Opposition members respond to pay cut
By Hetty Musfirah | Posted: 04 January 2012 2238 hrs
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SINGAPORE: Several members of the opposition parties in Singapore have responded to the recommendations of the Ministerial Salaries Review Committee announced on Wednesday.
Ministerial pay was a hot topic in last year's General Election.
Chairman of the Workers' Party Sylvia Lim said her party is studying the recommendations and will also respond in due course.
Similarly, Non-Constituency MP Lina Chiam from the Singapore People's Party said she is studying if the changes will benefit Singaporeans.
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) said it welcomed the proposed removal of pensions but it is still unhappy over the overall pay package.
SDP's James Gomez said: "However, at the SDP, we feel that the quantum is still extremely very high. I don't think the new Singaporean politician who wants to bring Singaporean issues forward is motivated by monetary incentives.'
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) said it is disappointed that the proposed benchmark for political salaries is still pegged to the top earners in Singapore.
The NSP said it had suggested the pay structure also take into account the bottom 20th percentile of wage earners here and despite suggestions to incorporate this into the national bonus, the overall pay package is still high.
"Comparing the new salary levels for an entry level minister, S$1.1 million, that's already higher than the salaries of prime ministers and presidents in other developed countries.
"I think that is still a bit hard to swallow. We had been hoping for at least a 50 per cent cut to bring it down to more reasonable levels."
By Hetty Musfirah | Posted: 04 January 2012 2238 hrs
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<tbody> </tbody> NSP's Hazel Poa said the ministerial salary review was "hard to swallow". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SINGAPORE: Several members of the opposition parties in Singapore have responded to the recommendations of the Ministerial Salaries Review Committee announced on Wednesday.
Ministerial pay was a hot topic in last year's General Election.
Chairman of the Workers' Party Sylvia Lim said her party is studying the recommendations and will also respond in due course.
Similarly, Non-Constituency MP Lina Chiam from the Singapore People's Party said she is studying if the changes will benefit Singaporeans.
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) said it welcomed the proposed removal of pensions but it is still unhappy over the overall pay package.
SDP's James Gomez said: "However, at the SDP, we feel that the quantum is still extremely very high. I don't think the new Singaporean politician who wants to bring Singaporean issues forward is motivated by monetary incentives.'
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) said it is disappointed that the proposed benchmark for political salaries is still pegged to the top earners in Singapore.
The NSP said it had suggested the pay structure also take into account the bottom 20th percentile of wage earners here and despite suggestions to incorporate this into the national bonus, the overall pay package is still high.
"Comparing the new salary levels for an entry level minister, S$1.1 million, that's already higher than the salaries of prime ministers and presidents in other developed countries.
"I think that is still a bit hard to swallow. We had been hoping for at least a 50 per cent cut to bring it down to more reasonable levels."