First Post Election PAP Gaffe Goes to Lim Wee Kiak. Highest Pay = Possess Dignity

[wenqing]

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singa...084833549.html

‘Reasonable pay will help to maintain a bit of dignity’

Member of Parliament Lim Wee Kiak of the Nee Soon group representation constituency (GRC) defended ministerial salaries by saying a reasonable payout helped maintain "dignity" for politicians.

He was quickly slammed by netizens, many of whom pointed out in various posts on the Web that "dignity" should not be justified by salary alone.

The multi-million dollar pay of ministers was a hot-button issue in Singapore's recent General Election, which saw the ruling People's Action Party win 81 out of 87 seats but at a significantly lower share of the total votes.

Following the results, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the formation of a committee to review the "basis and level of political salaries". Any pay changes would take effect from 21 May this year.

"If the annual salary of the Minister of Information, Communication and Arts is only $500,000, it may pose some problems when he discuss policies with media CEOs who earn millions of dollars because they need not listen to the minister's ideas and proposals. Hence, a reasonable payout will help to maintain a bit of dignity," Dr Lim told LianHe ZaoBao in Chinese.

In reaction, Francis Oen postedon Facebook: "Hi Wee Kiat.. Suggest you clarify your statement. Does it mean that only $ talks?! ... And if someone earns less, does it mean he cannot have dignity?"

Winnie Lim tweeted: "So according to Dr Lim Wee Kiak's theory, our ministers will ignore Obama because he earns less than all of them."

On his Facebook page, Dr Lim said that his quote was taken out of context.
"Minister's pay issue is a sensitive one. There must be a balance. After all, capable individuals who are willing to come forward to serve should not so because of pay and perks," he replied to a user's question about his quote.


He added, "On the other hand, they do have families and dependents and need to consider for retirement, etc."


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[wenqing]

One-Third Revenue from GST Increase goes to Minister Pay Increment

How well is well-paid?

By Tan Hui Leng and Jasmie Yen, TODAY | Posted: 10 April 2007 1028

They expressed support for the need to pay top dollar for top talent in the public sector.

But Members of Parliament (MPs) who took part in yesterday's parliamentary debate on the pay hike also spoke passionately about what many Singaporeans believe to be the heart of the issue: The benchmarking formula used to determine ministerial pay.

Ang Mo Kio MP Inderjit Singh noted that Singaporeans could not expect their leaders to serve based on altruism alone. "Are we willing to leave the future of the country to chance, that we will get good people who will give up their competence without caring about their salary?" he asked.

Some MPs, however, saw problems in benchmarking ministers' pay to the private sector, pointing out to disparities in the risks taken by company chief executives and ministers and top civil servants.

Marine Parade MP Lim Biow Chuan said: "I struggle to understand what a top Admin Officer aged 32 at grade SR9 has to worry about that will justify him receiving $363,000 a year … From many people's perspectives, they take no personal risk and are at best, paid employees."

Opposition MPs Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir) and Hougang's Low Thia Khiang took issue with the fact that Singapore's ministers are paid more than their counterparts in developed countries.

MPs like Bishan-Toa Payoh's Mrs Josephine Teo, however, pointed out that ministers in other countries may make more money after their term in office ends, such as through public speaking.

Some MPs voiced concerns about the timing of announcing the pay revisions, especially with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) due to rise to 7 per cent in July.

Mr Singh said: "How do we answer the man-in-the-street when we're told that about one-quarter to one-third of the expected revenue increase this year from the GST is going to be for the proposed ministerial and civil service salary increases, about $240 million, I was told?"

Mr Low also referred to the recent debate on increasing the amounts for public assistance. "It's also ironic that we are consuming taxpayers' money and … discussing how much more of a fraction of a million to pay civil servants and ministers while we haggle over additional tens of dollars to hand out to our needy and disadvantaged citizens," he said.

Some MPs who supported the pay hike also suggested that the salary benchmarking could be finetuned, such as pegging ministers' salaries to more realistic markers such as top men in private equity firms and top companies based on market capitalisation.

