Ministerial Salary Review
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Next time Obama will want his salary to be pegged to Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
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Originally posted by FireIce:
Ministerial salary review committee also proposes 51% pay cut for President, to $1.54 million http://bit.ly/wp2ZLI
WOAH!!!
tony tan must be thinking............... hong gan...............早知� tt time dun run.........
this clip will be very suitable to express how he feels now. LOL!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bEU7Yc80HQ
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so now we know.... straight from the horse's mouth
=> Grace Fu's thoughts on the ministerial pay cuts
if pay was not a factor, why is she harping on it? or does she think that people are mercenary... and since like attracts like, what does it say about her apart from maybe self-deception and double-talk?
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the pay cut is nothing. they still make enough to live like a king.
where do you find a job where you get credit for good results (whether it is your good work or not) but do not get the sack when something bad happens?
no amount of engineering can correct that.
its a genuine mistake lets move on.
blah blah blah...
they dont even have to apologize.
i am sick of all these people at the top. whenever there are good results they get all the credit. better pay, better bonus, stock options etc. whenever the economy is down they retrench those below to cut cost. or cut their salaries and cpf rates.
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they can quit if they feel the $$ is not justified for wat they are doing.
according to the national trend and encouragement from the govt, if singaproeans no want do, hire foreign workers to do loh
cheaper, better, faster, rite? (i think we need to put this into our national pledge)
then ministerial pay can cut 70% somemore.
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Lee Hsien Loong after pay cut die die still want to be the top paying politician in the world.
but his performance is that of third world minister or below lor!
Performance not world class, he wants salary world class. Damn, good for nothing!
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(UDPATED Thur 7:10pm: adding Grace Fu’s quotes)
Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said the public might have misunderstood the remarks she made on her Facebook page on Wednesday.
In her latest Facebook post made at about 5pm on Thursday, she responded to the barrage of comments critical of her earlier remarks by saying she is “honoured” to be given the opportunity to serve the people.
“Thank you for all your candid views. I respect all of them. I realise my last posting could have been misunderstood. The committee has done a thorough job with a substantial recommendation over a fairly emotive topic. I accept and respect the recommendations,” she wrote.
However, she also maintained her position about the tradeoffs of further lowering ministerial salaries.
“I am honoured to be given the opportunity to serve the people. However, it may not be wise to call for the tradeoffs to be tilted further to an extent that it dissuades good people from coming forward in future,” she added.
In her previous remark on Wednesday in response to the proposed salary revisions, Fu, who is also Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Communication, Information and the Arts, hinted that further reduction in ministerial salaries might deter anyone from considering political office.
“When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were,” Fu had said.
She added that, “The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut.”
However, she reiterated that it may not be “wise to call for the tradeoffs to be tilted further to an extent that it dissuades good people from coming forward in future”.
Prior to joining politics in 2006, Fu was CEO of PSA Corporation (Southeast Asia and Japan). During her 10-year career at the Singapore port operator, she steadily rose through the ranks, holding various appointments in finance and marketing before becoming regional CEO.
As of Thursday afternoon, her post had drawn over 730 comments with more than 821 shares. Most criticised her, questioning if local politicians were motivated by public service or by million-dollar salaries already deemed to be the highest in the world.
Unveiling its report on Wednesday, the Ministerial Salary Review Committee proposed a 36 per cent pay cut for the Prime Minister, a 51 per cent cut for the President and a 37 per cent cut for entry-grade ministers.
Facebook user, Raziff Hamid, wrote on his Facebook wall that in past decades when former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and the first generation leaders were in charge, people entered politics driven by their altruism, unselfish regard or devotion towards welfare of its citizens.
“However the same sentiments did not cascade down to the next generation either by the folly of their own policies or this is just an exception... sad day for politics,” he said.
Another user Ivy Tan said she finds it “disturbing” that local politicians are not motivated by public service.
She said, “You can have all the paper qualifications and impressive work experiences in the world, but if you’ve got no inherent passion for your job, you’ll never be able to make a big difference.”
Jia Jun Ng also noted on his Facebook post that the main objective in participating in politics is to be the bridge between the government and its people.
“If one has the passion for it to make a difference, why will this affect their decision to join? The pay cut is not that ridiculous judging from the current economy we are in,” he said.
‘Fu’s comments reasonable’
On the opposite end of the discussion, netizens have defended Fu’s remarks which they said were fair.
User Joshua Hoe Tian Ming pointed out that none of the posts critical of the minister’s comments have refuted her point that politics is a career in the public eye and that loss of privacy for the politician and his or her family is a huge price to pay.
The term "public service" also does not mean one must be poorly compensated, said Hoe. “Just because politicians are supposed to be serving society at large, including the poor and unemployed, does not mean their pay should be pegged to that,” he wrote.
“If they fail to serve, punish them by voting them out, not by a misconstrued notion that they only deserve what their poorest constituents are getting,” he added.
