Here we go again; after reading the blasting on Grace Fu’s FB posting on the revised salary framework and find total sense in her post.
“When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were. The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut. If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for anyone considering political office.”
I could not agree more that being a politician means loss of privacy, personal time, and most challenging of all, under public scrutiny. Mind you, she was the CEO of PSA before deciding to join politics and serve Singapore. Hey!! Hey!! If you think that money is the thing that is attracting her, I choose to think otherwise. If you think that a CEO is earning much less than what she could earn as a Minister. Think again. CEO of Singtel, Ms Chua Sock Koong, brought home $4.15 MILLION SINGAPORE DOLLARS last year; MUCH more than what our Prime Minister earns, and of course with much lesser public scrutiny and more privacy when she strolls down Orchard Road. And oh yes.. Directorships right? Another key moan is on the numerous additional incomes they earn from directorships. For your information, almost all CEOs have other directorships. Since I had compared CEO of Singtel, allow me to share that she in fact sits on 38 other boards. Are our politicians really overpaid?
Oh yes, many would say. Many people out there still moan about the “HUGE” pay packets that our Ministers can still bring home even after the revised salary framework. It is not helped that news articles continue fuel discontentment further by comparing the salary with other politicians across the world. Did anyone ask if there is something missing in the reports? Let us get real; if we really want to compare, then the comparison must be holistic. This is what HR practioners call remuneration package or total compensation pay. Pay packets MUST be drawn in comparison with the country’s GDP, cost of living, or most important of all, the nation’s growth; and it must include all the other perks that comes along with the appointment. Kenya President earns US$312,000 a year, and this definitely pales when you put him beside what our Prime Minister earns. But guess what, he is paid higher when you compare his earning against the nation’s GDP. Also, check out what else President Obama is getting on top of his US$400,000 salary. Is our Prime Minister the highest paid politician in the world?
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