Sharing commentary on the salaries of government ministers in Singapore

An outsider non-political view.

David Grant

Director at Private Held Company (2016–present)

Why are the salaries of cabinet ministers so high in Singapore?

I read through the posts here and find most of them laughable. They are all justifying the high salaries of ministers in Singapore, saying that it prevents corruption, attracts talent, got to pay a lot to get the best or they go elsewhere etc etc

First let me say there is some truth in what was stated above. Yes, it prevents to a certain extent corruption and it attracts talent. But these people and the government seem to forget is that service to the nation is a privilege, an honor and a duty. In the US, the most powerful and the greatest nation in the world, cabinet secretaries are only paid about US$175,000 a year. That is a pittance compared to what they pay in Singapore. Yet these cabinet members have much greater responsibilities and they are the most powerful ministers in the world. Take the Secretary of Defense. He controls the most powerful military in the world, one that bases all over the world, and has the power to decimate entire countries. Yet he is only paid $175,000. Why would he take such a job at such a relatively low pay? Because he loves his country, and he considers it a great honor to be in that position to be able to work to make it a better place. In other words, why is there a need to pay such high salaries in Singapore? Are there not people who are capable and willing to put the nation first before their own self interests? Are they saying that Singaporeans do not have such a love of the country, that the only thing that motivates them is MONEY? If that is the case, then that is very sad.

Some of the answers here mention about the US president, that he is paid less than the Singapore PM but he can make a lot of money after he leaves office by giving speeches. That is truly a silly justification for high pay in Singapore. Pay is for the work a person does while he is in office. Whether the US president can earn big fees giving speeches after he leaves office is irrelevant. He could die in an accident the day after his terms ends, and thus not earn any of those large speaking fees.

My point is that it is not necessary to pay such high salaries in Singapore.  Capable people should be willing to take on the work because they are patriotic, and have a sense of duty and honor. By the way, I noticed that Singaporeans like to use the word “talent”, something that we don’t tend to use in the US when describing government workers. You can bet there will be great dissatisfaction in the US if any US cabinet secretary is paid as much as Singapore ministers. There are many Singaporeans who earn $1500–2000 a month. It does not seem right for a minister to be paid a million dollars while many earn so little. Reducing minister salaries will go a long way to reduce the angst many have with such pay.