[wenqing]

MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew called for a sense of proportion yesterday, pointing out that the annual wage bill for ministers and all office holders is $46 million - or just 0.022 per cent of Singapore's total economic output.

It was an 'absurdity', he said, for Singaporeans to quarrel over whether ministers collectively should be paid $10 million or $20 million more, when an economy worth $210 billion was at stake

'The cure to all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government,' he said in his first comments on impending salary increases for ministers and top civil servants. 'You get that alternative and you'll never put Singapore together again.'

Singaporeans' asset values would also disappear, he warned, adding that 'your apartment will be worth a fraction of what it is, your jobs will be in peril, your security will be at risk and our women will become maids in other people's countries'.

He said the present system of benchmarking ministers' pay to top private sector salaries was 'completely above board' and allowed the Government to recruit 'some of the very best' to lead the country

When it was put to him that people hoped for leaders who were willing to make sacrifices and who were not there for the money, he replied that these were 'admirable sentiments'. But he added that 'we live in the real world'.

His bottom line: if the Government could not pay competitive salaries, Singapore would not be able to compete and 'we're not going to live well'.

[wenqing]

http://www.transitioning.org/2010/02...and-best-paid/

The TOP 30 highest paid politicians in the World are all from Singapore !!

1. Elected President SR Nathan – S$3.9 million.
2. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong – S$3.8 million.
3. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew – S$3.5 million.
4. Senior Minister Goh Chok Thong – S$3.5 million.
5. Senior Minister Prof Jayakumar – S$3.2 million.
6. DPM & Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng – S$2.9 million.
7. DPM & Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean – $2.9 million
8. Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo – S$2.8 million.
9. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan – S$2.7 million.
10. PMO Miniser Lim Boon Heng – S$2.7 million.
11. Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang – S$2.7 million.
12. PMO Minister Lim Swee Say – S$2.6 million.
13. Environment Minister & Muslim Affairs Minister Dr Yaccob Ibrahim – S$2.6 million.
14. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan – S$2.6 million.
15. Finance Minister S Tharman – S$2.6 million.
16. Education Minister & 2nd Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen – S$2.6 million.
17. Community Development Youth and Sports Minister – Dr Vivian Balakrishnan – S$2.5 million.
18. Transport Minister & 2nd Minister for Foreign Affairs Raymond Lim Siang Kiat – S$2.5 million.
19. Law Minister & 2nd Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam – S$2.4 million.
20. Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong – S$2.2 million.
21. PMO Minister Lim Hwee Hwa – S$2.2 million
22. Acting ICA Minister – Lui Tuck Yew – S$2.0 million.
23 to 30 = Senior Ministers of State and Ministers of State – each getting between S$1.8 million to S$1.5 million.

[Allthepies]

yo WQ, u r back

ha let's move on and deal with more impt stuffs lah, like spending more time with ur family. whether the ministers get $100million, $40million or $20million or $2million, the extra $$$ save won't go to ur pocket.

sitting here and complaining won't get u anywhere; must work hard for ur own future and for ur family

[DC33_2008]

Not just work hard but work smart. Work hard may not get you anywhere.

yo WQ, u r back

ha let's move on and deal with more impt stuffs lah, like spending more time with ur family. whether the ministers get $100million, $40million or $20million or $2million, the extra $$$ save won't go to ur pocket.

sitting here and complaining won't get u anywhere; must work hard for ur own future and for ur family

[Allthepies]

Not just work hard but work smart. Work hard may not get you anywhere.

agreed opportunities are aplenty in Singapore

[DC33_2008]

You got to be a President scholar in order to be in the radar screen of the garment. SAF overseas scholar is next and PSC scholar is consider the lower grade, etc. PSC scholars under SAF scholars who in turns work under President Scholar. Got to work really smart if one is not in any of the above categories.

agreed opportunities are aplenty in Singapore

[Allthepies]

