New Delhi: While in many countries in the world there is debate about the salary of leaders, Singapore has announced a big increase in the salary of its political leaders. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's benchmark annual salary will increase by more than 60 percent to Singapore dollars 3.6 million. In Indian currency this amount comes to about Rs 27 crore annually. Lawrence Wong informed the Parliament on Tuesday about increasing the salaries of political leaders. The government says that the purpose of this change is to attract capable people to enter politics and maintain good government in the country.
How much increase in PM's salary?
The current benchmark salary of Lawrence Wong is 22 lakh Singapore dollars, which will increase to 36 lakh Singapore dollars. That means it will increase by more than 60 percent. Whereas the benchmark salary of the Deputy Prime Minister will increase from 18.7 lakh Singapore dollars to 30.6 lakh Singapore dollars. In Indian rupees this is approximately Rs 22.9 crore annually. The benchmark salary of cabinet ministers will be between 18 lakh to 28.8 lakh Singapore dollars, depending on their seniority and responsibilities. In Indian rupees this amount comes to around Rs 13.5 crore to Rs 21.6 crore annually.
Not all ministers will get this much money right now
It is important to understand one important thing here. The declared amount is the benchmark salary. This does not mean that all ministers will immediately start taking this much amount. Existing political officials will get a maximum one-time adjustment of 9 percent from October 15, depending on the circumstances. After this, changes in salary will be made on the basis of the performance of the person concerned and his responsibilities. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said that whatever increase he receives in his salary during his tenure, he will donate the entire amount to suitable social and public welfare works.
After all, why so much salary?
The salaries of political leaders in Singapore have long been considered among the highest in the world. The government argues that it is necessary to provide competitive salaries to the country to attract competent and honest people into politics. Lawrence Wong said in Parliament that good leadership is necessary for a good government. According to him, the real question is whether Singapore will be able to bring such people into politics in the future who are capable of taking the country forward. He told that before the last general elections, he had asked many senior government officials to enter politics, but no one agreed.
The Prime Minister also contacted many CEOs and senior businessmen of the private sector. According to him, none of them agreed to enter politics. Some senior executives and businessmen are earning several million Singapore dollars annually. Wong said it is not easy to expect a person to leave a successful career and enter politics and contest elections. Especially when he may have to take a big cut in his earnings and there is no guarantee of winning the elections.
He said that no one has directly said that low salary is a reason for not joining politics, but when a person is asked to leave a successful career, money cannot be completely irrelevant. This is why the purpose of the new salary system is said to be not to completely compete with the earnings of the private sector, but to reduce the financial losses of entering politics.
Concern about the next generation of leadership in Singapore
Singapore also faces the challenge of preparing the next generation of leadership. According to Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Gun Kim Yong and Minister K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan will be 70 years of age or older by the next term. In such a situation, the government wants that the leaders of the next generation should be ready to handle the responsibilities of important ministries. According to the government, it is becoming more difficult than before to bring new people from government service into politics. Bringing senior people from the private sector into politics is an even bigger challenge, because many officials there are earning several million Singapore dollars annually.
MP's salary will also increase
It is not only the salaries of the Prime Minister and ministers that are being increased. The monthly allowance received by Singapore MPs will also increase. From October 15, the monthly allowance of MPs will increase from S$13,750 to S$18,500. The government estimates that giving a maximum of 9 per cent salary adjustment to political officials will put an additional burden of about S$5 million on the government salary bill every year. It is estimated that about 66 lakh Singapore dollars will be spent annually on the increased allowances of MPs.
Big change after 15 years
The last major review in the salaries of ministers in Singapore took place about 15 years ago. After this, an independent review in 2017 recommended increasing the salary, but it was not implemented. Another review scheduled for 2023 was also postponed. Now the new salary system is being implemented on the basis of the recommendation of the independent committee. In the new system, four grades of ministerial salary will be reduced to three. The salary range within each grade will be increased, so that there can be more differentiation in pay based on performance and responsibilities.
The Singapore government says that this change is more focused on creating strong political leadership for the future rather than giving more money to current leaders. The debate over political salaries is not new in Singapore. The government has long said that competitive salaries help reduce the risk of corruption and bring capable people into public life. Singapore is also counted among the countries with least corruption in the world.