World's Best Paid Ministers See Salary Cuts

Wednesday, 04 January 2012, 23:24 IST   |    1 Comments
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Singapore: Singapore's politicians, the highest paid in the world, will soon see their unpopular multi-million dollar salary packages cut by at least a third but in spite of that they would remain top paid globally. To add to the woes of the politicians, the cut would be with effect from May 21, 2011, when the new government took office. The cuts were promised by new Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, to appease public anger after a landmark election in 2011. Though the city state has seen little impact of the global downturn, public anger has been on the boil as the income gap between the rich and poor Singaporeans has been widening in recent years. The sharp slashes recommended by a government-appointed Review Committee will see the Prime Minister himself taking a 36 percent cut in salary to still peg his perks at $1.69 million (SGD 2.2 million). This is still believed to be the highest salary of any elected head of government in the world, more than four times as much as Barack Obama, President of the United States, who gets $400,000 a year. The President's annual salary is to be reduced by 51 percent, to SGD 1.54 million, said Gerard Ee, Panel Chairman, while disclosing details of the recommendation at a press conference. The Singapore President holds a ceremonial post but with specific powers to veto government decisions on spending of monetary reserves, while the Prime Minister holds the powerful executive position leading the government. The Speaker of the Parliament would see the biggest salary cut of 53 percent, to SGD 550,000, according to a Channel News Asia (CNA) report. The ministers' annual salaries would be cut by 37 percent, to SGD 1.1 million, as per recommendations of the committee. The committee to review the politicians' salaries was appointed after the May 2011 general election as the opposition made it one of the major issues. It has also recommended changes to bonus payments, pensions and benefits under the new pay structure. Elaborating on the recommendations, Mr Ee said that the salary must be a "clean wage" with no hidden perks. The salaries would be pegged to the median income of the top 1,000 earners who are Singapore citizens and would be delinked from the previous pegging to the median income of the top 48 earners in Singapore, with a one-third discount. The report recommending the new salary structure was submitted to the Prime Minister on December 30. It would be debated in Parliament on January 16, according to a CNA report.
Source: PTI