Singapore ministers get 60 pct pay hike to $1.3 mln

[jdelpiero]

SINGAPORE, April 9 (Reuters) - Singapore's government ministers, already among the world's highest paid, will see their annual salaries jump by about 60 percent to an average of S$1.9 million ($1.26 million), a minister told parliament on Monday.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will see his salary rise to S$3.1 million ($2.05 million) from an estimated S$2 million, which will be five times the $400,000 that U.S. president George Bush earns.

"For the public service to remain an attractive employer, our terms must keep pace with the private sector," Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also minister in charge of the civil service, said in parliament.

The salary increase -- which will take effect in two steps by the end of next year -- is slightly smaller than the government had originally proposed.

Prime Minister Lee said last month the salaries of Singapore ministers and top civil servants might have to rise to as much as S$2.2 million (US$1.45 million) because they had fallen way below benchmark top salaries in the private sector.

The announcement sparked an outcry. Hundreds of Singaporeans signed an online petition and wrote to the state-controlled newspapers to protest against the move.

Some Singaporeans said the salaries do not reflect the country's economy or the government's performance, and that the government was tactless to raise ministers' salaries now given Singapore's widening income gap.

Since 1994, the salaries of Singapore ministers have been set at two-thirds the median pay of the 48 best-paid bankers, lawyers, accountants, engineers, and executives in multi-nationals and manufacturing firms.

[jdelpiero]

60 freaking percent leh!!

do they even need a 10% raise?

[whitelove]

i dun even remember my company giving me a 10% raise.

[Miracle]

Some Singaporeans said the salaries do not reflect the country's economy or the government's performance, and that the government was tactless to raise ministers' salaries now given Singapore's widening income gap.

This is totally crazy sia. And I am definitely one of them that feels the same as the above quote. :angry:

[Lord Nike]

So is that where our taxes and 7% GST is going? Into their golf games?

[cyc]

aiyah... why don't they juz give each one of 'em a blank cheque? then, no need suka suka raise salary liao :D

[linkin]

wtf . all they say is rite only wat can we do? do they need to get pay so much in the 1st place?

[wyvern]

Unbelieveable number of 60%... :o

Speaking about private sector, my company even hold on to our annual increment for a quarter before releasing it to us and its not even a 10%. :(

[bryando88]

Last election, total average votes for PAP less than 70%.....

Can you imagine if the elections win was more, say 70 or 80%?
What will the pay hike be then? 150%? 200%?

If this is what they say, pay hike based on performance.....so lesser % is better????? If they win by higher %, they will take less pay hike????

What the????

By the way, if the top man's pay is 5 times that of Bush.....Is our economy 5 times bigger? Is our population 5 times bigger? You mean we have 5 times more problems than the USA thats why we need 5 times the pay for 5 times the talent?

hmmmmmmm........

[kazuki]

1) Why does our leader earn 5times of US's and 6times of Japan's?!:o

The two are the leaders of the top two economic country in the two. But yet they are drawing a lesser pay our our leader. They have a tougher job coz they have to take care of natural disasters, history(Sino-Japan), ensure world peace and that their economic dun fall too much as their fall will cause world crisis.

2) Why did they even initiate the pay increment for the civil servants in the first place? Whats the reason behind it???

If its really for the sake of the mass civil servants, why everyone in this sector given equal increment???


All the actions they created over this, i am sure its making a chaos in all local forums. They have to mind that who is paying for their salary afterall...[-X

[Lolicon2000]

I suppose it's caused by how they say that being a leader is hardwork and how no one wants to do it so they have to pay people more to do it...

[Koo]

This is the list of 1st world countries in which their goverment have taken pay cuts to address problems of their nation especially social:

1) Japan

2) New Zealand

3) France

4) Germany
(there are many more I just dun know)

[jdelpiero]

wtf . all they say is rite only wat can we do? do they need to get pay so much in the 1st place?

to letain all the top poopers, and plevent colluption..

[jdelpiero]

Singapore PM to earn 5 times more than Bush

SINGAPORE, April 9 (Reuters) - Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, will earn five times more than U.S. President George Bush this year after a pay rise on Monday boosted his annual salary to S$3.1 million ($2.1 million).

