Political salaries adjustment a 'necessary strategic move' to ensure good leadership in troubled, turbulent world: SM Lee

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 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 the global 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.

李显龙高级部长表示，新加坡取得的卓越成就建立在廉洁、诚实和有能力的政治领导的基础之上。

他在周二（9 月 8 日）晚上的 Facebook 帖子中说，正因如此，国家需要不断招募非常有能力的男女，他们往往正值事业的黄金时期，做出彻底的改变，投身于一项要求很高的事业，同时让自己和家人承受公众的密切关注。

但他补充说，如果这项承诺也需要付出过重或不合理的经济牺牲，那么那些有能力为新加坡做出重大贡献的人就会拒绝走这条路。

此前，总理黄循财和公共服务统筹部长陈振声于周二分别就政治薪酬调整发表了部长声明。

黄循财总理在声明中表示，政府接受独立委员会今年早些时候对政治官员薪酬结构进行审查后提出的新基准水平。

这将使 MR4 级（四个级别中最低的级别）部长的基准工资从 110 万美元提高到 180 万美元。

自 2011 年以来，部长级官员的年均工资一直保持在 110 万美元。

但部长级官员的薪酬不会立即按照新的标准调整。取而代之的是，将进行一次性调整，幅度最高可达9%。

此后，将不再进行任何特殊调整以将差距缩小至 180 万美元，后续如有任何变动，将根据个人表现和职责而定。

新加坡的战略举措

李显龙总理在反思此事时表示，他完全理解新加坡人为何对政治薪酬问题如此关注，并补充说，这场辩论从来都不是件容易的事。

“我担任总理期间，这个问题一直是我最关心的问题，因为它对确保新加坡拥有良好的政治领导和政府至关重要。”

这位高级部长表示，他曾遇到过这样的质疑：为什么公共服务不能更多地依靠理想主义和热情？

他解释说：“拥有这种热情至关重要——那些出于职业发展目的而投身政坛的人，无论对自身还是对国家而言，都是一个错误的选择。但仅凭热情无法使一个制度世代传承。我们也必须务实。”

归根结底，新加坡的卓越表现从根本上取决于该国是否拥有廉洁、诚实和有能力的政治领导人。

“因此，此次薪资调整是一项必要的战略举措，旨在使新加坡能够继续组建最强大的领导团队，”他说道。

李世明还强调，此次调整不会改变2012年制定的薪酬计算公式，他表示，该公式仍然适用。

但此后一直没有更新，因为政府选择推迟此事。

尽管如此，委员会建议每五年由一个独立委员会对该框架进行审查。

2017 年，一个后续委员会认为该框架合理，但建议政治薪酬应根据基准工资的变动每年进行调整。

鉴于外部环境的不确定性和全球经济的下行风险，原定于 2023 年进行的审查被推迟。

1 月初，公共服务统筹部长曾向议会通报，一个由 8 名成员组成的独立委员会将审查政治官员的薪酬结构和基准。

今年 5 月，他在一份书面议会答复中表示，由于中东冲突，政府已决定推迟审议委员会的建议。

李显龙总理周二表示：“我们不应该再推迟此事。”他指出，即使有了这次更新，新部长的基准仍然比私营部门的基准低 40%——这反映了公共服务的精神。

谈到世界各地的不确定因素，这位高级部长指出，全球领导力尤为重要。

“平庸的领导给国家带来的代价，远远大于合理支付政治领导人薪酬的成本。”

李显龙总理表示：“此次薪资调整将有助于确保国家在未来几年内保持良好发展状态。我呼吁所有新加坡人支持这项调整。”