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Ministerial pay cut fair: Singapore deputy PM

Deep cuts to Singapore ministers' unpopular multi-million-dollar salaries are "fair and balanced" but slashing them further would deter people from serving in government, the deputy premier said Monday. Speaking at a parliamentary debate, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said the government would support a proposal by an official committee to slash top officials' salaries by at least a third. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had promised a review of ministerial salaries to ease public anger that surfaced in landmark elections last year, when the ruling party saw its share of votes fall to 60 percent, an all-time low. "The government has considered the committees report carefully, and is satisfied that the committee has studied this subject of political salaries very thoroughly," Teo said. "The government therefore intends to accept the committees recommendations. They are fair and balanced, and are an improvement to the previous salary framework." Despite the cuts, Singapore ministers remain the world's best-paid politicians, running a wealthy city-state of more than five million people. The prime minister still commands an annual salary of Sg$2.2 million ($1.69 million) despite a 36 percent pay reduction under the revised pay scale, government estimates showed. This is more than four times as much as US President Barack Obama, who earns $400,000 a year, and more than 45 times the $36,200 annual salary, including allowances, of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Teo -- who is also the interior minister -- addressed public criticism that ministerial salaries remained high even after the cuts, with a junior minister earning around Sg$1.1 million. He said further cuts might force qualified people to defer any decision to serve in government until they are more financially stable. "This will weaken the depth and breadth of the leadership team and would not be a good outcome for Singapore," he said.