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Singapore government approves increases to ministerial salary benchmarks

What happened

The Singapore government has accepted recommendations from an independent committee to implement progressive salary increases for government ministers.

Under the new structure, the entry-level ministerial salary benchmark will rise from S$1.1 million to S$1.8 million, while the prime minister's benchmark will increase from S$2.2 million to S$3.6 million.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that he will donate his personal salary increase to charitable causes.

Why it matters

The increases, which represent a rise of more than 60% for ministerial roles, further elevate salaries that are already considered the highest in the world for political leaders.

The government maintains that these high salaries are necessary to attract capable talent to public service and to mitigate the risk of corruption.

Context

The Cabinet of Singapore is led by the Prime Minister and consists of ministers appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's advice.

The prime minister's salary is traditionally pegged at twice the benchmark for an entry-level ministerial position.

The People's Action Party has formed the Singapore Cabinet since 1959.

Sources 8 sources

This briefing cites 5 publishers across 5 detected independent reporting streams.