User Kai Li Tan also defended Fu, who is also MP for Yuhua, saying she was only voicing out her honest opinion. Tan noted that only an “idealist and simpleton” would expect those joining politics to serve solely for passion or the public.
“As much as I do not think it (is) justified to overpay our ministers or political office holders, I do believe passion alone cannot feed the stomach. Political figures or not, everyone has a family to care for and personal dreams and desires to achieve,” said Tan.
User Thian Beng Yap also took issue with the way some fellow citizens criticised MPs on every front without “any wisdom”.
While the government does commit mistakes, he believes in its sincerity to serve the nation, and that ultimately this same value will help win the country over, he said, adding, “Like some would say, politics is a thankless job.”_____________
How come the PAP MPs and ministers always accuse Singaporeans of misunderstanding them, why ah? The recent one was from Seng Han Tong. They take turns to tell us we misunderstand them. As if we are all retards.
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all it takes is an upward revision after budget day
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Originally posted by winsomeea:
She added that, “The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut.”Like that Grace Fu should never had joined politics.
She should quit PAP now.
I support Grace Fu in quitting politics. She should immediately quit PAP now.
Grace Fu, please leave now immediately.
I think it was completely wrong of Grace Fu to join politics in the first place.
Grace Fu, quit now.
I think Grace Fu being PAP MP is a serious and deep disruption of her career.
In order for Grace Fu to continue to pursue her private career without any disruption, she should without any delay whatsoever quite politics immediately.
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Originally posted by Dalforce 1941:
Like that Grace Fu should never had joined politics.
She should quit PAP now.
I support Grace Fu in quitting politics. She should immediately quit PAP now.
Grace Fu, please leave now immediately.
I think it was completely wrong of Grace Fu to join politics in the first place.
Grace Fu, quit now.
I beseech all PAP members to quit politics.
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Parliament also so many people.
I think the no. of seats should be trimmed.
Grace Fu should be one of those to go as being MP is extremely disruptive for her.
Relieve her of her misery.
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All in PAP should quit. They are in politics for money not for serving the public.
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it is the beginning of the end in the stories of all empires....
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1st misstep by MIW in 2012...
There goes the potential woman minister in MIW land
ACx -
Originally posted by Acx1688:
1st misstep by MIW in 2012...
There goes the potential woman minister in MIW land
ACxOh, you go by year to look at them. I look at the overall picture. Especially base on the time since the parasite useless Lee Hsien Loong took over as PM. PM stands for Problem Making, that is the job of Lee Hsien Loong.
Amazing a problem making minister can get the highest pay in the world. Shake my head.
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What was this Grace Fu trying to say? That money was not the motivating factor for her joining politics? That she took a cut in pay to join politics? ( someone better follow up carefully on what she earned before, and now \and whether she is now on any directorships etc) Mustn't short change the self sacrificial Grace Fu.
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Originally posted by winsomeea:
(UDPATED Thur 7:10pm: adding Grace Fu’s quotes)
Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said the public might have misunderstood the remarks she made on her Facebook page on Wednesday.
In her latest Facebook post made at about 5pm on Thursday, she responded to the barrage of comments critical of her earlier remarks by saying she is “honoured” to be given the opportunity to serve the people.
“Thank you for all your candid views. I respect all of them. I realise my last posting could have been misunderstood. The committee has done a thorough job with a substantial recommendation over a fairly emotive topic. I accept and respect the recommendations,” she wrote.
However, she also maintained her position about the tradeoffs of further lowering ministerial salaries.
“I am honoured to be given the opportunity to serve the people. However, it may not be wise to call for the tradeoffs to be tilted further to an extent that it dissuades good people from coming forward in future,” she added.
In her previous remark on Wednesday in response to the proposed salary revisions, Fu, who is also Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Communication, Information and the Arts, hinted that further reduction in ministerial salaries might deter anyone from considering political office.
“When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were,” Fu had said.
She added that, “The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut.”
However, she reiterated that it may not be “wise to call for the tradeoffs to be tilted further to an extent that it dissuades good people from coming forward in future”.
Prior to joining politics in 2006, Fu was CEO of PSA Corporation (Southeast Asia and Japan). During her 10-year career at the Singapore port operator, she steadily rose through the ranks, holding various appointments in finance and marketing before becoming regional CEO.
As of Thursday afternoon, her post had drawn over 730 comments with more than 821 shares. Most criticised her, questioning if local politicians were motivated by public service or by million-dollar salaries already deemed to be the highest in the world.
Unveiling its report on Wednesday, the Ministerial Salary Review Committee proposed a 36 per cent pay cut for the Prime Minister, a 51 per cent cut for the President and a 37 per cent cut for entry-grade ministers.