A minister told parliament on Monday that other Singapore government ministers -- who are already among the best paid in the world -- will also see their salaries jump by about 60 percent to an average of S$1.9 million ($1.26 million).

"For the public service to remain an attractive employer, our terms must keep pace with the private sector," Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also minister in charge of the civil service, said in parliament.

The ministerial salary increase -- which will take effect in two steps by the end of next year -- is slightly smaller than the government had originally proposed.

Lee said last month the salaries of ministers and top civil servants might have to rise by as much as S$1 million ($660,000) to S$2.2 million ($1.45 million) because they had fallen way below benchmark top salaries in the private sector.

Lee's announcement sparked an outcry, with hundreds of Singaporeans signing an online petition and writing to newspapers to protest against the move.

Some Singaporeans said the ministerial salaries did not reflect the country's economy or the government's performance, adding that the government was tactless to raise ministers' salaries now given Singapore's widening income gap.

One regional politician questioned the size of the increase.

"From the announcement today, I sense that it is a bit too high," said Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's former deputy prime minister-turned-dissident, at a Foreign Correspondents' Association dinner in Singapore.

Anwar said that politicians needed to be paid reasonably well but that salaries should not be "blatantly high, unreasonably high" as this could erode the sense of public service.

Since 1994, the salaries of Singapore ministers have been set at two thirds of the median pay of the 48 best-paid bankers, lawyers, accountants, engineers and executives in multinationals and manufacturing firms.

Under the wage revision, the bonuses that Singapore ministers receive will depend on their performance, to be assessed by Lee, and the rate of Singapore's economic growth, Teo said.

He said ministers can get a maximum "gross domestic product bonus" of four months worth of salary if the Singapore economy grows by 8 percent or more.

Lee, who is estimated to have earned S$2 million previously, will earn six times more than Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the pay hike. The last pay hike was in 2000.

The government has defended the salary increase as necessary to attract the brightest people and to prevent corruption.

Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore's first prime minister and father of Lee, told parliament on Monday that resource-poor Singapore needed an "extraordinary government" to support it.

"If you fail here, you go back to a Southeast Asian situation," Lee senior said. "Just look around you."

[Koo]

Bush also asking for pay high..... he asking for a kick in his pants! Americans suffering under his administration!

[wyvern]

Maybe I should start looking for jobs in the stats board or government sector..:D

[cyc]

S'pore govt has the habit of pushing its limit becoz we can't do much even if they implement policies which we deemed flawed or not ideal... seriously, other than complain, wht can we do? migrate to another country? not everyone have the means... choose another govt in the next election? the opposition is weak... even if they raise the ministers' pay to 10M, wht can u do? lan lan loh :laugh: I'd used to like PAP, despite the fact that they don't always make good decisions, however, overall they're not bad, but this pay hike thingy really pushed my buttons... like a common phraze "wht can u do with 2M that u can't in ONE?" to the rich pple, a couple more millions in the pocket really have no significance to their lifestyle, status, power, etc... so, wht's the rationale behind this hike? so that they can buy one more condo unit in Orchard? I really don't understand :o

someone told me this once "many govt in the world are corrupted... in S'pore, we do it legally" now I know wht that means :laugh:

[meow]

someone told me this once "many govt in the world are corrupted... in S'pore, we do it legally" now I know wht that means :laugh:

this is a GOOD one :thumbsup:

:laugh:

[jdelpiero]

How well is well-paid?

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. - /fa

[jdelpiero]

No raise for admin officers, but ...

Young and talented, and with their scholarship bonds about to expire, they are at the juncture in their career where they will make that all-important decision: To stay in the Civil Service or head for the private sector, where the promise of higher salaries awaits.

This is the group of civil servants that worries the Government the most, and with good reason too. Just over a decade ago, the elite Administrative Service lost entire cohorts of young, capable officers to the private sector.

These Administrative Officers, said Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service Teo Chee Hean in Parliament yesterday, are those whom the Government is desperate to retain, for they form the pool from which most public sector leaders are eventually drawn.

"They are in their late 20s and early 30s. This is a critical juncture in their careers, when they will ponder alternative career options. (They) are mobile and likely to be drawn to all the attractions of the private sector, in particular the banking industry," he told the House.

