Uniquely Singapore: PAP ministers raising their own pay by a hefty 8.8% ahead of the next election
February 25th, 2010 | 
Author: OPINION
With public anger boiling over its disastrous policies which have affected the livelihoods of many Singaporeans, one will expect the ruling party to reduce or at least freeze the salaries of its ministers to soothe frayed nerves, especially with the next election around the corner.
It is therefore most incomprehensible, outrageous and disgusting that it will be giving its ministers, senior ministers of states and parliamentary secretaries a massive 8.8 per cent pay hike when the majority of Singaporeans are either retrenched, unemployed or having their pay cut.
According to a TODAY report on 23 February 2010:
“Salaries for political appointments – ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries – are estimated to be $58.28 million, or 8.8 per cent higher than last year.”
[Source: TODAY]
Since a certain percentage of the Singapore ministers’ multi-million salaries is pegged to GDP growth figures, the salary hike is not surprisingly with the Singapore economy expected to grow by 4.5 to 6.5 per cent this year.
While it may be technically and procedurally correct to do so, most Singaporeans will find it hard to stomach another round of pay rise for their multi-millionaire ministers again given their dismal performance over the last few years.
What have they done exactly to justify their obscene salaries?
As Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stilgiltz has correctly pointed out, GDP growth is a very poor indication of the quality of life enjoyed by citizens in any country.
Singapore’s astronomical GDP growth in the last decade is fueled largely by the influx of cheap foreign labor and few safeguards for local workers which help keep labor costs down and therefore increasing the GDP as a result.
It does not take a genius to realize that GDP figures can be manipulated artificially and neither do Singaporeans need to pay millions of dollars to their ministers to do so.
Though Singapore’s GDP growth has been impressive, the fruits from the growth are not shared equally among all Singaporeans.
The income gap between the rich and poor has widen considerably saved for the last two years due to the global financial crisis which decimated the earnings of the very rich.
The median wages of Singaporeans remain stagnant at $2,600 monthly while the cost of living, especially that of public housing has sky-rocketed.
At the same time, the quality of life has declined – Singapore is the only first world country to be ranked outside the 50 most desirable places to live in the world in a survey conducted by International Living.
According to a UBS report last year, Singaporeans have the lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among the Asian Tigers – Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea though Singapore workers clocked the longest hours at work weekly.
We have a standard of living which is closer to Russia than Switzerland and many Singaporeans cannot afford to retire as their salaries are low to begin with and the bulk of it is tied up in mortgage loans for over-priced public housing.
From the escape of famed terrorist Mas Selamat Kasteri, the $8 million dollar investment loss suffered by the PAP Town Councils, over-crowding caused by too many foreigners, astronomical HDB flat prices to the lack of social welfare benefits for Singaporeans when the government can afford to lose billions of dollars saving foreign banks, all of these have the marks of incompetence, impotence and ineptitude stamped on them.
Do the PAP ministers seriously think they deserve a pay higher than that of U.S. President Barack Obama?
After mismanaging Singapore and screwing up our lives big time, the PAP has demonstrated to us once again with its unimaginative Budget this year that it is fast running out of ideas to govern Singapore.
Without reforming Singapore’s obsolete political economy dominated by its state-linked companies, there is no way for R&D, innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive in Singapore and for us jump-start our economy ahead the likes of China and India.
As Singaporeans are ultimately paying their salaries, the ruling party has the moral responsibility to justify to us why its ministers and senior civil servants deserve a 8.8 per cent pay rise when most people are simply struggling to get by.
It should come up with a KPI for each ministry and reveal to the public how the performance of each individual minister are being assessed.
Ministers who fail to perform up to standards and public expectations should be removed including the Prime Minister himself.
In addition, it is time to re-formulate the method used to derive the salaries of the ministers.
Instead of pegging it to the top six earners in society and to GDP growth figures, it should be brought down to more reasonable levels comparable to other first world countries like United States, Australia, Canada and Great Britain.
It makes no sense that the Singapore Prime Minister or a Senior Minister for that matter is being paid more than the combined salaries of the leaders of the G7 nations or a Minister of State earning much more than the President of China, the leader of a nation of more than one billion people.
If the PAP ministers have to be paid such high salaries to prevent them from being “corrupted”, then there is no difference in them being “corrupted” legally.
Where is the sense of public service in our PAP ministers?
Even if all their salaries were halved, they would still be more than enough to enable them to afford a decent standard of living in Singapore.
The fact that they dare raise their salaries ahead of the next election shows how confident they are of romping home with another electoral victory again.
Singaporeans should register their displeasure clearly when the time comes to”encourage” the PAP ministers to “revise” their salaries downwards by making them lose a few seats in Parliament.
There are plenty of talented Singaporeans who will be keen to serve the nation at a fraction of their cost if not for the PAP’s control and dominance of the political landscape here.