You got to be a President scholar in order to be in the radar screen of the garment. SAF overseas scholar is next and PSC scholar is consider the lower grade, etc. PSC scholars under SAF scholars who in turns work under President Scholar. Got to work really smart if one is not in any of the above categories.

job is just a source of income for other investing activities =) investing activities are applenty in Singapore! that's i feel is the avenue to grow ur wealth

[DC33_2008]

Unfortunately the richer you are the more attractive opportunities with better returns. Got to start with a reasonable base, ie. capital.

job is just a source of income for other investing activities =) investing activities are applenty in Singapore! that's i feel is the avenue to grow ur wealth

[wenqing]

yo WQ, u r back

ha let's move on and deal with more impt stuffs lah, like spending more time with ur family. whether the ministers get $100million, $40million or $20million or $2million, the extra $$$ save won't go to ur pocket.

sitting here and complaining won't get u anywhere; must work hard for ur own future and for ur family

Dont worry, copy and pasting 4 posts took less than 1 minute.

For you guys to read and be aware what low quality of PAP MPs Singaporeans get these days.

3000 ++ comments hammering Lim Wee Kiak at Yahoo Singapore.

[wenqing]

agreed opportunities are aplenty in Singapore

With such low grade future leaders in PAP, I fear the opportunities in Singapore will get lesser and lesser especially as you all age.

What goes up must come down.

Guess you present batch is going to endure the decline of PAP and period of bad government until another dominant party like maybe WP comes along and refresh Singapore future.

Join me at China lah.

Recent reports says China properties value shooting up real fast.

[ay123]

With such low grade future leaders in PAP, I fear the opportunities in Singapore will get lesser and lesser especially as you all age.

What goes up must come down.

Guess you present batch is going to endure the decline of PAP and period of bad government until another dominant party like maybe WP comes along and refresh Singapore future.

Join me at China lah.

Recent reports says China properties value shooting up real fast.

many mei mei also right!!!

[extremme]

Ooooh, WQ welcome back!

[Regulators]

So open corruption is ok for you and closed corruption is not ok? Corruption comes in many forms and some can even be lawful

yo WQ, u r back

ha let's move on and deal with more impt stuffs lah, like spending more time with ur family. whether the ministers get $100million, $40million or $20million or $2million, the extra $$$ save won't go to ur pocket.

sitting here and complaining won't get u anywhere; must work hard for ur own future and for ur family

[westman]

LWK apologised and has withdrew his remarks officially today.

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/05...nisterial-pay/

The massive backlash from the online community has forced PAP MP Dr Lim Wee Kiat to apologize for his remarks made on ministerial pay.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao on 23 May 2011, Dr Lim was quoted as saying:

“If the annual salary of the Minister of Information, Communication and Arts is only $500,000, it may pose some problems when he discuss policies with media CEOs who earn millions of dollars because they need not listen to the minister’s ideas and proposals, hence a reasonable payout will help to maintain abit of dignity.”

[Source: Zaobao.com]

Dr Lim’s comments sparked a furore in cyberspace with many netizens lampooning him for measuring dignity with the amount of money one make.

One day later, Dr Lim backtracked and claimed that he was ‘quoted out of context’ by the media:

“It is sad when things are quoted out of context and when they do not report the whole thing.”

Dr Lim’s feeble attempt to explain himself only led to more merciless flaming by netizens and caused him to change his story again saying that his comment was meant as a ‘joke’.

After stirring more controversies with his repeated Freudian slips, Dr Lim finally ate the humble pie and issued an apology on his Facebook today:

“On further reflection, I agree that the example I quoted regarding a MICA minister meeting the heads of telcos and saying that there may be some loss of face if the minister’s salary is low is inappropriate and incorrect. I withdraw those remarks and apologise for making them. Dignity cannot be and must not be measured purely in monetary terms.”

Despite his apology, the now infamous statement will ‘haunt’ Dr Lim for the rest of his political career just like how Dr Vivian Balakrishnan is now known for his ‘how much do want?’ remark made in parliament in 2007.

[westman]

With such low grade future leaders in PAP, I fear the opportunities in Singapore will get lesser and lesser especially as you all age.