The salaries of administrative officers are paid based on a benchmark known as SR9, the first Superscale grade. Those at this grade take home an annual income of $372,000 — an amount currently 103 per cent of the benchmark.

The benchmark is calculated using a formula pegged to the top earners aged 32 in the private sector. As the salaries of these superscale grade civil servants are "currently near the benchmark" of $361,000, there will not be any adjustment to the monthly salaries or in the grades below, explained Mr Teo.

However, there will be the introduction of a performance-based payment of between 0.5 and 0.75 months' salary.

This payment, together with the higher Gross Domestic Product bonus paid out this year, will bump up their pay packets by 3 per cent to $384,000 a year.

About 36 per cent of this revised package will be variable — depending on how the officer and the economy perform.

The salaries for those between the first Superscale grade and the entry-level grade for ministers and senior permanent secretaries will be adjusted accordingly, by between 3 per cent and 33 per cent.

In his speech, Mr Teo said it was important to note that the benchmark was determined using salaries received "almost two years ago" — in 2005. The market for such "talented young professionals" is a very competitive one and it is realistic to expect that market salaries have gone up even more since then, said Mr Teo.

He hinted that it was possible that administrative officers could see their salaries revised again in future, depending on the market forces in the coming months.

"We will watch private sector salaries at the SR9 benchmark carefully. Should we see the market moving, we will move promptly to make a further adjustment, later this year if necessary," he said. - /fa

[kazuki]

No raise for admin officers, but ...
The salaries of administrative officers are paid based on a benchmark known as SR9, the first Superscale grade. Those at this grade take home an annual income of $372,000 — an amount currently 103 per cent of the benchmark.

The benchmark is calculated using a formula pegged to the top earners aged 32 in the private sector. As the salaries of these superscale grade civil servants are "currently near the benchmark" of $361,000, there will not be any adjustment to the monthly salaries or in the grades below, explained Mr Teo.


$372,000?!

Lets divide it by 12mths. Isnt that abt $31000 per month?!:o
Did they insert a zero by mistake???
Thats hell of A LOT for someone in the late 20s and early 30s...:prayer:

[Hades]

haiz... only civil servants and govt sectors pay increase. We people working outside the sectors no pay increment and yet still need to pay stupid tax, topping up their pockets for those people that I mentioned above :bang:

[jdelpiero]

$372,000?!

Lets divide it by 12mths. Isnt that abt $31000 per month?!:o
Did they insert a zero by mistake???
Thats hell of A LOT for someone in the late 20s and early 30s...:prayer:

u made a very big mistake..

still got 13th mth AWS ok..

so it's $372,000 divide by 13..
which is only $28,615.40 per mth ok..

i dunno if it includes performance bonus or such lah..
but dun say them lor,
ppl very kang kor then can pay for that house on Bukit Timah Road ok..

[Koo]

Ehhhh, some sources say the combined bonus of those "people up there" is 5 moths, so is it counted as 18 months or what.......:thinking: I personally think better of paying some FT elites like Bill Clinton to run the show there, I dun mind providing him a few " white uniform maids with u know what logo" for his "entertainment" as part of his bonus. :laugh:

[kazuki]

u made a very big mistake..

still got 13th mth AWS ok..

so it's $372,000 divide by 13..
which is only $28,615.40 per mth ok..

i dunno if it includes performance bonus or such lah..
but dun say them lor,
ppl very kang kor then can pay for that house on Bukit Timah Road ok..

I knew someone will wanna dig on the 13th mth.:hello:
Like u said, even with 13th its $28,615.40.

And for information, i dun think it should say as "only". Thats already is an enormous sum already.
At least i am earning less than 10% of that now...

Dun bother adding in the so call mid yr, PB or end of yr annoucment bonus. These are unfixed bonus, so they wont have been calculated in...

[jdelpiero]

Anybody here understands what sarcasm is?

[Decade]

come come join me in the statboard.. the dark side

[kazuki]

Anybody here understands what sarcasm is?

