Committee to review salaries of the President, Prime Minister and Political Appointment Holders
On 21 May 2011, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the formation of a committee to review political salaries. We are therefore forming a Committee to Review Salaries of the President, Prime Minister and political appointment holders.
Composition of Committee
The Committee will be chaired by Mr Gerard Ee, and comprise a total of 8 members from the private sector, labour movement, and social sector:
Chairman
Gerard Ee Chairman, Changi General Hospital, Chairman, National Kidney Foundation
Members
John De Payva, President, National Trades Union Congress
Fang Ai Lian, Chairman, Charity Council; Chairman, Methodist Girls School Board of Management
Stephen Lee Ching Yen, President, Singapore National Employers Federation
Po’ad bin Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar, Member, Council of Presidential Advisers; Member, Public Service Commission
George Quek, Founder and Chairman, Breadtalk Group Ltd; Vice President, Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan; Chairman, Xinmin Secondary School Advisory Committee
Lucien Wong, Managing Partner, Allen & Gledhill LLP; Chairman, Maritime and Port Authority
Wong Ngit Liong, Chairman, National University of Singapore Board of Trustees; Chairman & CEO, Venture Corporation Limited
Terms of Reference
The Committee’s terms of reference will be to review the basis and level of salaries for the President, Prime Minister, political appointment holders and Members of Parliament to help ensure honest and competent government.
The Committee should take into account salaries of comparable jobs in the private sector and also other reference points such as the general wage levels in Singapore.
The Committee should also take into account the following guidelines:
- while the salary of the President should reflect the President’s high status as the head of state and his critical custodial role as holder of the second key, it should also take into account the fact that unlike the Prime Minister he does not have direct executive responsibilities except as they relate to his custodial role.
- the salary of ministers should have a significant discount to comparable private sector salaries to signify the value and ethos of political service.
Implementation
The government will base its new salaries on these recommendations.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has decided that the new salaries for political appointment holders will take effect from 21 May 2011, i.e. the date when the new government took office.
Although the salary for the President will in-principle commence from the new term of the President, the President has informed Prime Minister Lee that he will adopt the new salary from 21 May 2011.