Opposition parties criticise ministerial pay hike, question need for high salaries to draw talent

SDP: “DEEPLY INSENSITIVE”

SDP vice-chairman Bryan Lim said his party “strongly opposes the government’s decision to increase, yet again, the salaries of political office holders”.

“At a time when many Singaporeans are struggling with rising costs, job insecurity and economic uncertainty, it is deeply insensitive for ministers – already the highest-paid politicians in the world – to award themselves even more,” he said.

He pointed to rising youth unemployment and retrenchment figures, and increasing costs in housing, food, healthcare, transport and other necessities, adding that the government had itself acknowledged significant external uncertainties and slower long-term growth ahead.

“The government’s justification that ministers must be paid more to attract and retain ‘talent’ is equally unconvincing. Singapore has no shortage of capable people prepared to serve the public,” he said.

“They choose not to step forward because they refuse to serve in an administration that is both undemocratic and misguided by material wealth, not because of the pay.”

Mr Lim cited the case of former Transport Minister S Iswaran as a counter to the argument that high salaries are necessary to prevent corruption.

Mr Iswaran was initially charged with corruption and later pleaded guilty to four counts of obtaining valuable items as a public servant and one count of obstructing justice. He was sentenced to 12 months’ jail in October 2024.

“Integrity cannot be bought and public service should never come with a price tag of millions. Strong institutions, transparency, independent oversight and accountability – not enormous pay cheques – are the proper safeguards against corruption.”

He said the SDP advocates for political salaries to be pegged to the incomes of ordinary Singaporeans instead.

RDU: “PUBLIC SERVICE MUST INVOLVE SOME SACRIFICE”

RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon told CNA that the argument for high salaries to draw capable people into politics “turns public service on its head”.

“Singapore was not built by people who first asked what the government would pay them. It was built by people prepared to give up more to serve the country,” he said.

“If someone needs a S$3.6 million benchmark before he is willing to serve Singapore, then perhaps public service is not what he is looking for.”

Mr Philemon said RDU opposes the ministerial salary package, as “public service must involve some sacrifice”.

“If RDU were the government, we would slash these pay packages by half. A minister paid S$550,000 to S$600,000 a year would still live more than comfortably. That is still about eight to nine times the annual median income of a full-time employed resident in Singapore. It is still many times what most working Singaporeans earn.”

OPPORTUNITY COST EXISTS

On Tuesday, Mr Wong said Singapore must raise political salaries to have a “better chance” of persuading capable Singaporeans to step forward, warning that the gap between political and private-sector pay risks making leadership renewal harder.

The changes would give him and future prime ministers a better chance of building the strongest possible team, he added.

Bringing people with substantial private-sector experience into politics has grown harder since Singapore’s early years, he said.

“That matters because we cannot build our political leadership from the public service alone. I want people in Cabinet who have spent substantial parts of their careers in business or other professional fields, especially in running large organisations and overseeing complex systems,” he added.

Such candidates’ pay can run to several million dollars a year, still well above the revised political salaries, Mr Wong said.

“We are not trying to match what they earn. We never will. But when we approach people of that calibre, we cannot pretend that the opportunity cost does not exist,” he said.