Singaporeans will be going to the polls on 3 May 2025.
‘The government of the people, by the people and for the people’ is a powerful statement about democracy. In this commentary, I would like to relate it to how the pap ministers remunerate themselves .
Regarding the pap government’s mantra about what is wrong with collecting more money, Singaporeans are reminded from time to time that pap ministars are not paid enough and also paying anything less and we will not be able to attract high calibre people into government lalala, I agree with some of the arguments and statements but only to a certain extend.
Even in this time and age of ever rising consumerism and materialism, if one’s involvement in national politics is very much monetary motivated, the calculation about the pluses and the minuses, the credit and the debit, the demand of one’s time, the loss of one’s privacy and the potential opportunity of having more open doors going forward etc, then in the interest of all, one really shouldn’t be involved in running for public office.
Between pegging ministerial salaries to the top earners in the private sector and pegging it to the median income of the bottom, say 30% of our gainfully employed citizens but with a certain numbers of multiples, I prefer the latter for the simple reason that the bottom 30% of our working citizens need the government to go the extra mile for them to ensure that their income level rises much more than those top earners and if ministers’ salaries are pegged to their earnings and both parties’ interest are intertwined, we cannot rule out ‘miracles’ happening to their humble incomes going forward.
On the other hand, top income earners are totally capable of looking after themselves. They do not need the government’s help to make even more money than our bottom 30% citizens.
Very importantly, to me, to take reference from the top earners’ income to pay themselves gives a clear unfair and an inaccurate impression of the actual income of the vast majority of Singaporeans.
We must be mindful that the people are the source of government authority and that government exists to serve the people and not the other way around.
Citizens must have a voice and be heard in shaping government’s policies and lastly, government’s purpose is to benefit the people, protect their rights and promote and improve their wellbeing and in our case in Singapore, I say start with our bottom 30% gainfully employed fellow citizens.
Think.
Simon Lim