Posted in Opinion
101 Responses to “Uniquely Singapore: PAP ministers raising their own pay by a hefty 8.8% ahead of the next election”
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TR please do not criticise them now.
Save this for the elections.
Should we have children, please encourage them to join PAP for a good life.
It says salaries are expected to be higher
BUT it did not say if the pool of people receiving was the same.
It also did not say it was a uniform increase for all recipients.
So can you quote your source for your conclusion of “It is therefore most incomprehensible, outrageous and disgusting that it will be giving its ministers, senior ministers of states and parliamentary secretaries a massive 8.8 per cent pay hike when the majority of Singaporeans are either retrenched, unemployed or having their pay cut.”
Could it be that the number of people receiving has now grown 10% this year but budget for salaries only grew 8.8%??
Well Done Pappies! Too bad i only have 1 vote!
Well, if you can’t beat them, join them! Pity I ain’t scholar material, so they don’t want me.
If your salary is increased by 8.8% compared to last year by your employer, will u consider it a “hefty increase”?
Will u be very grateful to your employer for the increase?
Will u treat your family to an expensive meal immediately?
personally, i think that a increase of 20% and above will be considered hefty.
Yes, lets not overreact.
Lets seek clarification from the Ministers’ salary master.
The point that Ministers are grossly overpaid is valid though. Their salaries should be pegged to the median pay of Singaporeans and the Gini coefficient for a fairer assessment.
To Disgruntled reader:
“Could it be that the number of people receiving has now grown 10% this year but budget for salaries only grew 8.8%??”
And so why should the number of people grow by 10%? Aren’t they suppose to chant fast, better, cheaper? Or does this mantra not apply to Elites?
The mgt at Enron and Worldcom are also very highly paid…..but they are corrupted to the core!!
Doesn’t having obscenely high ministerial pay attract the very people (i.e. the greedy money minded) we don’t want to lead the nation???
ANY AMOUNT of increment is disgusting!!!!!!!!!! esp. for political appointments – ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries!!!!!!!!!!!!! PUI PUI PUI!!!!!!!!!!!
To Disgruntled reader,
The people receiving the 8.8% increase in pay are holders of political appointments – ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries. Please read the TODAY sentence again.
There is no news that SG will have more ministers so that this group of people has grown by 10%.
How come when economy contract, their salaries never contract?
Only go up, never come down….
Hmmmm…. after ten years….. the ministers salary will be 100% more then present… cause all the current ministers will become SM, MM, MMM or watever sh**t terms PAP can think of. So we are actually paying these old farts for staying around and doing wat??
I say ask anyone who want to be SM, MM to pay a yearly fee to gahmen. At least we can earn something rather then see their total wages raise
aiya, get the bonus first, else if election lost, no more bonus. might as well get now!
this point is NOT given ANY airtime at all. even with many other blogs and sites. TR should lead the way in highlighting this. make sure people KNOW.
I will make sure my children do well enough to be a PAP scholar next time. Otherwise, they will be condemned.
These fellos are taking everyone for a ride.
Before GE, they increase their salary first, no problem just implement more tax hikes to balance it and they don’t give a damn if you people like it or not, the power is now in their hands to do what they like. When comes GE (which they will sure to win again, no worry they got the details how to win knowing singaporeans are all daft citizens to them) they will make another increament this time to tell you people that they are still the best, why? because you dumb people still vote for them what! stupid morons!
just my forecast, ok ?
PM Lee is giving his final Angpow to those who serve him.
He is considering retirement so as to enjoy his familee fortune
and of course with less attention from champion grumblers.
To Charles,
You are correct.
But need to keep in mind it is actually the ignorant who vote the papayas…not the ignorant fault at all.
And the GE is rigged in such a way, like GRC set up and all other BS rules/regulations bent out of shape to give the incumbent more lop side advantages that it barely look like a real people democratic GE!
Sad.
12.18 PM? Now, 8.8 pct?
Our smrt ministers seem as bothered by auspicious numbers as those casino’s visitors?
so,next GE 8.8.2012? huh?
By the look of it , senior MPs , PM and MM does not know how the local citizens are suffering . The reports from DOS and Jrs must be so good . If they know what is going on at the ground level , I think they will piss and shit on their pants .
After offering nothing in the budget to help ordinary Singaporeans who are unemployed and struggling to get by, these ministers are now giving themselves pay increment. Where are their morals??
So as you can see to us daft Singaporeans PAP means “Pay And Pay” (we pay until broke) and to them ministers it also means “Pay And Pay” (pay and pay in terms of increase in salaries to them). Wow, LKY the forecaster already foresaw this pay and pay thing in increases to their salaries more than 50 years ago when they named it PAP !
