In a now-deleted Facebook post, former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng questioned why Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong did not get the same recognition Pritam Singh did for donating his salary increase.

In his Facebook post on Tuesday (Jul 28), Mr Cheng wrote: “In 2007, when PM Lee Hsien Loong had a salary increase, he announced that he would donate 100% of the increase to charities and the disadvantaged”.

He added that along with PM Lee’s donation, both he and his father the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew “have donated millions over the years quietly”.

“Nobody says anything”, Mr Cheng mused.

After being appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s new Cabinet line-up, Workers’ Party (WP) Chief Pritam Singh announced his intent to donate half of his salary.

In a Facebook post, Mr Pritam wrote: “It is an honour for me to serve as an elected MP in Singapore. Equally, it is a privilege to be appointed as the Leader of the Opposition”.

“After putting the girls to bed, my wife and I knew there were some things we wanted to talk about arising from the LO appointment. Amongst other things, we spoke about what the salary increase would mean for our family. Both of us felt strongly that a percentage of the salary should be used for a greater purpose”, he added.

Mr Pritam, in his Facebook post on Tuesday (Jul 29), announced his intent to use “50% of the LO salary, after taxes” for various purposes.

“That’s only 96k a year”, Mr Cheng commented.

“And opposition supporters now think he is Buddha’s reincarnation and should be PM of Singapore.

Funny world we live in”, he added. /TISG

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