Is that supposed to be a qns coz u dunno(cant be bah...)
Or is it just sarcasm?:P


In case anyone's english is as poor as mine, and dun understand its full meaning:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sarcasm

[Koo]

Wednesday April 11, 10:38 AM

Singapore PM's salary stuns White House official

AFP


A senior White House official on Tuesday admitted he was floored by the news that Singapore's prime minister earned five times more than US President George W. Bush.

"I'm going to emigrate and run for office in Singapore," the official said on condition he be identified only as "a senior administration official who sits in disbelief after reading that story."

On Monday, the Singapore government had announced a fresh 25.5 percent pay hike for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, boosting his salary to 2.05 million dollars per year.

Bush gets paid 400,000 dollars per year for doing his job, according to the White House.

Combined with personal investment income, he and his wife Laura reported 618,694 dollars in taxable income in the 2005 fiscal year. They had to pay 187,768 dollars in federal taxes.

But maybe Bush shouldn't feel so bad. The Singaporean's paycheck is eight times fatter than Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's.



US persident Bush is unlikely to get his pay increase by around 10% of his former salary/allowances/expandences. The US congress will show him the middle finger this time and any time for the f$#k job he has done for US. He is will need to see/learn into the policy of SG to get his pay rise.

I wonder if LHL change his work with bush, see if LHL will cry for papa or mama or not.:thinking: Social problems seem to grow like wild fire here and the "goverment" has done little to ease the problem.

[kazuki]

Actually there isnt really right or wrong in politics. Bush is abit like his dad, they are more towards hero and protecting others. Some may not like it this way. Some may... Its very up to individuals...


Cry for papa have use meh? He already how old le. Say something touchwood, dunno how many more yrs he can go also...:|



Btw, that time when GST was increased to 7%, what was the reason? Poor economic???

[Lord Nike]

Did anyone watch parliment last night? Alot of MPs KPKB and apparently not happy about this.

Then you seen the other senior ministers sitting showing black face when the GRC MPs are not happy about this.

[kazuki]

Did anyone watch parliment last night? Alot of MPs KPKB and apparently not happy about this.

Then you seen the other senior ministers sitting showing black face when the GRC MPs are not happy about this.

U caught MM's face?:| I think he not very happy too...[-X

Then Teo also defended so heavily sia. (scare his pocket kana dig out, issit.:laugh: )

[wyvern]

I thought MM and other ministers should have expected this turn of events when they decided to release the plans for increment. If they do expect this to come, then they should come up with a better reason to explain this decision and not just sitting there and show their expression...:)

[kazuki]

I thought MM and other ministers should have expected this turn of events when they decided to release the plans for increment. If they do expect this to come, then they should come up with a better reason to explain this decision and not just sitting there and show their expression...:)

Maybe the reactions from the public were much bigger than they expected?

They could be still believing that ppl will swallow it and grumble quietly at home...

[gogetter]

Get so high a pay rise still not happy then those that didn't even get 1 cent pay increment must go jump in the river liao. Does public opinion really affect them, I don't remember any unpopular decision being reversed due to public unhappiness.

[Decade]

what yew wants.... yew gets

[Lord Nike]

Get so high a pay rise still not happy then those that didn't even get 1 cent pay increment must go jump in the river liao. Does public opinion really affect them, I don't remember any unpopular decision being reversed due to public unhappiness.

I think bottom line we're only complaining about the timing

Such a drastic rise in pay when the public already felt a few tugs for the past year

1. 2 Billion fine becuase of the Shin Corp deal in Thailand

2. GST increase

3. Higher taxes & bills overall

4. Inflation

If we didn't have these things before then if govt's own surplus of funds should be ulitilised for the pay hike and not the expense of hardworking Singaporeans

[kazuki]

what yew wants.... yew gets

whahaha

This is definitely one of the best quote of the year!=D>

[kazuki]

Here's the latest updates on the increment saga

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/070412/5/singapore269781.html

1st MP to donate her increment.

Now we will cfm see more following suit.

So fun to see that its going out of control.:yeah:

[Lord Nike]

So we pay taxes and PM gets ludicrious amounts of cash (Why he never learn from NKF Mr Gold Tap?) then PM donates a lump sum back to people who need it. Has he become some form of charity?

Now the top carrot heads of state cannot talk their way out of this so they show gestures of good faith which still sadly for them doesn't amount to anything.

