Singapore PM Wong links higher political pay

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced adjustments to ministerial salaries on Tuesday, arguing they are needed to give future leaders a better chance of recruiting a strong team. He said the 15-year gap since the last adjustment has made leadership renewal harder as political pay falls further behind private-sector and even some public-service salaries.

Mr Wong, who is also finance minister, told parliament he understood public scrutiny of political pay. He stated the government runs an open system and believes in transparency, and cannot avoid the issue simply because it is politically difficult.

He revealed personal recruitment struggles before the last General Election. Mr Wong said he approached several senior permanent secretaries he believed had the temperament for political leadership, but none were prepared to make the move. He was, however, able to bring in younger officers with strong potential like Jeffrey Siow, David Neo and Jasmin Lau.

On the broader leadership transition, Mr Wong noted Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong had hoped to hand over the premiership earlier, but was delayed by setbacks including former Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat's stroke and the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the reduction in political salaries in 2012, followed by 15 years without adjustments, did not make the renewal task any easier.

Mr Wong highlighted that the cabinet's three most senior members, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, will all be 70 and above by the next term of government. He said ready-made replacements for ministers at their level are very difficult to find, a challenge he also faces in finding a successor at the Ministry of Finance.

Recruiting from the private sector

Mr Wong said recruiting from the private sector has grown harder since the days of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who raised salaries in 1970 partly to enable the appointment of Hon Sui Sen as finance minister. He stressed the importance of having people in Cabinet with substantial private-sector experience, especially in running large organisations.

Such candidates typically include CEOs of major listed Singapore companies in sectors like banking, telecommunications, aviation and engineering. Their pay can run to several million dollars a year, still well above the revised political salaries. "We are not trying to match what they earn. We never will," Mr Wong said. "But when we approach people of that calibre, we cannot pretend that the opportunity cost does not exist."

Before the last election, he also spoke to several CEOs and senior business leaders earning several times a minister's salary. None cited pay directly as their reason for declining, but like the permanent secretaries, none were prepared to make the move. Mr Wong said the government asks them to walk away from successful careers, take a substantial income reduction, contest an election with no certainty of success, and start in a completely new environment.

The sacrifice extends beyond finances to real demands on families, he added. No salary adjustment can compensate for that. "The purpose of remuneration is much more modest: to ensure that on top of all these other sacrifices, we do not make the financial hurdle unnecessarily high."

Political leadership matters

Mr Wong noted that in the 2012 debate, both the People's Action Party and the Workers' Party agreed political salaries should be transparent and competitive enough to recruit necessary calibre, while reflecting a substantial discount for public service. Since then, the government held back on adjustments despite a 2017 independent review committee recommending an increase and deferring a further 2023 review.

This is why salary norms for political officeholders have not changed for 15 years, even as private-sector, civil service and judicial salaries moved upwards. Ministerial pay has fallen further behind as a result. While the gap is most obvious compared with the private sector, even some senior permanent secretaries now earn more than ministers.

Mr Wong said there were good reasons for holding back each time, and it would have been easier politically for him to leave things as they are. But that would not be the right thing to do. He argued that a strong civil service is no substitute for effective political leadership, and the quality of political leadership affects the civil service in turn.

Ministers need character, integrity, values and commitment to serve, as well as competence, which is where remuneration becomes relevant. "It does not determine who is capable. But it does affect whether enough capable people are prepared to step forward and take on the responsibility."

Singapore’s system

Mr Wong said building political leadership is not a challenge unique to Singapore. Because political salaries are highly sensitive, many systems keep official pay low while allowing other benefits and privileges to accumulate. Politicians elsewhere may supplement income through outside interests or receive larger rewards after leaving office. "So the headline salary may look modest, but the overall picture is much more complicated," he said.

Even so, many countries with larger talent pools still struggle to attract the people they need or form stable governments. Singapore has been an exception, held up as a model of effective government. Mr Wong said Singapore achieved this through deliberate choices, including dealing with political remuneration openly. The country recognises that highly able people have many options.