Subject: Is the Salary Review Committee a blatant farce?
May 25th, 2011 | Author: Contributions
The members of the ministers salaries review committee are people who are close to the government or the PAP. Almost all of them come from the rich elite class that benefited handsomely under the PAP. Such symbiotic relationships virtually guarantee they will not rock the status quo and just toe the line.
They have been told up front, via the Terms of Reference, to use ‘comparable jobs in the private sector’ as benchmarks, and then take a discount. In other words, they have no freedom to use other benchmarks e.g. salaries of political heads, ministers in US, Europe, Asia, etc for comparison. LHL has dictated to Gerald Ee’s committee that the only relevant benchmark is ‘the private sector’.
My friends from Mercer Consultants & Hays tell me the salary of top management in major industries in the private sector (i.e. the ‘comparable jobs’) had a hefty across the board increase in 2010. Recall too that ministers’ salaries were raised some 26% or so earlier. So, even if the Committee proposes a reduction of 50% from Ministers’ current salaries, the net effect is still millions of dollars for ministers. But many non-numerate, naive Singaporeans will hail it as a reform. LHL wants to implement the Committee’s recommendations as soon as it is submitted and cleared by government. There will be no parliamentary debate on it.
Several astute observers have already pointed out that Gerald Ee was a pliable tool of the government who rubber stamped their past pet projects that included every transportation fare increase. An ex-Nominated MP, Gerald is the son of distinguished philanthropist, Ee Peng Lian.
Yet another notable is Stephen Lee Ching Yen who works hand-in-glove with the government elite. An ex-Nominated MP (NMP), he was, and still is on numerous government related companies eg DBS, SIA & Temasek. He had been Chairman of SIA and CEO of Trade Development Board earlier.
George Quek, Breadtalk’s CEO is another beneficiary of the PAP’s policies i.e. cheap foreign labor in all Breadtalk outlets. Former PAP MP, Ong Kian Min sits on Breadtalk’s Board.
Top lawyer Lucien Wong of Allen & Gledhill is, at the same time, the Chairman of the Maritime & Port Authority, a government Statutory board of prestige & influence. Lucien’s law firm represented the PAP in several defamation suits against the Opposition. This is the same Lucien who committed adultery with a fellow lawyer years ago. Minister Shanmugam, another adulterer, also came from the same elite law firm.
Venture Corp’s CEO Wong Ngit Liong, is ranked by Forbes as amongst Singapore’s wealthiest. He is also Chairman of the National University’s Board of Trustees. Many recalled Wong Ngit Liong’s flirtation with a SIA hostess on one flight resulted in his wife slapping the poor girl so hard that SIA sued the couple.
I leave it to others to enlighten us on the qualifications of the other esteemed Committee members. Given the intertwined mutual interests of these people with the government, they know where their bread is buttered. How independent can their review be?
This Review Committee is neither independent nor objective. The cards are stacked heavily in the ministers’ favor. It is another blatant farce to legitimize the PAP elite’s million dollar pay, bonuses and pensions. It would be more equitable if some care had gone into selecting members who are not so beholden to the ruling elite. Having some members of the Opposition on the Committee would go a long way to assure Singaporeans that LHL is sincere when he proclaimed that there are no sacred cows that cannot be openly discussed.
May 25th, 2011 | Author: Contributions
The members of the ministers salaries review committee are people who are close to the government or the PAP. Almost all of them come from the rich elite class that benefited handsomely under the PAP. Such symbiotic relationships virtually guarantee they will not rock the status quo and just toe the line.
They have been told up front, via the Terms of Reference, to use ‘comparable jobs in the private sector’ as benchmarks, and then take a discount. In other words, they have no freedom to use other benchmarks e.g. salaries of political heads, ministers in US, Europe, Asia, etc for comparison. LHL has dictated to Gerald Ee’s committee that the only relevant benchmark is ‘the private sector’.
My friends from Mercer Consultants & Hays tell me the salary of top management in major industries in the private sector (i.e. the ‘comparable jobs’) had a hefty across the board increase in 2010. Recall too that ministers’ salaries were raised some 26% or so earlier. So, even if the Committee proposes a reduction of 50% from Ministers’ current salaries, the net effect is still millions of dollars for ministers. But many non-numerate, naive Singaporeans will hail it as a reform. LHL wants to implement the Committee’s recommendations as soon as it is submitted and cleared by government. There will be no parliamentary debate on it.
Several astute observers have already pointed out that Gerald Ee was a pliable tool of the government who rubber stamped their past pet projects that included every transportation fare increase. An ex-Nominated MP, Gerald is the son of distinguished philanthropist, Ee Peng Lian.
Yet another notable is Stephen Lee Ching Yen who works hand-in-glove with the government elite. An ex-Nominated MP (NMP), he was, and still is on numerous government related companies eg DBS, SIA & Temasek. He had been Chairman of SIA and CEO of Trade Development Board earlier.
George Quek, Breadtalk’s CEO is another beneficiary of the PAP’s policies i.e. cheap foreign labor in all Breadtalk outlets. Former PAP MP, Ong Kian Min sits on Breadtalk’s Board.
Top lawyer Lucien Wong of Allen & Gledhill is, at the same time, the Chairman of the Maritime & Port Authority, a government Statutory board of prestige & influence. Lucien’s law firm represented the PAP in several defamation suits against the Opposition. This is the same Lucien who committed adultery with a fellow lawyer years ago. Minister Shanmugam, another adulterer, also came from the same elite law firm.
Venture Corp’s CEO Wong Ngit Liong, is ranked by Forbes as amongst Singapore’s wealthiest. He is also Chairman of the National University’s Board of Trustees. Many recalled Wong Ngit Liong’s flirtation with a SIA hostess on one flight resulted in his wife slapping the poor girl so hard that SIA sued the couple.
I leave it to others to enlighten us on the qualifications of the other esteemed Committee members. Given the intertwined mutual interests of these people with the government, they know where their bread is buttered. How independent can their review be?
This Review Committee is neither independent nor objective. The cards are stacked heavily in the ministers’ favor. It is another blatant farce to legitimize the PAP elite’s million dollar pay, bonuses and pensions. It would be more equitable if some care had gone into selecting members who are not so beholden to the ruling elite. Having some members of the Opposition on the Committee would go a long way to assure Singaporeans that LHL is sincere when he proclaimed that there are no sacred cows that cannot be openly discussed.