I call on the senior ministers to just admit they just got greedy.

PUBLIC APOLOGY followed by PUBLIC CANING! Thats good entertainment!

[cyc]

pple of certain status (especially business) have a budget for charity annually... they need to do that so that pple don't get tu lan of 'em earning so much and not giving anything back to charity...

from wht I'd read in the paper, our PM will donate 600k annually, which amount to 3M over 5 yrs... if he has a annual charity budget, u got to keep whtever he's earning now... even if he doesn't have a budget set aside for charity, 6 yrs later, if someone comes to him and said "PM, donate leh", he can simply answer "u think I goldmine ah? I'd juz donated 3M liao, I'm also drawing salary one ya know?"... whtever it is, the amt donated to charity still goes under his name in the book...

so, whether or not he donates to the charity, it still doesn't hide the fact that the govt made a bad decision...

[kazuki]

Actually speaking abt the donation, who or what will be making sure it will be happening???

We arent like foreign countries who have balanced political parties to watch each others for mistakes. In sg, its one party all the way...L-)
So who will play the watch-dog role for this???:thinking:

[cyc]

MP's son : "hey dad, wht r u getting me for making it to the Havard?"
MP : "anything u want, dear" :)
MP's son : "wht abt a personal jet? I can travel from state to state during my vacation in US"
MP : "err... that would cost a bomb!"
MP's son : "I thot u'd said anything I want?"
MP : "hmm... lemme discuss it with ur mom"
MP : "eh dear, our son wants a personal jet"
MP's wife : "that would cost a few millions, r u sure u can afford?"
MP : "lemme ask my boss, we haven't had increment for yrs"
MP's wife : "oh yeah, it's abt time... I was worried that I couldn't frequent that LV store after the GST hike... they owe it to us man, for hiking that damn GST"
MP : "wht do u think they public would react to a pay hike?"
MP's wife : "LOL do u guys even care? not that they can do much anyway, for christ's sake"

[kazuki]

U can be script writer liaoz.:D

Best Story of the year goes to u lah.:salute:

[darkmaul]

today newspaper under voice section some1 mention our president doing nothing and y he earn more then our PM.... LOL...

[Miracle]

Seriously I also don't see why they should increase so much.

Where is this additional money going to come from? Tax payers right? If so, why not reduce the tax of the lower income group? Or use it to offset more GST?

And what's the rational of comparing with the private sectors? Is there proof that the public sector is losing employees due to pay? Or is there something wrong with their structure? And is the public sector losing people in the first place?

[Hades]

Seriously I also don't see why they should increase so much.

Where is this additional money going to come from? Tax payers right? If so, why not reduce the tax of the lower income group? Or use it to offset more GST?

And what's the rational of comparing with the private sectors? Is there proof that the public sector is losing employees due to pay? Or is there something wrong with their structure? And is the public sector losing people in the first place?
The tax is lower by 1% or 0.5% (can't remember well) this yr comparing to last yr. I've just file my income tax and came across about the % rate for the table within this and last year. But to me, it doesn't affects much for that minor percentage count :(

[Koo]

Brought some news back personally as working near parliment house.

I confirm saw some MPs driving out of parliment house after the "meeting" in some vehicles unfit for their driving like a Toyota Carmery, Honda Odyssey (it was carrying "4 white monkeys"):thinking:


The police have shown proper respect to MPs!(only 1 policeman was seen saluted to a passing car out the gate. I think he work toooooo long sleepy rubbing eyes not saluting.)=D>

[Lord Nike]

This might be a little OT but indirectly related

SINGAPORE: From July, over 40,000 full-time NSmen will receive a monthly rank allowance of S$400, up by S$50.

Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean announced this at the launch of NS40, a series of events to commemorate 40 years of national service.

He also said a group of key appointment holders will get a 20 percent increment in rank allowances because these people are required to serve longer in-camp training (ICT) and are made to carry heavier responsibilities.

Mr TCH now trying to cover backside by doing this now. Only shows his admission of guilt after kena shot down by the GRC MPs in parliment. =))

Drawing from his experience as former Minister of Education, Mr Teo said the decision to raise the salaries of teachers was crucial in making the teaching profession attractive.

