No hidden components or perks in political officeholders’ pay: PM Wong
In return, Singaporeans expect high standards and accountability from their political leaders, he says
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[SINGAPORE] The full remuneration of Singapore’s political officeholders is “transparent”, with no hidden salary components or perks outside the published framework, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in Parliament on Tuesday (Sep 8).
“This is what we mean by a clean wage,” he said. “In return, Singaporeans rightly expect a great deal from their political leaders.”
This includes high standards of integrity and conduct, competence, taking responsibility for their decisions, and ultimately “accountability to the voters at the ballot box”.
PM Wong, who is also finance minister, was delivering a ministerial statement on the government’s response to the review of salaries for political appointment holders and MPs.
He said Singapore’s system of good governance was built on deliberate choices made over decades about how its political system should work, including addressing political remuneration openly.
“We recognise that highly able people have alternatives outside politics. So we pay political officeholders salaries that are competitive, but with a substantial discount to reflect political service,” he said.
The same broad consideration applies to MPs, PM Wong added.
“We chose not to treat the MPs’ allowance as a token allowance. It is a substantial allowance, because MPs carry substantial responsibilities in Parliament and in their constituencies.”
Adequate political remuneration has allowed both the People’s Action Party and the opposition Workers’ Party to recruit and field strong candidates, said PM Wong, adding that the results are visible on both sides of the aisle.
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“We have MPs with a wide range of backgrounds and experience, who bring different perspectives to our debates,” he said.
While the two parties may “disagree strongly”, the quality of debate remains high and “Singapore is better for it”, he added.
If the Republic’s political system is to remain effective, PM Wong said Singapore cannot allow its basic terms of service to “drift further and further away from reality”. This applies to both MPs’ allowances and the salaries of political officeholders.
He also stressed that political renewal is not a one-off exercise, and that Singapore must continually bring in capable people from different backgrounds.
“Enough of them must be prepared to step forward, contest elections, and take responsibility for the future of our country,” he said.
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