Singapore ministers, among world’s highest paid government officials, get first raise in 15 years
The government said the higher benchmarks are needed to attract talent, with the prime minister’s annual package rising nearly 64% to S$3.6 million.
- On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced Singapore's government accepted recommendations to revise political salaries, raising the prime minister's benchmark to S$3.6 million and the entry-level ministerial MR4 grade to S$1.8 million, effective October 15.
- Officials justified the adjustments as necessary to attract top-tier talent from the private sector and civil service, as the framework remained unchanged since 2012, when ministers took a 36% pay cut amid public discontent.
- Elected Members of Parliament will receive increased monthly allowances of S$18,500, up from S$13,750, while Wong pledged to donate his full salary increment to "suitable good causes" for the next five years.
- Social media users criticized the hike as "tone deaf" given current economic concerns, while Parliament is scheduled to debate the revised framework on Thursday, September 10.
- Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing announced the government will review the framework every five years and study delinking MPs' allowances from the MR4 benchmark to better reflect parliamentary duties.
163 Articles
163 Articles
This huge increase in salary has come at a time when the Singapore government says that good salary is necessary for better political leadership.
A prime minister will receive a salary increase of about $1.1 million a year, and his annual income will reach about $2.8 million. Authorities say that high wages are needed to attract well-trained professionals in politics.
The annual salary of Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, the world's highest-paid national leader, has risen by 1.5 billion won (64%) to reach 3.8 billion won. According to reports by the UK's Financial Times (FT) and Singaporean media outlet Channel News Asia (CNA) on the 8th (local time), the Singapore government, including Prime Minister Wong,
Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Singapore, will see more than 60% increase in pay. But he promises that he will devolve the increase into charity. That's how much Macron, Meloni and others earn
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