (Sep 10).
In his closing speech during the parliamentary debate on changes to Singapore’s political salary framework, Mr Wong added that “no one should enter politics for the money”. While some have the “mistaken premise” that the purpose of the salary framework is to “entice people into politics with money”, this is not the case, he said. Instead, PAP candidates step forward because they want to serve Singapore and Singaporeans, and this is a key prerequisite for identifying candidates to be fielded in any election.
“To be very clear, the PAP, the PAP government – we do not believe in using higher pay as an incentive to draw people into politics,” said Mr Wong. The prime minister also clarified that the donation of the full increase in his salary for the next five years will include any tax benefit arising from the donations, so he would not benefit financially from this salary change. Mr Wong added that he would consider disclosing more details on ministerial salaries and that office holders would not automatically move to new salary benchmarks.
“Competitive salaries do not create the motivation to serve. But they can make it possible for someone who already has that motivation in the first place to step forward,” he said. Mr Wong pointed out that individuals whom the government hopes to bring into political leadership would have built their lives around successful careers and have mortgages to service, children to provide for, parents to support and other commitments based on the incomes they have been earning. “Entering politics would already involve considerable disruption and sacrifice. We should not require them to completely upend the financial responsibilities that they have legitimately taken up for their families,” he said.
Mr Wong also rejected the Workers' Party’s (WP) call to abolish the office of mayor. Responding to WP chief Mr Singh, who raised the issue of mayors and their pay, Mr Wong said that mayors and the Community Development Councils (CDCs) bring value to Singapore by mobilising a wider network of volunteers, responding to local needs and contributing to initiatives such as the CDC vouchers and Jobs Nearby scheme. “I would not want to give up any of these contributions. I am proud of all our mayors and what they do for Singapore,” he said.
On Tuesday, Mr Wong announced that Singapore’s political office holders will receive a salary increase of up to 9 per cent, taking the sum to about S$1.2 million annually for a minister in the lowest MR4 grade. The changes will kick in from Oct 15 this year, after the government accepted the recommendations by an independent review committee that was appointed in December last year. It is the first time since 2011 that ministerial salaries have been changed. Responding to concerns that it might not be the best time to make the salary adjustments, Mr Wong said there is never going to be a “politically convenient time” to do so.
Mr Wong reiterated that the government is accepting the proposed framework but moving towards it gradually. “The new benchmark sets a framework for the longer term. But we are not moving ministers straight to the new figure. We are making a one-off adjustment now, and then allowing salaries to move gradually, in line with individual performance and responsibilities,” he said.
