Reactions
Ministers’ 21% pay hike
Except for staunch party supporters, widespread unpopularity. Here is sample of public reactions.
Dec 15, 2007

CNA on-line poll
Public servants to up their salaries to market rate:
Yes for all - 16% (6)
No for all - 43% (16)
Yes for lower grade officers - 40% (15)
No for lower grade officers - 0% (0)
Total Votes - 37

CNA forum
Did ministers and MPs do a great jobs in 2007?
BULL88
Performance review....
In private sector we review cost cutting as one of the items.

sporeguy
I think they did a great job - increase gst, increase taxi fares, put up more gantries for ERPS, stop you from taking your money after retirement so that you can feed yourself with $200 per month after 85 years old, increase their salary by more than 20% because they need to peg their salary against the very best in the industries..…

stockist ang
Most Singaporeans who make an honest living in private sector are shocked. Private sector's increment is far from even 5%. I can tell you many companies even freeze increment and tighten their belt for next year's slow down.

bulfrog
I have had my increment for the first time after 6 years and it is only 5%.

5yrsold
Did well to increase own coffers.
I won't be surprised if some of them think it is still peanuts.

touchring
World is an unfair one. Rich become richer, poor, become poorer. The rich people already bought their properties in 2003/2004.
Now they want the poor to buy, at the top of the market. Look at the media, the good feel propaganda, all trying to make you buy!

Free
How many hours do they really work for the country? Given that they sit on so many boards?
Do the companies that they sit on give them 20% increment or a million dollar pay rise?
If not I suggest the government to peg the salaries of what they are drawing as (board) directors.

Zhuge Liang
Sigh. What good job! Everyone I have spoken to these couple of years is unhappy, very, very unhappy.

WhoMI
Actions speak louder than words. Just vote them out.

Night Trader
If government is doing a good job, then I haven't felt any positive change in my life. Salary stagnant, prices increasing, no good future as so well reported in newspapers.

22222
Newspapers (are) nonsense, only talk good about government. Do you see any bad comments?

Warren Buffett
Average pay in Singapore about $3,000.
After CPF: left with $2,400
Mobile phone bill: $100 (left with $2,300)
Transport: $200 - bus, MRT and walking (left with $2,100)
Less food: $700 - basic hawker food (left $1,400)
Less electricity bill: $200 - HDB costs (left $1,200)
Less own spending and credit card bills: $500 (left $700)
Less insurance: $200 - personal life only (left $500)
For parents: $300 (left $200)
Basically, average Singaporeans are working to pay off bills without much left end of month for rainy days and investment. The above is just a minimum living (no lavish lifestyle).
It does not include childcare, maid or housing payments. You see the average Singaporean is really on shoestrings at the end of month.

Sammyboy forum
makapa
Finance markets in Turmoil, PAP Gets Pay Rise!

Goldenperiod
In addition to their pay hike, they also get up to 10 months bonus in total!
In the April announcement of ministers’ pay hike, revisions were also made to bonuses for ministers. On GDP Bonus for ministers, Mr Teo said:
“We will increase the bonus to a norm payment of 3 months if the economy grows by 5%. The minimum payment will remain at zero if the economy grows by 2% or less. The maximum will be increased to 8 months if the economy grows by 10% or more.”
On Performance Bonus for ministers:
“We will increase the Performance Bonus by 2 months for officers at this level, to a norm of 7 months.”

hardwarezone forum
nannan82
Wondering what can they do with so much money?

Bfrost
Actually if they can justify it well, I wouldn't mind them getting more pay, but where is the justification?
... There are still around 10% of the citizen who are getting less than 50% of what an MP can earn in a day. How do they justify that? Does this mean that the MP can do the same things in 1/2 a day as that 1 person can do in a month?

doomsday
This ministerial pay increase looks to have triggered more unhappiness in the populace. The previous Australian government lost their elections in good times because most citizens of Australia felt worse off.
In the sharing of a pie, there are people who will get a bigger slice, while others will get a smaller slice. The problem here is that we have a pie that is supposedly growing bigger, but most of the pie goes to a selected few.
In fact, a lot of Singaporeans feel that they are not getting any new pie, and yet the pie they originally have is being taken away by those who already have a big slice.
I don't believe humans have that short a memory. In the next election, I suppose many who voted in our government's favour because the opposition was weak will bite the bullet and vote for the opposition, so as to give the government a wake up call.

fi5hbone
Just hope that the sentiments here will be remembered and spread to the rest of the ignorant folk out there come election time. It's time for them to buck up and start learning what a democracy is about.
Compiled by Littlespeck.com