Chee Soon Juan: Serving Singapore should not depend on how much you’re paid

SINGAPORE: In a recent interview, the longtime opposition politician Chee Soon Juan spoke about the high salaries of ministers in Singapore, saying that this should not be a motivation for those who want to serve the public.

The Singapore Democratic Party secretary-general was a guest on an episode of PPE Unfiltered, a podcast from the University of Warwick’s Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society, which aired on March 16. 

Dr Chee, however, posted a short clip from the episode on his Facebook page on Wednesday (June 3). 

“Ministers saying they should be paid astronomical salaries so that they will not be tempted by corruption is like the employee demanding high wages so that they will not steal office supplies,” he wrote in the caption. 

Singapore’s ministers and government leaders are the best-paid in the world, as their salaries are higher than those of leaders of other major nations. The Prime Minister of the city-state is paid around S$2.2 million each year.

The interviewer pointed out to Dr Chee the arguments that it would be difficult to attract high-quality candidates without high salaries and that high salaries serve as a curb for corruption, and then went on to ask for the SDP chief’s opinion on how good candidates could be encouraged to step up.

Dr Chee said that, as he mentioned in a rally during last year’s General Election, corruption is a crime. 

“Do you tell your people, ‘I have to pay you so well so that you don’t commit a crime?’” he asked, adding that employees don’t tell their bosses that they should double their salaries, otherwise they’ll steal office supplies.

“What do you think that boss would say to you? Look, corruption is about character, public character. You don’t tell people, “Hey, give me so much money so that I won’t commit a crime, so I won’t get corrupt. You don’t become corrupt, and that is the right thing to do in and of itself,” he added.

As to getting people to join the political arena, Dr Chee said that many are afraid to do so.

“There are very many people who just don’t want to step forward because of the political system here in Singapore. I know of good people who are very afraid, but they don’t keep thinking, ‘Pay me this much, otherwise I don’t want to serve.”

He added that he has never said that government leaders should not be well-paid.

“The question is, how much is well before it becomes a problem in and of itself,” said Dr Chee, adding that people who want to make a lot of money should “knock themselves out” in the business world and become billionaires.

“But therein lies the difference. It’s public service, and that’s why we call it service. It’s not a public reward that you’re coming into. It takes a very different mindset for a public servant to come in wanting to serve this country, competent people, talented folks, who have that whole spirit of public service, and not have to keep thinking that I must be paid so much money before I’ll serve the nation. 

That is the tragedy here in Singapore,” he added.

He also opined that if the country continues in this way, the people who run it will all be technocrats or administrators, who are looking out for themselves rather than somebody looking out for society. That is the danger as we go forward.” /TISG

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