Who generated the GDP? Was it the GOV? No, it is the people/Citizen, why are they rewarding themselves where they are not the one generating the GDP. I don’t see how and in what way the GOV is generating GDP, without jobs and companies there will not be any GDP, did the GOV create jobs? No.
The people/Citizen work hard, GDP increases, they took opportunities to increase their pay. Did the GOV services work as hard? Answer is no, they just need to rob.
four reasons why gargantuan pay are a risky business.
1) hard to see whether they make the right decisions; ppl suffer from information asymmetry, and the results of politicians’ decisions play out years later.
2) gargantuan pay will attract those who are interested in high but steady income, even opportunists.
3) to get their pay, politicians may manipulate the system, against the interests of citizens.
4)Gargantuan pay can crowd out intrinsic rewards
Who said Singapore is not a welfare state.
Our Ministers and Civil servants are on the best welfare system on this earth.
PaPies already got the necessary NEW CITIZENS figures by ‘promoting’ the PRs, so their VICTORY is already SEALED, even if 100% of EGLIGIBLE VOTERS voted for the opposition.
And I say again, EVEN IF 100% of the ELIGIBLE VOTERS voted for the OPPOSITION, PAPies will STILL REMAIN in power, WHY?
USE YOUR FREAKING BRAIN, if Sinkaporeans still have one.
Emperor ever said, get your sense of proportion correctly.
what he meant was the salary of the team of ministers was only about 0.03% of our economy….without them there is no singapore, so they are kind of entitled to it.
Either we all are daft people or politician of the whole wide world are daft (who never know how to justify to pay themselves like how PAP did) Why not PAP do a IPO of multiple listing on various exchanges, if not possible, then package Singapore Inc, do a roadshow, market itself and get a big country to do a buyover so that you and your team can cash out in double quick time compared with milking the people everyday which is too slow for you, how about that? That will also fulfill you aspiration within your life time?
“This is not administration doing a job, this is entrepreneurship on poltical stage on national scale!”
Guys, just to let you see the ridiculous perspective of things, do you know that in the late 60’s the ministers’ salary was only $6,000 a month ! Go ask Othman Wok and Jek Yuen Thong. A new terrace house cost something like $12,000. A clerk in government service had a salary of $165 p.m., but yet technically they could still buy a terrace house if they wanted to stretch a bit.
So let’s look at the perspectives then and now and see how much our standard of living has improved in real terms :
a) Terrace house costing $12,000 = to 6 times of a clerk’s annual salary of about $2,000 then. Terrace house of today average $1,000,000 = 50 times of annual salary of a clerk today (13 x $1,500 p.m = $20,000). We are definitely worse off now than 30 years ago. Back then, a clerk could still afford to buy a terrace house (only 6 times his annual salary). Now it is almost impossible (he has to work for 50 years now).
b) Ministers’ salary of $72,000 p.a. = 6 terrace houses then. Their present $2m salary =2 terrace houses now. Ministers can still afford to buy 2 terrace houses a year under present circumstances.
c) Bus fare used to be average 10 cents (for short to medium distance) x 26 working days travelling to work and return = $5.20 or 3.2 % of a clerk’s wage of $165 p.m. The average transport fare (for short to medium dostance) is now about $1.20 per trip (not counting transfers). That works out to $62.40 over 26 working days or 4.2 % of average wage of clerk at $1,500 p.m. We are worst off than 30 years ago (in terms of cost) and only better off in terms of transport efficiency.
d) A bowl of fishball noodle or char kway teow was only 20 cents. It’s now $2.50 in most hawker centres ($3 in other places). That represented a price increase of 12.5 times while the salary of a clerk has gone up only 9.1 times. We are worst off now compared to then.
And there are many more other comparisons. Most things have gone up as our economy expanded. In the last 30 years the purchasing power of our workers at the lower end of the salary pyramid has dropped substantially while those in the upper bracket had been little affected. This co-relative increase and disproportionate growth rate is very alarming because the top end is distancing itself from the lower end. Ministers’ pay has gone up 27.8 times while an average clerk’s has only gone up 9.1 times. That’s outrageous and borders on Gecko greed. Because their pay is distancing from those of the lower rung the ministers have become irrelevant to understand the plight of Singaporeans at the lower reach of society.
They did not see the need to tweak the estate duty tax then (because most of the ministers then were still “working class”). Today they are all multi-millionaires and have built up sizeable estates, which upon their passing, a substantial portion of it falling above the the cut-off point would be subject to this “death tax”. And that is why they have amended the estate duty tax downwards a couple of times in the past. The situation becomes almost ridiculous now, that since 15 Feb 2008, estate duty has been totally abolished. Which means all multi-millionaires do not have to pay estate duty after their death. Which means all ministers would not have to pay estate duty too since they are all multi-millionaires.
