<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published September 30, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Keeping graft at bay the Singapore way
High public sector pay cheaper than cost of corruption
By CHEW XIANG
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>LAW Minister K Shanmugam yesterday spoke of Singapore's experience in fighting corruption at a seminar to discuss governance and anti-corruption measures in the region.
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff>[FONT=Geneva, Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]<!-- REPLACE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS WITH YOUR OWN VALUES --><TABLE class=quoteBox border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=144 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>
</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#fffff1><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=124 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Law Minister K Shanmugam likened corruption to a cancer that has been eating away at many societies in the world.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The conference was organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) and was attended by about 250 delegates, the organisers said.
In a keynote address, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs, called corruption a 'cancer that has been eating away at many societies in the world'.
He said that Singapore has largely succeeded in keeping it out by enforcing tough laws, creating a culture of integrity, and paying government officials good salaries.
He also pointed to Singapore's record in enforcing the law even among those in high positions.
For instance, Choy Hon Tim, a senior civil servant at the Public Utilities Board, was investigated in 1995 and subsequently convicted of taking almost $14 million in bribes.
Others include Teh Cheang Wan, former minister for national development, who was investigated for allegedly accepting $1 million in bribes and who, maintaining his innocence to the very end, committed suicide before he was formally charged.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Taking questions later from the audience, Mr Shanmugam said that paying higher salaries to public officials was cheaper in the long run compared to the costs of corruption.
=> Regardless of how useless they are?
He was responding to a question from a member of a Philippine anti-corruption agency, who said that with corruption siphoning off a fifth of government budgets, there was no money for bigger salaries, creating a chicken-and-egg problem.
Mr Shanmugam also said that the Singapore police force is creating a special unit to investigate casino-linked crimes.
Yesterday, 17 companies and organisations signed a pledge at the conference to commit to clean business practices, among them OCBC Bank, Siemens and Sembcorp Industries.
Siemens was recently caught up in a billion-dollar worldwide bribery scandal which claimed the jobs of a number of senior executives and cost it a one billion euro (S$2 billion) fine, but it has since appointed a former German finance minister as an independent compliance monitor.
At a closed door session on Monday, delegates also discussed the issue of keeping corruption at bay at a time when governments are spending billions to boost their economies. [/FONT]
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Keeping graft at bay the Singapore way
High public sector pay cheaper than cost of corruption
By CHEW XIANG
<TABLE class=storyLinks border=0 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Email this article</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Print article </TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>LAW Minister K Shanmugam yesterday spoke of Singapore's experience in fighting corruption at a seminar to discuss governance and anti-corruption measures in the region.<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff>[FONT=Geneva, Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]<!-- REPLACE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS WITH YOUR OWN VALUES --><TABLE class=quoteBox border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=144 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>
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In a keynote address, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs, called corruption a 'cancer that has been eating away at many societies in the world'.
He said that Singapore has largely succeeded in keeping it out by enforcing tough laws, creating a culture of integrity, and paying government officials good salaries.
He also pointed to Singapore's record in enforcing the law even among those in high positions.
For instance, Choy Hon Tim, a senior civil servant at the Public Utilities Board, was investigated in 1995 and subsequently convicted of taking almost $14 million in bribes.
Others include Teh Cheang Wan, former minister for national development, who was investigated for allegedly accepting $1 million in bribes and who, maintaining his innocence to the very end, committed suicide before he was formally charged.
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=> Regardless of how useless they are?
He was responding to a question from a member of a Philippine anti-corruption agency, who said that with corruption siphoning off a fifth of government budgets, there was no money for bigger salaries, creating a chicken-and-egg problem.
Mr Shanmugam also said that the Singapore police force is creating a special unit to investigate casino-linked crimes.
Yesterday, 17 companies and organisations signed a pledge at the conference to commit to clean business practices, among them OCBC Bank, Siemens and Sembcorp Industries.
Siemens was recently caught up in a billion-dollar worldwide bribery scandal which claimed the jobs of a number of senior executives and cost it a one billion euro (S$2 billion) fine, but it has since appointed a former German finance minister as an independent compliance monitor.
At a closed door session on Monday, delegates also discussed the issue of keeping corruption at bay at a time when governments are spending billions to boost their economies. [/FONT]
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