Singapore will raise the annual pay packages of its ministers and other office holders, including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is already the world’s highest-paid political leader.
Wong’s annual package will rise by S$1.4 million, from S$2.2 million to S$3.6 million — an increase of more than 60%. The increase is equivalent to about US$1.1 million, according to the figures provided.
Wong said he would donate the pay increase to charity over the next five years. He argued that higher ministerial pay was necessary to attract capable people from business and the civil service into politics.
“Overall, I believe this will give me and future prime ministers a better chance of persuading capable Singaporeans to step forward, and of building the strongest possible team for Singapore,” he said.
The government has also argued that high salaries reduce the temptation for ministers to accept bribes. Singapore has consistently ranked near the top of Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which the government has cited in support of its pay system.
The increase has nevertheless drawn criticism in Singapore, where concerns over job security, graduate employment, inflation and the rising cost of living remain significant. Online comments described the move as “tone deaf”, while some people supported it as a way to attract “the best of the best” to government.
Singapore’s median monthly income was reported as S$5,775.
Ministerial pay packages will also increase. Base packages are expected to rise from about S$1.1 million to around S$1.2 million, while Wong said most ministers could receive about S$1.35 million by the end of the current government term, depending on performance.
Part of ministers’ compensation is linked to targets including the unemployment rate, income growth and gross domestic product growth.
The issue of ministerial salaries has long been controversial for Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party, which has governed the country since independence. The government cut ministers’ salaries after the 2011 general election, when the party recorded its lowest vote share in decades amid dissatisfaction that included concerns about ministerial pay and immigration policies.
