Singapore’s government says it will increase the annual salaries of its ministers and other officials, including the prime minister, who is the world’s highest-paid political leader.
Lawrence Wong’s annual salary will increase by S$1.4 million ($1.1 million; £818,000). He said he would donate this salary increase to charity over the next five years.
Wong said increasing ministers’ salaries was necessary to attract the best talent. The government has previously argued that paying ministers high salaries curbs corruption.
But the move has drawn criticism in Singapore, where there are deep concerns about job security and rising living costs.
Even before his pay rise takes effect, Wong is still the highest-paid political leader in the world.
He currently receives an annual salary of S$2.2 million and will now see his salary rise by more than 60% to S$3.6 million.
Next is Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, who earns about $719,000, followed by Swiss president Guy Parmelin at $606,000.
US President Donald Trump earns $400,000 a year, and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham makes $230,000.
On Tuesday, Wong acknowledged that ministers’ salaries have attracted scrutiny because they are far higher than what most citizens earn. The average monthly income in the country is S$5,775.
But he says he has had difficulty convincing business leaders and senior government officials to run for political office.
While the government can’t match what some of these people earn, “we don’t create an unreasonably high financial barrier” for them to give up their careers and enter politics, he said.
“Overall, I believe this will give me and future prime ministers a better chance of persuading capable Singaporeans to step forward and build the strongest possible team for Singapore,” he said.
Currently, the basic salary package for ministers is about S$1.1 million. With the new payment scheme, this amount will increase to approximately S$1.2 million.
But Wong said he expects most of these ministers to earn even more – about S$1.35 million – by the end of the current government term as salaries will increase based on performance.
Part of their pay is determined by whether the country achieves certain goals for unemployment, income growth and GDP growth.
The issue of high salaries for Singapore ministers has long been a lightning rod for criticism of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), which has governed the country since independence.
In the landmark 2011 general election, the PAP’s vote share was its lowest in decades, driven in part by voter dissatisfaction with ministers’ salaries as well as immigration policies. The following year the government cut ministers’ salaries.
Wong’s predecessor, Lee Hsien Loong, also pledged to donate his salary increase to charity over several years back in 2007.
The government has for years pointed to the lack of corruption (Singapore consistently ranks high in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index) as evidence that the ministerial pay system is working, arguing that it reduces the temptation for ministers to take bribes.
But in a country where the average annual income is much lower than these amounts, the problem continues to be a concern, and the latest announcement is no exception.
On Tuesday, many posted comments online criticizing the pay rise, saying it was “tone deaf” given current concerns about job cuts, jobs for recent graduates and inflation.
Singapore’s retrenchment rate reached its highest level in more than five years in the latest quarter, according to government data.
But there were also those who agreed with this move, saying that the country should be governed by “the best of the best.”