Lawyer and opposition leader Lim Tean characterised the country’s leadership structure as “very top heavy” in a Thursday (Sept 8) Facebook post.
He compared the number of ministers in Singapore to that in Britain, as well as the number of mayors in comparison to that of London, given that Singapore is much smaller.
“Britain with a population of over 68.6 million and an economy which is the 6th largest in the World has a cabinet of 16 Ministers.
Singapore with a population of under 6 million and which is much smaller than London has a Cabinet of 20!” he wrote, adding that “London has 1 mayor but we have 5!”
“We do not need so many Ministers or Mayors do we?” Mr Lim, the head of People’s Voice party, asked.
Singapore’s mayors serve residents in the five districts—South West District (Ms Low Yen Ling, Chua Chu Kang GRC), Central Singapore District (Ms Denise Phua, Jalan Besar GRC), North East District (Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines GRC), North West District (Mr Alex Yam, Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC) and South East District (Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman, Marine Parade GRC).
Mayors serve as the Chairman of the Community Development Council (CDC) in their district.
The relevance of the role of a mayor, as well as the accompanying salary of around $660,000 per year in addition to their allowance as Members of Parliament), was questioned in Parliament last year by Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh.
“The CDCs have come into the spotlight after the last General Election because many Singaporeans are of the view that the salaries of mayors are outrageous, principally because they are not perceived to be commensurate with a mayor’s roles and functions,” he said at the start of the Budget debate last year.
Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong introduced the concept of CDCs and mayors during his National Day Rally speech in 1996, saying that this would help bring about greater social cohesion in the country.
Commenters on Mr Lim’s post tended to agree with the points Mr Singh had raised in Parliament, with one saying that the wages the mayors receive are “outrageously astronomical.”
Another commenter expressed the hope that when Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong leads the country, he might bring about changes.
“A shame… organisations are moving towards lean, cost effective, responsive and yet this is an direct opposite,” another netizen wrote.
/TISG
Pritam Singh: Many Singaporeans feel CDC mayor salaries of S$660,000 annually are “outrageous”