THE CONCLUSION TO BE DRAWN FROM ALL THIS IS THAT THE PAP LEADERSHIP IS SERVING THEIR SELF INTERESTS, AND THEIR POLICIES ARE IMPLEMENTED MOSTLY FOR THE BENEFIT THE ELITES AND THE WEALTHY.
It is us poor daft citizens who made them rich at our expense.
Only in Singapore, will they give pay increment to those who have not perform well….but only selected group.
In America the maine street are so pissed off…
The Govt. used our taxpayers money for Wall Street…
To save a bunch of morons that take high risk bets…
All in the name of pay for performance…
Greed for money, celebrate the bonus culture…
Today these banks are once rewarding their staff…
With millions of dollars pay out again…
We need to keep these so call Talents that make $$$…
Can you re-called not so long ago…
These are the same guys that got us in recession…
American sure knows how to show it hey pal, WE ARE NOT HAPPY
“Salaries for political appointments – ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries – are estimated to be $58.28 million, or 8.8 per cent higher than last year.”
During hard times, we are biting the bullet…
These guys are still paid by millions…
Can you show us anyone that is suffering in Singapore???…
One of them threw a very expensive wedding party…
It come to show how much disposal income they had…
We need to benchmark our salaries to CEO standard…
90% of our Singaporean women believe it worth paying…
In Amercia these Bankers, CEO and CFO do face wrath of Senator “slashing out” on out them stop your Excessive salaries, Bonus culture with Reckless investment and Corporate greed
What do the 90% of Singaporean women say now ???
All Folks listen,
Get ready to fight with them all the way out if you ppl still got some backbones!!!!
Since they treat us like non-existence, which they are doing right now cos they have ald garnered enough foreigners% to vote them in, so we must also start doing something now before it is too late!!!!!!!
Go to kenneth lin petition call and sign up the petition. Get whoever you know who is ald sick of this current ruling party, go and sign up at kenneth lin 15yr old petition call!!!
Let the 15yr old boy kenneth lin and the others do the voice channel for all of us!!! Understand!!!!!
Go…Go….Go….SIGN UP NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Folks,
Allowing me to say this, can anyone in the cabinet including the PM, SM compared with our beloved late President , Mr Ong Teng Cheong.
He is a man of integrity. No amount of money , status, can every bribed him at all. He is the only roses among the PAPPIES that stands out till todate.
Even to that extend when he is on his term of presidency, he still fights for us in regards of questioning the reserves from the govt. And when he steps down, he goes back to his profession as an engineer in the architectual firm run by his two sons.
Which ministers in the cabinet and even that roti prata man’ Mr Naden’, includes PM, SM can ever rise up to that high standard of our beloved late President , Mr Ong Teng Cheong. None in this current one, all are full of greedy monsters and shits , and they need to be totally kick out once and for all!!!!!!!!
Mr Ong Teng Cheong is truly called the true elities scholar! We need leaders like him to rule us in Singapore!!! Let’s get all the ex-detainees like Dr Lim Hock Siew, Said Zahari, Chye Thye Poh back to the parliament to challenge all these idiots ministars and M&M. Becos these are the ex-detainees who has been with LKY during those times, so they will be the best leaders to lead us in the ERA.
Vote all of them out!! Vote for new govt! Vote all PAPPIES OUT!
Protest
You got it right and you also got it wrong. The late Mr Ong Teng Cheong was a naval architect (he was not an engineer). That part you got it wrong.
However, you were right in pointing out that our late ex-president was a man of integrity and high moral ground. Although he was on the high pedestal of political power (even before he became an elected President), he never showed his status. A lot of people have given the honour of the title “the people’s president” to the late Mr Wee Kim Wee. However, I think that title should also be shared with the late Mr Ong. I remember his eldest son sharing with us common folks an inside peek of how modest a life his father had led despite his power and his wealth. He was said to have a favourite dish – plain rice with fried egg (sunny side up) and Ma-Ling luncheon meat. That’s the food most Singaporeans on the lower economic ladder are familiar with. I don’t think LKY or LHL even know that such a dish exist (I see potatoes coming out from their mouth).
c.8% increment may not sound like a lot, but if you consider the average salary of our dear ministers at $2m a year, 8% increment works out to be $160,000! that is probably the annual salary of many high level executives in Singapore.
but there again, they always have lots of justification for it. they can say, this 8% is just a “small” restoration of the pay cut they took.
ha ha. head they win, tail you lose.
while i agree that it is disappointing that the salaries of the political appointees are going up and that GDP is not neccessarily a good gauge of the standard of living of the people nor an effective measure of the overall progress and development of a society and nation, i think it TR has cheapened its article by harping on its one and only ‘proof’ that Singapore’s standard of living is lousy: the ’survey’ by International Living.
