{"id":84297,"date":"2026-09-12T10:08:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T02:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=84297"},"modified":"2026-09-12T10:08:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T02:08:01","slug":"a-less-contentious-debate-on-ministerial-pay-gives-pap-more-room-to-focus-on-leadership-renewal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=84297","title":{"rendered":"A less contentious debate on ministerial pay gives PAP more room to focus on leadership renewal"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013 Those anticipating a heated debate on ministerial pay in Parliament this week would have come away somewhat disappointed.<\/p>\n

The debate on this emotive topic, as both parties in the House characterised it, was shorter than observers expected and less combative than in 2012, when MPs discussed at length a new framework for political salaries.<\/p>\n

Those who had followed the debate would probably also agree that the PAP and WP appear to have found more common ground than before.<\/p>\n

This augurs well for the ruling party on what could have been a contentious topic.<\/p>\n

It also puts Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on firmer ground to focus on his priorities of leadership renewal and recruitment going forward, having no protracted back-and-forth with the WP casting a shadow beyond the debate in Parliament.<\/p>\n

In 2012, then Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean framed the debate as both sides of the House taking a \u201cmajor step forward to bridge the once-wide gap\u201d on the issue of ministerial pay. That 2012 debate, which spanned 2\u00bd days and had 29 MPs speaking, including eight from the WP, saw several drawn-out exchanges between the PAP and the WP on the formula used to calculate the pay and the reference pool that the benchmark pay is pegged to.<\/p>\n

But clashes aside, both parties affirmed the three basic principles that the new salary framework had used to determine how much ministers should be paid.<\/p>\n

These are: that salaries should take reference from the market to attract individuals of the right calibre to lead the country; that a discount should be included to reflect the ethos of political service; and that pay should be transparent and linked to individual performance and national outcomes.<\/p>\n

In 2026, it seems the House \u2013 which spent just over four hours on Sept 10 debating the issue \u2013 has further converged. Thirteen MPs made speeches \u2013 four PAP backbenchers, five Nominated MPs, three ministers and WP chief Pritam Singh. He was the sole MP from the opposition party<\/span><\/a> who spoke.<\/p>\n

Both political parties still agree on the three basic principles but crucially, the WP agreed with PM Wong\u2019s decision to increase ministerial salaries by up to 9 per cent.<\/p>\n

PM Wong said he would give ministers a one-off adjustment, subject to performance, rather than immediately take on the review committee\u2019s proposed increase in benchmark pay<\/span><\/a> from $1.1 million to $1.8 million for the entry-level MR4 grade.<\/p>\n

Tacit in the WP\u2019s agreement is that since ministerial pay has remained stagnant over the last 15 years, it should be raised, though the opposition party did not agree with the new benchmark pay.<\/p>\n

It preferred a more modest increment, derived from its pay formula proposed in 2012, which the party continued to stand by. This formula would have come up with a benchmark pay of $1.08 million in 2026, the WP said.<\/p>\n

Despite this, it seems the PAP and WP are closer in their stances, compared with other opposition parties outside the House that criticised the overall pay package and objected to having any increment at all.<\/p>\n

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While observers might have expected the parties to continue to cross swords in Parliament over differences in the pay formula, Singh did not push the Government further on taking up his party\u2019s suggested formula beyond his initial speech during the debate.<\/p>\n

Neither PM Wong nor Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing rebutted Singh on its formula, and there were no further clarifications from either side on this.<\/p>\n

Instead, there was stronger pushback from several Nominated MPs, who questioned the continued usage of the top 1,000 Singaporean earners as a salary benchmark, and proposed alternative models. Businessman Azhar Othman even mooted a larger variable component in the overall salary package.<\/p>\n

Much of Singh\u2019s clarifications centred on having more public information on the pay package ministers receive \u2013 in line with the WP\u2019s continued advocacy for transparency and accountability that it ties to its role as a check on the Government.<\/p>\n

He asked for more information on the actual remuneration figures, citing bonus ranges that had been provided for 2013 to 2017 but were not similarly made available for 2018 to 2024 when requested.<\/p>\n

To this, PM Wong said he would consider disclosing more information on the distribution of salaries and range of individual bonuses, while cautioning against a public popularity contest.<\/p>\n

The other topics raised by Singh in his speech lay outside the core of the salary framework \u2013 he questioned the continued relevance of the role of mayors and asked for a review of allowances for legislative and secretarial assistants.<\/p>\n

Overall, the tone of the debate was more restrained than in 2012, with less partisan discourse.<\/p>\n