What goes up must come down.

Guess you present batch is going to endure the decline of PAP and period of bad government until another dominant party like maybe WP comes along and refresh Singapore future.

Join me at China lah.

Recent reports says China properties value shooting up real fast.

Which part of china? Me going there very frequently....

[ysyap]

Way to go WQ, doing what you do best... to save us the trouble of looking far for all these govt related information and news... cheers!!!

[devilplate]

Wq pr or singaporean?

[ysyap]

Think he's Singaporean lah... if don't remember wrongly, he mentioned he used to vote for PAP but then... so should be Singaporean lah...

[sh]

WQ.... keep the dirt on the garment coming.... like to stay "informed"

[Allthepies]

So open corruption is ok for you and closed corruption is not ok? Corruption comes in many forms and some can even be lawful

getting a higher pay is corruption and getting a lower pay is not corruption sorry don't get u

that's beside the point; my main point is that there are more important things to do like spending time with ur family, going out with ur love ones, socializing with your close friends rather than forcing other people to take a lower pay =)

[Regulators]

You used the word 'getting' so you must next ask yourself getting from who and is at least 80% of the who even agreeable with it? Many people in singapore are far dissociated from what people at the top do so they often adopt a nonchalant attitude. This speaks of the political maturity of the society and a shift away from just looking at oneself. This is also the reason why we are far from achieving a civil society like the west and Asians in general are just too self-consumed with their own things.

getting a higher pay is corruption and getting a lower pay is not corruption sorry don't get u

that's beside the point; my main point is that there are more important things to do like spending time with ur family, going out with ur love ones, socializing with your close friends rather than forcing other people to take a lower pay =)

[Regulators]

For an mp to say that drawing a minimal salary to serve the country is undignified comes to show this mp has lost his moral compass totally. Pap prides on being able to recruit the best people, so is a person who makes such a statement considered the best candidate for the job?

[amk]

..we are far from achieving a civil society like the west and Asians in general are just too self-consumed with their own things.

Wow can't believe u worship the west until like that

Pls remove the "we". I certainly do not share this view

[Regulators]

I don't worship the west, but they certainly provide better civics education in schools than singapore. Have you ever even attended a lesson in a singapore school that teaches anything about our responsibilities as a global citizen or human rights? Singaporeans were taught and have all along been taught never to question and just follow, which is evident in the way many forumers here who are resigned to everything the govt does. Is this the kind of civics education we have in singapore?

Wow can't believe u worship the west until like that

Pls remove the "we". I certainly do not share this view

[wenqing]

getting a higher pay is corruption and getting a lower pay is not corruption sorry don't get u

that's beside the point; my main point is that there are more important things to do like spending time with ur family, going out with ur love ones, socializing with your close friends rather than forcing other people to take a lower pay =)

These are mutually exclusive and not inter-dependent.

You still can spend time with family and enjoy your life while keeping an eye on current affairs.

Using your theory, all civil servants have no life because their job is to meet expectations of taxpayers and current affairs.

Voters have no life at election year because current affairs plays a part in their voting decisions.

[Allthepies]

Have you ever even attended a lesson in a singapore school that teaches anything about our responsibilities as a global citizen or human rights?

i only attended lessons in Singapore that taught us to be responsible to our families and home first =) not as noble to be responsible global citizen and what is actually a responsible global citizen role? Is it to make sure that u crash the world economy once in a few years to drag everyone into deep shit?

[DC33_2008]

Looking forward to presidential election. Wonder if Tarmugi will be PAP's nomination? I believe Cheng Bok is not planted by PAP. He may be in late Ong TC's camp. Too bad! Tan Kin Lian not contesting.

[Regulators]

if the west is as self centred as us, we would still be under japanese rule

i only attended lessons in Singapore that taught us to be responsible to our families and home first =) not as noble to be responsible global citizen and what is actually a responsible global citizen role? Is it to make sure that u crash the world economy once in a few years to drag everyone into deep shit?