Attracting capable S’poreans to politics becoming harder; leadership renewal a top priority: PM Wong

Published Sep 08, 2026, 03:51 PM

Updated Sep 08, 2026, 03:51 PM

PM Lawrence Wong prioritises leadership renewal and finds attracting private-sector leaders into politics increasingly difficult.

New ministers with strong potential have been appointed, but key ministries still have senior leaders aged 70 or older.

Salary increases aim to ease recruitment challenges, but non-financial sacrifices and career risks remain major barriers for candidates.

SINGAPORE - Leadership renewal is one of the top priorities for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as he saw firsthand how hard it was for his predecessor to bring private-sector leaders into the Cabinet.

Having worked with Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong since 2004, PM Wong watched the difficult process of identifying and persuading new political candidates.

“It was one reason I agreed to enter politics when he approached me in 2011,” PM Wong said in Parliament on Sept 8.

Now, PM Wong must build the next team himself.

Ahead of the 2025 General Election, he asked several senior permanent secretaries to enter politics because he believed they had strong political leadership potential and could have taken on major portfolios more quickly given their experience . But none of them agreed to make the move.

He managed to bring in younger officers. They are Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo and Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau.

Before entering politics, Siow was second permanent secretary at the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Neo was Chief of Army while Lau served as deputy secretary (policy) at the Ministry of Health.

Even though these new political office holders have strong potential with a long runway, PM Wong said that there is still much more to do in terms of leadership renewal.

He cited how three key ministries are helmed by senior political office holders who will be aged 70 or older by the next term of government - Gan Kim Yong, K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan.

In his ministerial statement on the Government’s response to a committee’s review of political salaries, PM Wong said attracting capable Singaporeans into politics will not become easier.

He would like to attract new political leaders with valuable private sector experience, and said remuneration should not be an unnecessary hurdle.

“It’s a challenge I face today. And future Prime Ministers may find it harder still,” said PM Wong, in announcing that the Government has accepted the committee’s proposals to increase the salaries of Singapore’s political appointment holders , including all ministers and the prime minister.

PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, said recruiting from the public service is becoming harder.

He noted that senior civil servants today have meaningful careers, substantial responsibilities and competitive remuneration. Entering politics would mean giving up that career path, and taking on electoral and public scrutiny.

“If the gap between public service and political salaries continues to widen, that hurdle will become higher,” said PM Wong.

The challenge is greater still in the private sector, he added.

This matters as Singapore cannot build its political leadership from the public service alone, he said. “I want people in Cabinet who have spent substantial parts of their careers in business or other professional fields – especially in running large organisations and overseeing complex systems.”

“They may not start with the same familiarity with Government. But they bring experience of making hard decisions, managing people and resources, operating under commercial pressure, and delivering results in a competitive environment.”

He cited Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng, who joined politics in 2020 after a long career in the private sector, and “has made a real contribution to the team”.

“At the last parliament sitting, he spoke with authority about the challenges entrepreneurs face and what more we can do to support them. He did so with conviction, drawing on years of experience running businesses and dealing with these pressures faced first-hand,” said PM Wong, referencing Tan’s speech during the debate on a WP motion about Singapore’s economic strategy.

“So that gave his speech a conviction that would have been difficult for others in the team to replicate.”

PM Wong said he would like to bring in more people like Tan, with them ideally coming in while they are in their 40s so they have the runway to learn and take on larger responsibilities over time.

PM Wong asked the House to consider chief executives of major listed Singapore firms in banking, telecommunications, aviation, engineering and other sectors, as well as those on track for such leadership roles.

“At those levels, remuneration can run into several million dollars a year – well above even the revised MR4 benchmark. We are not trying to match what they earn. We never will,” he said.

MR4 is the grade for an entry-level minister. Currently, a minister at the MR4 grade earns an annual salary of $1.1 million, including bonuses. But this will be revised to $1.8 million from Oct 15.

PM Wong said when the Government approaches people of that calibre, they cannot pretend that the opportunity cost does not exist.

Before the last general election, PM Wong spoke to several chief executives and other senior business leaders who were earning several times a minister’s salary, and whom he thought could make a real contribution.

“None said to me directly that pay was the reason they would not join. Nor would I want someone whose decision turned mainly on money,” he added. “But that does not mean remuneration is irrelevant. Look at the decision from their point of view.”

PM Wong said they would be asking these individuals to walk away from a successful career they spent years building. They would also be taking a substantial reduction in income, contesting an election with no certainty of success, and starting again in a completely different environment, he added.

“In the end, none of those I approached was prepared to make the move. But I have not given up. I am still looking and I hope to persuade a few to join us in the next election,” said the PM.

He recognised that the sacrifice is not only financial, as political life places real demands on the individual’s families.

“There is time we do not get back. There is scrutiny that spouses and children did not ask for, but nevertheless have to bear with us. No salary adjustment can make up for these things. Nor was it ever meant to,” said PM Wong.

Noting that the salary increase will be debated in Parliament on Sept 10, PM Wong said: “It’s not just about what we pay Ministers today.

“It’s about whether future Prime Ministers will continue to have a realistic chance of persuading capable Singaporeans – from the public service, the private sector and other walks of life – to step forward and build a first-rate team to serve Singapore and Singaporeans.”

Nadine Chua is a correspondent covering crime and court at The Straits Times.

