NEVER A “POLITICALLY CONVENIENT” TIME
On Tuesday, Mr Wong announced that Singapore’s political office holders will receive a salary increase of up to 9 per cent, taking the sum to about S$1.2 million (US$0.95 million) annually for a minister in the lowest MR4 grade.
The changes will kick in from Oct 15 this year, after the government accepted the recommendations by an independent review committee that was appointed in December last year.
It is the first time since 2011 that ministerial salaries have been changed.
Responding to concerns that it might not be the best time to make the salary adjustments, Mr Wong said there is never going to be a “politically convenient time” to do so.
He pointed out that the review committee was convened in December last year and the expectation was for its work to be done around March or April this year.
“Of course, the conflict in Iran erupted earlier in February. So we decided then that our immediate priority had to be managing the immediate consequences for Singapore arising from that conflict. And since then, we have rolled out two support packages to help businesses, households, and families,” he said.
“The conflict in the Middle East has not ended. It may not end any time soon. But our domestic economic situation has stabilised. And that’s why I decided we should now deal with this issue rather than defer it yet again.”
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