I’d like to see the authors of TR live like an average person in Croatia, Latvia, Columbia, Peru or many of the other places that are supposedly more desireable to live in than Singapore for a year and then say that those places are better to live in than Singapore. having been to Peru, i can say for a fact that the average Singaporean will NOT want to to live there. and hearing my friend speak about Croatia… i don’t think many Singaporeans would want to live there either.
so. TR, please don’t reduce your own credibility by taking such cheap shots.
8.8 = LUCKY NUMBERS for MIWs…they must’ve consulted IR’s fengshui experts….HUAT AH!
Wait, what? These group of dogs sitting their asses all day behind a table are getting a 8.8% pay rise? I thought the mice of their country who pushes boulders all day and night needed it more. After all, mices are competing with the mynahs who steals their cheese every month.
Oh well, nothing mice can do! They’ll just have to work until they wake up, or die.
I think we should not jump the gun in assuming that the total sum budgeted, even though it may show a rise of 8.8 %, is due to provision for annual increment to the ministers and top civil and political appointment holders. As long as details of their composite parts are not given, or yet to be disclosed via parliamentary debate on each ministry’s budget, we do not have the privilege of facts to start any argument. At best, it’s all conjecture. So why raise a ruckus if, when the truth surfaces, it could be due to some other provisions for other issue, such as, maybe creation of a couple more ministerial or top civil service appointments, etc (just some uneducated long shot examples).
It is wiser to wait for more details to be provided before locking horns. The Budget will be debated soon in parliament, and the provision made for each ministry would come under scrutiny then. It is times like this that opposition party Members of Parliament become important – they must vet these figures and raise questions whenever the need arises. The electorate do not just vote them in as paper tigers to stretch their vocal chords for the sake of emitting phlegm as an entitlement to collect their monthly MP allowance.
I can put some confidence in MP Low Thia Khiang (WP) that he would probably do what is required of him and give the budget his due diligence reading, as does non-constituency MP Silvia Lim (WP) who would do likewise. However, I am not so sure of long serving MP Chiam See Tong (SPP), given his reticence lately.
Let’s wait for the details.
8.8% increase in salary?
They must be a bunch of idiots.
To : I Thread the Middle Path@ 9:58pm,
Thanks for pointing out that Mr Ong is a naval architect. I only recall something that he has an architectual firm run by his two sons. Anyway thanks for correcting and informing me this area cos i do not want to discredit this beloved late People’s President in Singapore.
Will correct it in future upon my future post comments.
Want to know what separates South Korea enduring success from us?
Historically, its politicians like the late President Park Chung Hee is well noted for his frugality, besides patriotism and strength of character serving their nation.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Park_Chung_Hee
And this
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/440680/1/.html
Just wondering aloud when are we getting there?
PAP is the legally the most greedy political party in the world.
It’s absolutely pure greed.
The PAP cronies are paying themselves a 8.8% increase in salary and in recession time ????
Is this what they reward themselves with after losing billions of our country’s reserves ??
They are shameless !!!! Pui PAP !!! Pui Pui Pui !!!!!!
@protest on Thu, 25th Feb 2010 9:09 pm
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT MR ONG MAN!!!
Gosh I miss him so much. I still can remember how he looked like on TV during Primary school times. visit http://www.ongtengcheong.com to read more about him!
and yes i’m super pissed with the increment. Don’t say 8.8% is an insignificant amount. 8.8% of $2m = $176,000 per annum, equivalent to $15000 increase per month! OH GOSH!!!
Do they really deserve such fat salaries? Don’t say if they don’t get paid so high they will leave for the private sector to earn more. You telling me that Lawyer minister ALVIN YEO is capable enough to earn $2,000,000 on his own by practising law when he only know how to play tai-chi and be ill-prepared for NUS political forum as he doesnt give a damn?
You telling me Teo Ser Luck can earn millions if he go private sector by playing sports and what have you? grrrrrr…..
Legalised corruption for unworthy ppl.
I actually thought that in order to garner support for the coming GE they would at freeze any raise in their current pay scale. But I am wrong and this piece of news really strikes me that PAP has really lost track with reality and shows nothing but contempt to the people of Singapore. Their arrogance and sheer greed must be the motivation for Singaporeans to vote them out before it is too late. In fact it is already late as we should have done the right thing in the 2006 GE with LHL as PM. Any rational person can see that we have nothing to lose to vote in a new government. Anything is better than this blatant display of kleptocracy! To add insult to injury, they make it legal! However what I fear is if PAP sense they are going to lose power, they might resort to another Operation Cold Storesque plot to eliminate opposition politicians and cook up some imagined crisis to declare martial law. Then Singapore is really done for!
Bunch of thieves and bandits.
Vote them out
Daylight robbery by gang of thieves and bandits.
Vote them out.
@BAH on 26th Feb 2010 1:26am,
Well, thanks for the link. I miss him very much also. Really got a very kind looking face. Like old ppl always says in chinese..xiang you sin sheng. Meaning, when a person heart is good, his or her face will somehow reflect it too.