发布于 2026 年 9 月 8 日下午 3:51

更新于2026年9月8日下午3:51

黄循财总理将领导层更新换代列为优先事项，但他发现吸引私营部门领导人进入政界越来越困难。

虽然任命了一些极具潜力的新部长，但关键部门的高级领导人仍然有 70 岁或以上。

薪资增长旨在缓解招聘难题，但非经济方面的牺牲和职业风险仍然是求职者面临的主要障碍。

新加坡——领导层更新是总理黄循财的首要任务之一，因为他亲眼目睹了他的前任将私营部门领导人纳入内阁有多么困难。

自 2004 年以来一直与李显龙高级部长共事的黄总理，亲眼目睹了遴选和说服新政治候选人的艰难过程。

黄循财总理9月8日在国会表示：“2011年他找到我时，我同意从政的原因之一就是这个。”

现在，黄英贤总理必须亲自组建下一支团队。

在2025年大选前，他曾邀请几位资深常任秘书投身政界，因为他认为他们具备很强的政治领导潜力，而且凭借他们的经验，本可以更快地承担重要职务。但他们中没有一人同意这样做。

他成功提拔了一些年轻官员，包括交通部长萧正祥、文化、社区及青年部长梁振英和人力部代理部长刘嘉玲。

在步入政坛之前，萧正树曾任人力部和贸易及工业部第二常任秘书。梁振英曾任陆军总长，刘振英曾任卫生部副秘书长（政策）。

黄循财总理表示，尽管这些新上任的政治官员潜力巨大，前途光明，但在领导层更新方面仍有很多工作要做。

他指出，三个关键部门的负责人都是资深政治官员，到下一届政府任期结束时，他们都将年满 70 岁或以上——分别是颜金勇、尚穆根和维文·巴拉克里希南。

黄循财总理在就政府对委员会审查政治薪酬的回应发表的部长声明中表示，吸引有能力的的新加坡人进入政坛并不会变得更容易。

他希望吸引具有宝贵私营部门经验的新政治领导人，并表示薪酬不应成为不必要的障碍。

黄循财总理在宣布政府已接受委员会的建议，提高新加坡政治任命官员（包括所有部长和总理）的薪酬时表示：“这是我今天面临的挑战。未来的总理可能会发现这个挑战更加艰巨。”

兼任财政部长的黄循财表示，从公务员队伍中招募人才变得越来越困难。

他指出，如今的高级公务员拥有有意义的职业生涯、重要的职责和优厚的薪酬。投身政界意味着放弃这条职业道路，并承担选举和公众的监督。

黄循财总理表示：“如果公务员和政界人士的薪酬差距继续扩大，那么这个障碍将会更高。”

他还补充说，私营部门面临的挑战更大。

他表示，这一点至关重要，因为新加坡不能仅仅依靠公务员来培养政治领导人。“我希望内阁成员都是那些在商业或其他专业领域——尤其是大型机构的运营和复杂系统的管理方面——投入了大量职业生涯的人。”

“他们可能一开始对政府部门并不熟悉，但他们拥有做出艰难决策、管理人员和资源、在商业压力下运作以及在竞争环境中取得成果的经验。”

他提到了贸易及工业部长（能源及工业）陈诗龙，陈诗龙在私营部门工作多年后于 2020 年投身政界，“为团队做出了真正的贡献”。

黄英贤总理在谈到陈庆炎在工人党关于新加坡经济战略的动议辩论中的发言时表示：“在上一次国会会议上，他以权威的口吻谈到了企业家面临的挑战以及我们还能做些什么来支持他们。他充满信心地阐述了这些挑战，这得益于他多年经营企业和亲身应对这些压力的经验。”

“因此，他的演讲充满了说服力，这是团队中其他人很难做到的。”

黄总理表示，他希望引进更多像陈先生这样的人才，理想情况下，他们应该在40多岁时加入，这样他们就有足够的时间学习，并随着时间的推移承担更大的责任。

黄总理要求国会考虑新加坡主要上市公司的首席执行官，包括银行、电信、航空、工程和其他行业的首席执行官，以及那些有望担任此类领导职务的人。

“按照这些级别，年薪酬可达数百万美元——甚至远高于修订后的MR4基准。我们无意与他们的收入持平，也永远不会这样做。”他说道。

MR4是部长入门级级别。目前，MR4级部长的年薪为110万美元，包括奖金。但从10月15日起，年薪将调整为180万美元。

黄总理表示，政府在接触这类人才时，不能假装机会成本不存在。

在上届大选前，黄英贤总理与几位首席执行官和其他高级商业领袖进行了交谈，这些人的收入是部长薪水的数倍，他认为这些人可以做出真正的贡献。

“没有人直接跟我说过薪酬是他们不加入的原因。我也不希望有人仅仅因为钱而做出决定，”他补充道。“但这并不意味着薪酬无关紧要。要从他们的角度看待这个决定。”

黄总理表示，他们将要求这些人放弃多年苦心经营的成功事业。他还补充说，这些人还将面临收入大幅减少、参加一场胜负未定的选举，并在一个完全不同的环境中重新开始。

“最终，我接触的所有人都不愿意做出改变。但我没有放弃。我仍在寻找，希望能说服一些人加入我们，参加下次选举，”总理说道。

他意识到，这种牺牲不仅仅是经济上的，因为政治生活对个人的家庭提出了真正的要求。

黄循财总理说：“有些时间我们再也回不来了。有些审视是配偶和孩子没有要求的，但他们却不得不忍受。任何薪资调整都无法弥补这些，也从来就没打算弥补。”

黄循财总理指出，国会将于9月10日就加薪问题进行辩论，他说：“这不仅仅是我们今天给部长们支付多少薪水的问题。”

“这关乎未来的总理是否还有现实的机会去说服有能力的的新加坡人——来自公共服务部门、私营部门和其他各行各业——挺身而出，组建一支一流的团队来服务新加坡和新加坡人民。”

Nadine Chua是《海峡时报》负责报道犯罪和法庭新闻的记者。