Facebook user, Raziff Hamid, wrote on his Facebook wall that in past decades when former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and the first generation leaders were in charge, people entered politics driven by their altruism, unselfish regard or devotion towards welfare of its citizens.
“However the same sentiments did not cascade down to the next generation either by the folly of their own policies or this is just an exception... sad day for politics,” he said.
Another user Ivy Tan said she finds it “disturbing” that local politicians are not motivated by public service.
She said, “You can have all the paper qualifications and impressive work experiences in the world, but if you’ve got no inherent passion for your job, you’ll never be able to make a big difference.”
Jia Jun Ng also noted on his Facebook post that the main objective in participating in politics is to be the bridge between the government and its people.
“If one has the passion for it to make a difference, why will this affect their decision to join? The pay cut is not that ridiculous judging from the current economy we are in,” he said.
‘Fu’s comments reasonable’
On the opposite end of the discussion, netizens have defended Fu’s remarks which they said were fair.
User Joshua Hoe Tian Ming pointed out that none of the posts critical of the minister’s comments have refuted her point that politics is a career in the public eye and that loss of privacy for the politician and his or her family is a huge price to pay.
The term "public service" also does not mean one must be poorly compensated, said Hoe. “Just because politicians are supposed to be serving society at large, including the poor and unemployed, does not mean their pay should be pegged to that,” he wrote.
“If they fail to serve, punish them by voting them out, not by a misconstrued notion that they only deserve what their poorest constituents are getting,” he added.
User Kai Li Tan also defended Fu, who is also MP for Yuhua, saying she was only voicing out her honest opinion. Tan noted that only an “idealist and simpleton” would expect those joining politics to serve solely for passion or the public.
“As much as I do not think it (is) justified to overpay our ministers or political office holders, I do believe passion alone cannot feed the stomach. Political figures or not, everyone has a family to care for and personal dreams and desires to achieve,” said Tan.
User Thian Beng Yap also took issue with the way some fellow citizens criticised MPs on every front without “any wisdom”.
While the government does commit mistakes, he believes in its sincerity to serve the nation, and that ultimately this same value will help win the country over, he said, adding, “Like some would say, politics is a thankless job.”_____________
How come the PAP MPs and ministers always accuse Singaporeans of misunderstanding them, why ah? The recent one was from Seng Han Tong. They take turns to tell us we misunderstand them. As if we are all retards.
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11 Replies
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Chew Bakar • Singapore, Central Singapore •Political offices are for those which want to serve the country not for those who want to take from the country.
"Ask what you can do for the country, not what the country can do for you." That's what make a great nation. If you cannot offer, please stand down, don't disgrace yourself.
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Originally posted by Clivebenss: They should learn from the fishes and knows when to keep their mouth shut to stay out of trouble.
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Originally posted by SevenEleven: They should learn from the fishes and knows
when to keep their mouth shut to stay out of trouble.
They greedy open mouth to eat the easy meat lor. The wise one only miss the bait.
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
Yes to this: Political offices are for those which want to serve the country not for those who want to take from the country.
"Ask what you can do for the country, not what the country can do for you." That's what make a great nation. If you cannot offer, please stand down, don't disgrace yourself.
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Is it just me or does singapore not have something like an annual report showing where they spend the money?
In Switzerland every canton's goverment send their citizen a annual report for the year showing how and where the money is spent.. -
Originally posted by Clivebenss:
They greedy open mouth to eat the easy meat lor. The wise one only miss the bait.
They want easy job coz they actually have no interest in public service at all. That motivates them to wayang wayang everyday, every month , every year to stay put to get the highest pay in the world.
Highest paid in the world but their attitude is way way below what is acceptable, no capability at all to lead. Treat Singaporeans and the country as gold and diamond mines to make themselves rich millionaires, billionaires. NO INTEGRITY, NO CREDIBILITY, NO SHAME, NO CLASS! Even some beggars have class , they do not have.
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Originally posted by motoway:
Is it just me or does singapore not have something like an annual report showing where they spend the money?
In Switzerland every canton's goverment send their citizen a annual report for the year showing how and where the money is spent..I doubt Singapore has it. If not you think why so many people are not happy about them not being transparent.
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If these people even have some "class" they won't discuss and quibble about their salary cuts and act as though it 's such a bloody big sacrifice on their part. If they are not happy , the door is always wide open! Go get a job in the "real"private sector (not Glcs)! They don't realise they have been having it good for the last 10 years or more! It is commendable that the PM redress this issue of overpayment-it's long overdue! It would be dis-grace fu for any one to be harping on their "self sacrifice" because of this long over due cut! Time to move on!
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those who defended her make no sense.
are we underpaying them? their salaries even after the proposed cut are still the highest in the world.
is that being unfair to them?
their so-called loss of privacy is a small price to pay for the type of salary they are getting.
please resign if you are so miserable. i am sure after quitting temasek will offer you a ceo post at one of the govt owned listed companies.