Don’t believe? Then look at the true hereos face, like Mr Lim Chin Siong, Devan Nair, Dr Lim Hock Siew, Chia Thye Poh, David Marsahll,Said Zahari, Francis Seow, and many many others…
And then compare with the wicked and crooked faces, like LKY ,LHL, GCT, HO JINX, LBH, LSS, VIVIAN, BOTAK DARMAN, MBT, LUI, and many many others…They all got one kind of look that looks so crooked in their face if you thoroughly look right thru’ carefully.
In order to see changes and a new brand page from singapore, only few optiions:
To BAH @ 1:26AM,
1) Try to get all the ex-detainees back where LKY has cruelly locked up for years without trial. Let them form a party to challenge all these current PIGS and Donkeys. These ex-detainees are great influences. Cos they are in the same platform with LKY and they know LKY thoroughly and will know how to counter attack back !!! Moreover, after going thru so much of brutally detained in jail, they will understand ppl hardship and struggles and sufferings as they themselves suffer. They are the best ppl who know how to touch the grounds better than anyone else. We must find ways to bring them back, and singaporeans must united to support them and bring them to parliament to challenge this current idiot govt!!!!
2) Go to Kenneth Lin, 15yr old petition call and sign up the petition. Get as many ppl as possible who are ald sick and tired of this current party and fight for their own citizenship rights. This is our homeland. We cannot allow such a corrupted govt to rule us. As the saying goes: People should not fear the govt, it should be the govt fear the people. So give this young boy and others as an alternative choice to be a voice channel for majority of singaporeans here. Not many ppl dare to make such a big call and challenge the old man wan…
3) Try to get western side to engage in our singapore political climate and let them challenge the govt in singapore of being so dictatorship. Becos western side understand what is called democracy and human rights, they can be another alternative source of help to be pulled in and help singaporeans.
5)Vote as many opp. party in the coming GE. Better to have ard 20 opp inside the parliament to do the check and balance. Do not accept non-elected opp. becos non-elected cannot pass bills, only those who are elected opp. can pass the bills. So singaporeans need to vote in as many as possible. It’s not time whether opp can do the job or not, it is whether we singaporeans are willing to give them this chance to perform or not. There is no lose on singaporeans side since we ald being screwed up by this current one liao. So what’s the big deal , right? Just vote as many as possible for the opp. party into the parliament.
4)Last but not least, if everything above totally don’t works, this is the last resort which i think majority of singaporeans will want to avoid it as much as possible. That is civil disobedience. It is a proven method. As many countries, be it Asian or Western countries has done that, ppl get back their human rights and dignity based on this alone. It works during Marthin Luther times, it works on Ghandi in India times, it still works in today our times…This is the most powerful weapon and tool that can really set ppl free out from a dictatorship and abuse system that they been under for decades.
So i have said so much, it will reali up to you guys what to do next.
Start to make a Change now. Singaporeans really need to do it now before it is too late!!! Stand up for your own rights. It is every citizen’s their duty to do it to come against every unjust laws and systems….
Folks,
I notice someone have been using my ‘Protest’ name and post it to the cyberspace. I am referring to this guy or gal protest @26 FEB 2010 @2:40am,
Kindly pls use other names, and stop using the protest name that i have been using it everysince day one in the cyberspace. Don’t inmitate my protest name, ok? Pls stop it immediately. There are plenty other names that you can choose and take.
Thanks for your immeditate attention and action.
US Fed probes into Goldman’s Greece derivatives:
THE US central bank is investigating controversial derivatives transactions that Goldman Sachs and other US banks made with Greece.
MAS should probe into Goldman’s Shincorp deal with Temasek, and other US banks made with GIC too (example:Stuyvesant town project).
How many Singaporean workers got 8.8% increase in the last 10 years?
While losing billions of S$, yet they adjusted their salaries themselves.
These ministers already got an increment over 25% previously after raising GST from 5% to 7% in 2007.
They are a bunch of lunatics.
Reward yourself
b4 you say goodbye…..
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First…Predicting good eco grow of 4.5 – 6.5%.
Then, increase their salary by 8.8%
Next, ask NWC to recommend workers salary increase by 3.28%
Both nice numbers. Isn’t it?
Smart idiots.
This is absolutely disgusting! Is there no shame? Budget is having deficit in a streak and they can increase their pay? Isn’t it suppose to be the other way round? This is one of those unacceptable tatics that defy human intelligience! And did you folks realised that there is no mention on creating jobs or seriously decreasing self-created employment competition? Neither was there any mention on how the budget was in line with country’s aspiration? Is this a haphazard U-turn done in a stealth manner with no real solutions to the current problems that is affecting Singaporeans?
to fools like us:-who ask us to wait for details – THERE WILL BE NO DETAILS PURE OPAQUE SILENCE!