He said teachers used to suffer from low self-esteem and did not enjoy the respect of the public.

But higher pay and better work conditions helped to change that.

Mr Teo also lauded Prime Minister Lee Hsien's Loong's decision to donate his pay increase to charity.

He said: "The PM was very clear in his reasons. He said he was doing so because he wanted to be very clear in his own mind and in everyone else's mind, that when he makes the call to do this, he is not directly an interested party, that he's not going to take the pay increase.

"And he was also very clear that donations to worthy causes are a private matter. And I think all of us make donations to worthy causes and I don't think we want a public ostentation in the way we donate, how much we donate, who we donate to."

How deluded does he think the public is? Does that mean ministers have low self esteem also? Did not get the respect of the public? WTF? I suppose all those golf games at Tanah Merah Country Club seems to give them the high esteem needed to run in office.

One other thing about donations. Sure its good for charity.

But when we pay taxes and those taxes go into his pockets and he chooses to donate when he says its "out of his heart" when the money wasn't his to begin with. And being selfless isnt about donating other people's money.

Dr Balakrishnan, who is also Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, cautioned about the repercussions on the poor and needy should Singapore languish without having "the best possible" political leadership and civil service in place — a point that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had also touched in Parliament the day before.

He also refuted suggestions that Mr Lee's decision to donate any increase to his $2.5 million pay over the next five years to charity was a last-minute, face-saving measure.

"His decision was made quite some time ago," said Dr Balakrishnan.

"I want to categorically tell everybody this was not a decision that he made under pressure. It was a conscious, deliberate decision made by the Prime Minister using his heart and his head to make what I believe was a wonderful gesture."

Typical "Cover Each Other Backside" Tactic. Makes Plausible Denial easier to swallowed by the public if someone else vouches for the other.

SINGAPORE: The Police have rejected an application made by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) to hold a public forum on Friday.

SDP had planned to conduct a forum with foreign speakers at the Sheraton Towers Hotel on 13 April.

But police said a permit will not be issued on the ground of public interest.

Similarly, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) also rejected SDP's application for professional visit passes to be given to its overseas speakers.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says Singapore politics is reserved for Singaporeans and foreigners should not abuse their privilege by interfering in domestic politics.

It is an offence to organise a public forum with foreign speakers without a permit.

It is also an offence for foreigners without professional visit passes, to be speakers at the forum.

MHA says like all other political parties, the SDP is free to express its views and organise political activities in Singapore within the law.

Well we can guess WHY govt don't want people to gather LEGALLY to discuss a certain matter.

[kazuki]

Why do u think no one uses the Speakers Corner?:laugh:
One have to register the topic and your particulars at the police post there lor.L-)

Ya, thats the freedom of speach we are given...:prayer:
With this kind of treatment, how can they call our country a 1st world country? Its as gd as those ancient kingdom days when commoners will listen to orders of king and pay tax. Same situation as now!:o

[cyc]

Singpoare is a democratic country, rite? why not let the pple vote on the pay hike issue? if they can even get a 20% vote to their favour, let 'em go ahead and increase the pay... now with technology for online voting, voting can be done securely and cost effectively... as a taxpayer, I rather waste the $$$ on voting... remember the last time they hike the govt's pay, big hooha but still they went ahead... this time round, it would be no different.. and I can assure u that this won't be the last and the pay will only go up not down... I hope I can live long enuff to see the president getting a 5M annual income...

[bryando88]

Bro CYC,
Dont think you need to worry....at the rate they going, will be over 5M sooner than you think. Now PM alreadi 3.1M.....by the next elections in 4years' time, another 60% of that, alreadi 5M liao!!!!

[kazuki]

Who had ever said we are a democratic country?:laugh:
Dun make me laugh.

[bryando88]

Well....we are a democratic country in a way....

You have a choice to keep quiet and do whatever the PAP says.....

Or you can make noise but still do whatever the PAP says, cause they gonna ignore you anyway!

