Political salaries a difficult and emotive issue, but it cannot be avoided: PM Wong

Political salaries are a difficult and emotive issue, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong acknowledged in Parliament on Tuesday (Sept 8), as he announced that the Government has accepted an independent committee's recommendations after it reviewed the political salary framework.

"But we run an open system and believe in being transparent about ministerial salaries. We cannot avoid this issue simply because it is politically difficult," explained PM Wong as he sets out why the Government cannot defer the matter.

He stated that this concerns whether Singapore will continue to have the quality of the political leadership it needs to take the country forward and serve Singaporeans well in the years ahead.

However, while the Government accepts the committee's recommendations, it does not intend to move immediately to the proposed salary levels in one step, the prime minister said.

Good leadership matters

PM Wong noted that during the last debate in 2012, there was considerable convergence between MPs from both the People's Action Party and Workers' Party.

This was especially in the principles that political salaries should be transparent with no hidden perks and privileges, and that they should be competitive enough to enable the Government to recruit people of the necessary calibre, while incorporating a substantial discount to reflect the ethos of public service.

But the Government has refrained from making salary adjustments under the framework in the ensuing years in 2017, and again in 2023.

This, PM Wong noted, has resulted in salary norms for political office holders remaining unchanged for 15 years.

And in the same period, salaries elsewhere, such as in the private sector, civil service and judiciary have been updated.

"Ministerial salaries have therefore fallen further behind. The gap is most obvious when compared with the private sector. But even in the public service, some senior Permanent Secretaries earn more than ministers."

More importantly, good government depends on good leadership, PM Wong highlighted.

He pointed to his experience as chief executive at the Energy Market Authority, when he was entrusted to build the LNG terminal.

As the authority searched for a suitable and experienced person, a candidate emerged, and he was eventually offered a competitive package, more than what he was earning then as EMA chief executive.

"And he proved his worth. He built up the LNG team from scratch, and delivered the LNG terminal safely — on time and within budget."

Explaining his decision to tackle the matter that has been deferred over more than a decade, PM Wong said that it would have been politically easier for him to leave things as they were, but that would not be the right thing to do.

"We cannot affirm a framework in principle but disregard it indefinitely in practice. Otherwise, over time, the framework loses its meaning.

"Restraint cannot become neglect. That’s why I have decided we must act now," the prime minister said.

总理黄循财周二（9月8日）在国会承认，政治薪酬是一个棘手且容易引起情绪波动的问题。他同时宣布，政府已接受独立委员会在审查政治薪酬框架后提出的建议。

“但我们实行的是公开透明的制度，我们相信部长薪酬应该公开透明。我们不能仅仅因为这个问题在政治上难以解决就回避它，”黄循财总理解释道，并阐述了政府为何不能推迟此事。

他表示，这关系到新加坡能否继续拥有带领国家前进并在未来几年更好地为新加坡人民服务所需的高质量政治领导层。

首相表示，虽然政府接受委员会的建议，但并不打算立即一步到位地实施拟议的工资水平。

良好的领导力至关重要

黄总理指出，在2012年的上次辩论中，人民行动党和工人党的议员们在立场上出现了相当大的分歧。

尤其体现在以下原则上：政治薪酬应当透明，不得有任何隐性津贴和特权；薪酬应当具有足够的竞争力，使政府能够招募到所需素质的人才；同时，薪酬也应包含相当大的折扣，以体现公共服务的精神。

但政府在随后的几年里，包括 2017 年和 2023 年，都没有根据该框架进行薪资调整。

黄循财总理指出，这导致政治官员的薪酬标准15年来一直没有改变。

与此同时，其他部门（如私营部门、公务员和司法部门）的薪资也进行了调整。

“因此，部长级官员的薪酬差距进一步拉大。与私营部门相比，这种差距最为明显。但即使在公共部门内部，一些高级常务秘书的收入也高于部长。”

黄循财总理强调，更重要的是，良好的政府取决于良好的领导。

他以自己担任能源市场管理局首席执行官的经历为例，当时他受命建设液化天然气接收站。

在当局寻找合适且有经验的人选时，一位候选人脱颖而出，最终他获得了一份具有竞争力的薪酬待遇，比他当时担任欧洲药品管理局 (EMA) 首席执行官的收入还要高。

“他证明了自己的价值。他从零开始组建了液化天然气团队，并安全、按时、在预算内交付了液化天然气接收站。”

黄循财总理在解释他决定处理这个被搁置了十多年的问题时说，从政治角度来看，维持现状对他来说更容易，但这并不是正确的做法。

“我们不能在原则上肯定一个框架，却在实践中无限期地忽视它。否则，随着时间的推移，该框架将失去意义。”

“克制不能演变成疏忽。正因如此，我决定我们必须立即采取行动，”总理说道。