“As long as details of their composite parts are not given, or yet to be disclosed via parliamentary debate on each ministry’s budget, we do not have the privilege of facts to start any argument”
Precisely – details will not be given cos they are afraid of arguments and criticisms. Since when talking about our rights and democracy become a privilege to start any argument when we feel things are grossly wrong?
will we ever see anything like this in parliment ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxESjGmqqw4
Singapore has really come a long way….
From the days where the leaders worked tirelessly to build the nation (yes…MM included)…
To now where the leaders worked tirelessly to milk the nation (darn….MM included again)….
Election is the best and only chance to SACK PAP and restructure our economy to benefit locals so that Singaporeans can truly enjoy their fruit of labour all these years and see some daylight. LHL should call for an election without further delay.
now the MSM is furiosly spinning how bad other countries’ health system is compared to ours. more propaganda i presume.
“British hospital of horrors…”
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_495260.html
prior to elections then there will be more horror stories of how bad other countries or how horrible our neighbours are. shows they are doing a marvellous job and worth every million they are paid.
if you get invited for tea by your ministar MP in the upcoming election, do ask him what it feels like to be paid more than barrack obama. I seriously think they will shun this question at all cost..because I simply cannot fathom how they will go about answering that without any wayang!
after next election, it would go higher, pegging to Liew Mun Loong $30M.
so how? what would you do?
In one year, the PAP Ministers paid themselves legally more
than Chen Siu Bien corruptly received in 2 terms.
Yet the formers are expecting to pay themselves even more while the latter is facing the music in jail.
i hope those that oppose the policies of the present govt will do something swift and fast. time waits for no man. the ministers have also never hesitated to increase their pay . this is the world we live in.
We need to understand that money motivates everyone especially our ministers. The main reason why they are doing a half fk job is because they are only earning half of the bench-marked pay they set against the top professionals in the country. Since 50% pay = 50% job done, a 8.8% increase will definitely give them a little bit more motivation.
Please do not jump the gun, they are estimates. Trust me, we will definitely be spending less than the predicted $58.28m. I believe they have not factored in a few deaths, given the old age of the office holders and ability of cancer to transcend class status or wealth. I am hopefully expecting at least a saving of 9 million (3 x 3 million plus). It will not only cut spending but will also be for the long term good of our country. Let’s all pray
“Lee Kuan Yew has never won. Because he always cheat”!
Want more answers to pappy immunity and especially impunity???
8.8% is to increase the existing minister, parliamentary secretaries, etc or to increase headcount?
then what happens to the 3% cut in manpower or the `cheaper faster and better’ by LSS?
telling others to cut manpower to increase productivity while increasing own headcount? if not true then the 8.8% goes to increase the pay of present cohort.
So which is which? Or is this info of such strategic interests that lesser mortals with lesser morals have no right to ask? Like someone said – it is a privilege to argue, not a right to question.
All well timed, given themselves pay rise during property boom, buy as many units as possible with the increase in salary. Tighten the property market where supply gets lower, increase stamp duty and loan only up to 80%, filter out buyers who not willing to loan the extra 10% or pay extra stamp duty, filter these ppl out, make more units available to the already rich, these includes ppl who received the 8.8% pay rise. PM said houses are to keep, not for speculation, who are the ppl speculating? Obviously the richer ones, now the rich have more units in the market to pick so they can speculate, the 10% increase in bank loan and stamp duty are peanuts to them, who the GOV want to fool? Only the rich and speculate and make $$$ out from properties, those poorer ones who wanted hope and make a break into real estate investment.
Excuse me, why the million-dollar nerds of the miw clique need to justify the exorbitant increments of their annual million-dollar remunerations when they have in fact monopolized the whole government, public sector, private sector (through GLC—Singtel, SIA, DBS, etc, and specially selected cronies of the miw’s clique liken to Hyflux, Charles and Keith, etc, just to name a few) as well as the total control of 80% of commercial activities in this soulless and mercenary little-black-mark?
Without accountabilities and responsibilities as well as full control of jurisdiction and foreign relationship, who is in the position to held them for their under performance and non-compliance cum fulfillment of duties?
Cease wasting our efforts in complaining as we jolly well know that the million-dollar ingrates will just increase their already obscene million-dollar remunerations if they deem fit under the guise of parliament debate as per se!
how do you define corruption? the properties that the lees bought in the past were given a sizeable discount. so much so that they had to admit in public they got the discount and claimed that they donated it to charity. Is this corruption? heaven knows, earth knows, you know and I know.
No one dared to open an inquiry on this. No one.
Fucking PAPPIES! VOTE THEM ALL OUT! PLEASE!!!!!!
The late President Ong was truly a great man-morally respectable and full of integrity. He cared for Singaporeans and without him, we also would not have had our present MRT system.