[cyc]

Bro CYC,
Dont think you need to worry....at the rate they going, will be over 5M sooner than you think.

in that case, I hope to live long enuff to see the President get 10M annually :D

[kazuki]

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/070413/5/singapore270006.html


This is more interesting to watch than the hk dramas.:laugh:

[cyc]

When asked if he would donate his pay increase, Dr Balakrishnan said: "I will follow the Prime Minister's advice in that we do not believe in ostentatious generosity. Generosity should be a private matter, and something which all of us should do out of our own discretion. So I don't think any minister is going to engage in this public ostentatious display of generosity."

typical politican, never answer a simple "yes" or "no" question...
wah lao, juz answer "it's MY $$$, I will NOT donate my hard-earned $$$" can liao... nobody will laugh at him one coz all the MP sama sama

[kazuki]

typical politican, never answer a simple "yes" or "no" question...
wah lao, juz answer "it's MY $$$, I will NOT donate my hard-earned $$$" can liao... nobody will laugh at him one coz all the MP sama sama

Who have balls to say that lor.:thumbsup:

So far only one MP did that. Heard that she is quite rich wan, so i guess thats why she can afford to do that...
(good way to path her road to be the MP again for that area=D> )

[superzeroes]

Frankly speaking, i am considered half a civil servant..but i was not "benefited" or should i said, i din get any pay rise..cos i m employed by a so called private firm.....blessing in disguise?! stll to see...

anyway..Wat i can say is, alot of things are not really within our control bah..unless u wanna be another Doc Chee? or Chiam See Tong? Low Thia Kiang? And even then, do u think they can do much now? (though i really admired their spirit contribution and courage) I think wat's impt is, the paper will never be able to hold on to the fire ...take the NKF case for example. for many years, nobody fault them until they bcome too big and too high for their own good..and i can only say, they (durai' and his men) digged their own grave. And dn ever underestimate "people's power"...if they are able to see this "hidden" threat or time bomb waiting to explode. they will know how to "put off" this fire soon enough...

Meanwhile..Just work harder or work longer , or even work smarter to earn that extra dollars to make us richer..and live a little bit more comfortable if we can...:supz:

[Koo]

Meanwhile..Just work harder or work longer , or even work smarter to earn that extra dollars to make us richer..and live a little bit more comfortable if we can...:supz:

I agree with superzero's sayings but better put aside some gold/greenbacks(USD $$$) for a "big rainy day" as "their days are number/counting down". I can say the "white uniformers" can go away in many ways but there is likely a lot of panic/chaos for sometime when "the event" happens. (too many senarios I can think of but dun share here...... danger ..... danger)

[SiaoMouse]

According to a government announcement Monday, the prime minister of Singapore will draw an annual salary of slightly more than US$2 million starting next year.

For the price of one Lee Hsien Loong, we could afford to hire:

(1) one US President: President George W. Bush: US$440,000
(2) one UK Prime Minister: Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain: US$370,000 (187,000£)
(3) one Japanese Prime Minister: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan: US$360,000
(4) one German Chancellor: Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany: US$350,000 (261,500 euros)
And still have about half a million dollars left over.

Imagine the world as a giant company.
What our PM want is equivalent to a toilet cleaner wanting a salary higher than the company's CEO.
What's more, the job of this toilet cleaner is not in charge of the whole toilet, but just a single toilet bowl.
Singapore, claimed PAP, is a 1st world standard country(Swiss standard).
Our worker's pay are below 1st world standard & yet, our government ministers' salary is higher then 1st world standard.

Please explain the logic behind this.

[kazuki]

According to a government announcement Monday, the prime minister of Singapore will draw an annual salary of slightly more than US$2 million starting next year.

For the price of one Lee Hsien Loong, we could afford to hire:

(1) one US President: President George W. Bush: US$440,000
(2) one UK Prime Minister: Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain: US$370,000 (187,000£)
(3) one Japanese Prime Minister: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan: US$360,000
(4) one German Chancellor: Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany: US$350,000 (261,500 euros)
And still have about half a million dollars left over.



Hey! Then we can just headhunt them in lor!!!!:o
They are easily the leaders of the top and best countries on earth now. We cant deny their capabilities and leadership. Neither do i think they are any less capable than our own.:salute:

Its like paying $1 for a experienced worker and paying $5 for an intern for a same job...
Which one is more able and worth the dollar to complete a given task?

ppl of sg, we really shouldnt be just sitting back and grumble behind the monitor anymore. They are doing all these coz they know it deep in their heart that we commoners have no guts to stand up with our own tots.

