- Joined
- Dec 30, 2010
- Messages
- 12,730
- Points
- 113
In other words, the PAP is still clueless, or appears to be so, about the political culture that has swept over this nation leading up to GE2011: A growing desire for social justice and fair play.
As such, it would seem that the political divide that existed before and during the election year is still entrenched. It would be too much to expect a single stroke of ministerial pay cuts to mend the divide, but this particular exercise is not doing anything to help either. If anything, it has thrust into the limelight affirmation that the PAP is elitist, through the various incantations of its, unfortunately, more vocal members, such as Grace Fu and Chan Chun Sing.
But perhaps the last nail in the coffin came from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself. In his Parliament delivery, PM Lee prattled on endlessly about the importance of bringing in good people (i.e. narrative of talent acquisition and retention), scarcely paying attention to citizen angst about whether said people have performed once they have been brought in (i.e. narrative of accountability).
For sure, PM Lee dedicated a segment of his speech to touch on accountability, and indicated that he would not hesitate to sack ministers of they do not perform. But his definition for performance is conditionally couched in two terms – corruption and long-term policy failure. It is thus discernable that our office holders enjoy a high level of tolerance on failure, while their pay is pegged to the private sector, where there is a low tolerance for failure.
Worse, PM Lee dragged out the old warhorse on how citizens can hold their ministers accountable – at the polls every general election. In this political climate, such a narrative calls all of us fools. It is clear that such a system of accountability remains impotent, so long as we retain the GRC system, or we do not get to vote in the Cabinet as a team, as what is done in the US. Yet PM Lee conveniently defers to the value of his ministers as one team.
The plain reality is that no straight-thinking Singaporean will begrudge our politicians their exorbitant pay, so long as the government matched it with extraordinary performance, or else. Have they? And if not, what measures are in place to ensure that those who have failed are taken to task and punished with the same high risk mentality that has justified their high pay? Where is the transparency on ministerial KPIs?
- http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/01/the-ministerial-pay-debate-that-will-never-be/
As such, it would seem that the political divide that existed before and during the election year is still entrenched. It would be too much to expect a single stroke of ministerial pay cuts to mend the divide, but this particular exercise is not doing anything to help either. If anything, it has thrust into the limelight affirmation that the PAP is elitist, through the various incantations of its, unfortunately, more vocal members, such as Grace Fu and Chan Chun Sing.
But perhaps the last nail in the coffin came from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself. In his Parliament delivery, PM Lee prattled on endlessly about the importance of bringing in good people (i.e. narrative of talent acquisition and retention), scarcely paying attention to citizen angst about whether said people have performed once they have been brought in (i.e. narrative of accountability).
For sure, PM Lee dedicated a segment of his speech to touch on accountability, and indicated that he would not hesitate to sack ministers of they do not perform. But his definition for performance is conditionally couched in two terms – corruption and long-term policy failure. It is thus discernable that our office holders enjoy a high level of tolerance on failure, while their pay is pegged to the private sector, where there is a low tolerance for failure.
Worse, PM Lee dragged out the old warhorse on how citizens can hold their ministers accountable – at the polls every general election. In this political climate, such a narrative calls all of us fools. It is clear that such a system of accountability remains impotent, so long as we retain the GRC system, or we do not get to vote in the Cabinet as a team, as what is done in the US. Yet PM Lee conveniently defers to the value of his ministers as one team.
The plain reality is that no straight-thinking Singaporean will begrudge our politicians their exorbitant pay, so long as the government matched it with extraordinary performance, or else. Have they? And if not, what measures are in place to ensure that those who have failed are taken to task and punished with the same high risk mentality that has justified their high pay? Where is the transparency on ministerial KPIs?
- http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/01/the-ministerial-pay-debate-that-will-never-be/
