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Proposed pay benchmark is ‘flawed’: Chen Show Mao

The proposed new framework for ministerial pay is a “flawed new benchmark”, said Workers Party (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) Chen Show Mao on Monday.

Based on a video by Channel NewsAsia, Chen called recommendations by the Ministerial Salary Review Committee “a step in the right direction” but said that ministerial salaries should be pegged to MP allowances, not the top 1,000 income earners in Singapore.

Speaking at Parliament, Chen explained that the new benchmark placed the idea of competitive salaries ahead of political service, and sends the message that the value of political office can be “monetised”.

“Parliament is the highest authority in our system of government, and MPs, as elected representatives of the people, should be the starting point for the determination of ministerial salary. The committee’s benchmark to the private sector clouds this fact,” he pointed out.

He added that political service should be “primarily a privilege, not a burden or sacrifice”.

As an alternative, the WP proposed a “whole-of-government, people-up approach” that pegs ministerial salaries as multiples of MP allowances, with an entry-grade minister earning five times more than an MP, and nine times for the Prime Minister.

It suggested that MPs receive a monthly allowance of S$11,000, which is the estimated starting salary for senior executives in the civil service.

Therefore, ministerial salaries would start at S$55,000 per month for entry grade ministers, to $99,000 per month for the Prime Minister.

The opposition party also proposed that ministers receive bonuses of not more than five months in any year, as compared to 13.5 months as recommended by the committee.

Chen pointed out that many of the former and current ministers did not come from the private sector or top earning professions.

“Of course, we would like to see capable men and women in the cabinet, but we do not believe that our best people for political office are only those who make the most money,” he said.