Are we a democratic country?
Are we getting what we paying for?
Are we even having a say in our own country?

We always have to rem that its not the ruling party that runs a country, its the ppl that do.
Once things get out of their hands, they will have to submit to us in the end too...

[Lord Nike]

What i find funny is that they say the reason is to keep the salaries on par with top private sector pay.

The way i see it our govt is already like a peusdo-Monarchy

PM & MM is directly related. How many govts in the world have such thing?

I won't be suprised PM's kid will become our kids next PM in the future.

So like in army context we can suck thumb since we cannot question CO or we kena DB.

We live in a glass jar

[jdelpiero]

Are we a democratic country?
Are we getting what we paying for?
Are we even having a say in our own country?


No,
No,
& No.




We always have to rem that its not the ruling party that runs a country, its the ppl that do.
Once things get out of their hands, they will have to submit to us in the end too...

And therefore the iconic words spoken by V in his Vendetta..
People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people. (paraphrase of Thomas Jefferson)

But with such total control over all media and the complete shutdown on political dissidents..
what can the people really do?

Such 'transparency' and 'responsibility' to the people of SGP is quite worthless when there is nothing that anyone can effectively do about it.

Singapore has always been a dictatorship,
hidden by the soft velvety caress of democracy.

[kazuki]

What i find funny is that they say the reason is to keep the salaries on par with top private sector pay.

The way i see it our govt is already like a peusdo-Monarchy

PM & MM is directly related. How many govts in the world have such thing?

I won't be suprised PM's kid will become our kids next PM in the future.

So like in army context we can suck thumb since we cannot question CO or we kena DB.

We live in a glass jar

I am not being cruel, but i think they dun have a very capable 3rd gen... (goes very well with the chinese saying that "wealth doesnt go beyond three generation")

Which is why many ppl are waiting for 1-2 more rounds of GE. By then "he" should be gone and thats when the game really start...:salute:
I strongly believe that ppl and the world are giving "him" face. Big changes will happen when "he" is gone...

[jdelpiero]

By then "he" should be gone and thats when the game really start...:salute:
I strongly believe that ppl and the world are giving "him" face. Big changes will happen when "he" is gone...

Why would ppl give 'him' face then wait for him to die?

the comment is quite odd lah.


and i would be of the opinion that a man as canny and astute as 'him',
would have put in place controls that would ensure powers stay within the 'family' somehow.

[kazuki]

Why would ppl give 'him' face then wait for him to die?

the comment is quite odd lah.


and i would be of the opinion that a man as canny and astute as 'him',
would have put in place controls that would ensure powers stay within the 'family' somehow.

well, at least that's what i am seeing lah.
Different ppl have different pov in issues mah.;)

This "man" is very well respect in the political world for what he have done to build sg from nothing to now. No matter what we still have to give him credits for that.

[cyc]

ppl of sg, we really shouldnt be just sitting back and grumble behind the monitor anymore.

if u've solution for this hike exercise to stop, do share it with us :D
the way I look at it, even if u've 100, 000 pple protesting/riotting, they'll still go ahead with plans... then, they'll build a 100 storey prison in Palau Ubin to house all the protesters... ISA is very powderful one leh

[Koo]

Dun worry to much so they are "throwing bowling balls on their feets again". Work harder and hopefully make up the money "lost" but remember to take "revenge" in 2011 election.(your votes counts so do it wisely) In many news outside reported, they have comminted what is called polictical suicide manevours. (kekekekeh my imagination is running wild again........)

[kazuki]

if u've solution for this hike exercise to stop, do share it with us :D
the way I look at it, even if u've 100, 000 pple protesting/riotting, they'll still go ahead with plans... then, they'll build a 100 storey prison in Palau Ubin to house all the protesters... ISA is very powderful one leh

But do they ever listen to what the public gotta say?:sing:

They are doing it the very ancient way.
"U wanna revolt? Apply 1st. Approve or not, we shall see"
"We dun have enough money?(never this situation though) Just input tax on commoners lor. They cant do anything to us too."