Given his President mandate, he had every right to inspect his parameters of responsibilities. When he tried to locate the extent of our reserves, he was blocked and prevented by- guess who?
That’s why he held a press conference and announced his resignation. He made it clear that he will not be an elected President and be made a puppet to matters that he is not agreeable to. What does it say about the MIW when one of your own wants nothing to do with the party?
Till today, because of his stellar character and integrity, you cannot find any speck of character assassination from the MIW camp.
Similarly, imagine if President Bush had said that he would send in the army had he not been re-elected, it would have had been a global joke & embarrassment; but in Singapore, such tyranny is REAL. They learnt from the best bro-yo, Junta junta, come for tea? The banks are waiting..:)
8.8% increase in pay to summon immortals such as Charles Chong from the Heavens is considered normal. The religious mediums whom “Tiao Dang” also receive Ang Paos from their believers. Immortals also need to be paid before they will help you.
These f__king idiots pay should be peg to
- USA president pay * (size of SG / size of USA)
- inversely to the income disparity, the wider the income disparity the lower will be their pay, then they will take care to level up the lower income group.
darn it… the government has basically been corrupted! This is sad news to the morality of Singaporeans.
Our leaders, as asians, has shown no service to the country by paying themselves overwhelmingly in spite of the depressed wages of everyday Singaporeans. By this, they took away more than just money, they took away the ideals of humanity to ‘give’ as Singaporeans.
This “high-pay” job as a minister can only lead to more corruption, or an exodus of talent. The people with the proper ideals as enlightened leaders of people’s lives will only be pushed out by those who want to exploit the high-paying job. This system won’t last. That is my bet. The new generation of leaders will be heartless because one cannot deny, deep down in the heart, the disproportionate monetary returns by ministers with despite -ve GDP growth, strikes some kind of guilt-ish chord…
I heard the questions that were to be asked in the parliament were submitted to the person-in-question 1 week before its actually verbally asked on National TV. Is that true? It looks so staged…. on the pretext of “rationality” i suppose.
With unemployment remaining high, the government rewards itself with a healthy pay raise. Are we not experiencing a jobless recover? Unemployment rate has to be a yardstick to measure the government. If unemployment is not at its natural level, then the minister do not deserve their pay.
Back in their ivory towers, pap must have been thinking:”How best can we give ourselves a pay rise and make it publicly acceptable?”
After much research, deliberation and man-hours paid by taxpayers’ money, some scholar comes suggests:”Maybe we should present it as an auspicious number like 8.8% and announce it during the Chinese New Year.”
@#
George on Thu, 25th Feb 2010 4:01 pm
How come when economy contract, their salaries never contract?
Only go up, never come down….
What do you think? If I am the boss, of course i will pay myself more, right. And, since you people gives me the mandate, so, shut up and just Pay A Pay.
what happens if no one turns up for national day parade this year? what if nobody pay income tax this year? will the military (NS) obey pap or its people?
They should peg their salaries to the size of their brains
Citigroup CEO Pandit Took Home Just $128,751 Last Year
Business Insider | Feb. 27, 2010, 7:53 AM
(AP) Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit received $128,751 in compensation for 2009 as the bank suffered huge losses on risky investments and failing consumer loans, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing disclosed Friday
@(*#*(&!@$#&*!@#!!!
Here I am slogging my butt off to earn my keep and to keep up with my taxes. Another round of wage freeze announcements was released and I am still holding the same salary that I was 5 years ago! And this… in a company that is making profits!
Now, the civil SERVANTS are getting pay rises?!?
How can one not be cussing?!? When the economy is bad, the bloody NWC is telling all companies to either cut wages or freeze them!
When the bloody economy is improving, we have the NWC RECOMMENDING a wage restoration or a bonus.
The key word being RECOMMENDING!! that means companies have the discretion NOT to follow!
What ever happened to the restoration of the 20% CPF employer’s contribution?
8.8%!!! ()@*#)&**(#&$*(@& I dun even get to see an additional 10 cents in my pay! and they are getting an increase of 8.8 percent in the salary expenditure?!?
Who is getting tat 8.8%?
Grrr~~~~!
Frankly guys, there’s no use posting complaints and insults on this website.
Why not take some steps to shake up the PAP?
1) Vote for the Opposition Party (if they actually sound sane and require less pay)
2) Bring your skills overseas, to a nicer place! After all, we don’t HAVE to be rooted here.
3) Study overseas, then migrate to that location, like maybe Australia! Companies and shops close at 5pm there, compared to Singapore’s overnight work
This way, the government has to take steps to keep their citizens, like giving REAL incentives and privileges.
Otherwise, Singapore will eventually evolve into a new “nation”, called PRPore.
Alternatively, you could join the PAP.
How come our pay not pegged to GDP?