Committee set up to review Singapore ministerial pay

 

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has formed a committee to review ministerial salaries.

The committee will be headed by National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chairman Gerard Ee.

Prime Minister Lee revealed this in his speech at the swearing—in ceremony for the new Cabinet on Saturday.

He said: " One important area for review is political salaries. We will always need committed and capable ministers. Politics is not a job or a career promotion. It is a calling to serve the larger good of Singapore.

" But ministers should also be paid properly in order that Singapore can have honest, competent leadership over the long term. I know that Singaporeans have genuine concerns over the present salaries.

" Hence I am appointing a committee to review the basis and level of political salaries. The committee will be chaired by Mr Gerard Ee, Chairman of Changi General Hospital and Chairman of NKF."

The government has pegged ministerial salaries to the remuneration levels for top private—sector earners in order to attract talent to public service and prevent corruption.

Welcoming the news about the upcoming review of ministerial salaries, businessman Bernard Chia said: " Tonight I didn’t expect him (PM Lee) to bring it up, but it is is a good thing he brought it up. I think he’ll win a lot of hearts on that."

Prime Minister Lee also said the government’s new approach must be flexible, thoughtful and compassionate. And where policies have unintended consequences, they must be put right.

His commitment to a fresh approach to policies was welcomed by newly—appointed office holders.

Newly—appointed Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said: " The prime minister has stated very clearly that we want to build a government that is open, consultative and responsive to the needs of our people. And that we welcome diverse viewpoints, and at the same time, make sure we stay united as a people."

Those interviewed also said that one key task ahead for the government is to weave different view points into policies that benefit Singaporeans.

" I think it’s not just about changing things. It’s also about strengthening things. We also hear that many Singaporeans feel that many of the policies make a lot of sense. But policies in the main cater to the broad part of the population, but there are many people who may not fall within that group, so what do we do to cater to that? That’s where the flexibility will come in," said newly—appointed Minister of State for National Development and Manpower Tan Chuan—Jin.

— CNA/ir

Man, 22, dies after suffering from acute liver failure

 

Hoo Shuwei (L)

SINGAPORE: A 22—year—old Singaporean man died after suffering from acute liver failure caused by an unknown virus.

On May 1, Hoo Shuwei came down with a high fever and was later admitted to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

His liver cells started to deteriorate and after a few days, he was diagnosed with liver failure and his kidneys were also affected.

" His kidneys started to fail.....he was sedated and they (doctors) were worried that the brain will swell. There were signs of swelling but it wasn’t that serious," said Mr Hoo’s brother, Shuyi Fezz.

In an e—mail reply, SGH said Shuwei’s condition deteriorated rapidly and he was put on the priority list for transplant.

Unfortunately, he died before a donor was available.

SGH added that the type of virus is still unidentified.

Doctors advise the public to seek immediate treatment if they suffer from a high fever for more than 24 hours without any other symptoms.

— CNA/ir

Illusions of democracy

Est her Dyson

Social media may help foment revolution, but governing in the real world is not so easy Members of the upper middle class in any country often seem to forget that for most people, the value created on the Internet cannot feed, clothe, and house their families

Singapore Financial Governance 3rd World ? ? ? ?By Tom Braithwaite,

comes to political actions

CHEOW XIN YI

cheowxinyi@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

So go the replies from some town councils contacted by MediaCorp. It is all about context, in the eyes of Member of Parliament Zainudin Nordin, to the question of whether employees in his Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council, which is run by the ruling party, can participate in Opposition activities.

“In Singapore, town councils are headed by Members of Parliament who are elected in a political process, namely the GE. As we’ve seen in this election, town council matters are discussed as political issues.

It’s therefore difficult to see the town council as non-political.

It’s very existence and selection is a result of an election process,” he told MediaCorp. “Involvement of staff in political activities must logically and realistically be viewed in that context.

We are, after all, a People’s Action Party town council.”

When Jurong Town Council dismissed a customer service officer last week due to “under-performance over a period of several months”, without issuing any prior warning letter, the former employee wondered if it was because she had helped at election rallies held by the National Solidarity Party, which was contesting Jurong Group Representation Constituency. But as MediaCorp has learnt from MP Teo Ho Pin, who has been the coordinating chairman among PAP town councils, there are no guidelines on what constitute political activities.— There are no guidelines, but call it a basic expectation. When it comes to taking part in political activities, town council employees may not have anything in black-and-white to go by, except to be mindful of how they are viewed in their workplace.

S’pore’s top diplomat

Ta nya F ong

tanyafong@mediacorp.com.sg

On Saturday, Mr Shanmugam, who left legal practice in 2008 when he was appointed Law Minister, will be sworn in as Minister for Foreign Affairs while retaining his Law portfolio.

Responding to a query from T

“Negotiation with a successful result will give the client a certainty of what he will get and removes the unnecessary trauma of a court case. When negotiation is not possible then you go to court, and the lawyer will have to do his best.”

He added: “In foreign policy, the best approach is to identify your interests, and also identify your counterparts’ interests.

Then you find some way in which both interests can be accommodated, with adjustments.

A winner takes all mentality is not good, and in the long run will come back to hurt.”SINGAPORE — Having made his name in the courtroom as one of Singapore’s top litigators, Mr K Shanmugam (picture) will soon be making his mark on the global stage as the Republic’s top diplomat.oday on whether his sometimes adversarial approach as a former litigator might be at odds with the generally more conciliatory approach some say is needed for his new diplomatic portfolio — Mr Shanmugam, 52, said: “In litigation, a good lawyer who really has his client’s interests at heart, will not advise a fight in every case. It is usually better to try and negotiate a fair deal rather than fight.

Man jailed for giving almost S$2.4m in bribes

Man jailed for giving almost S$2.4m in bribes

 

SINGAPORE: A businessman was sentenced Friday to four months’ jail and fined S$180,000 for giving bribes worth about S$2.39 million.

44—year—old Andrew Tee Fook Boon had handed out what is believed to be one of the biggest amounts involved in a private corruption case in recent years.

Should he fail to pay the hefty fine, he would have to spend an additional 12 months behind bars.

He pleaded guilty in December, last year, to 12 of 80 charges, with the remaining ones taken into consideration during sentencing.

Tee, who committed the offence between 2003 and 2009, is the sole proprietor of AT35 Services, a firm that used to supply food items to furniture chain, Ikea.

He had worked with an alleged accomplice, Gary Lim Kim Seng, who had introduced him to Chris Leng Kah Poh.

Mr Leng was then the food services manager of Ikano, the local franchisee of Inter Ikea Systems B.V. which operates Ikea in Singapore.

Based on court documents, Tee and Mr Lim gave the bribes to Mr Leng as his reward for favouring them when placing orders for food products for Ikea.

Both Mr Lim and Mr Leng haven’t been charged in court.

However, addressing the court Friday, District Judge Kessler Soh said that Tee’s culpability appears to be " somewhat lower" than that of the two men.

He added that Tee was not " the brain or the prime mover" of the payments to Mr Leng.

There was also no evidence that Tee had corrupted anyone through his involvement in the case, said Judge Soh.

— CNA/cc

Khaw determined to make housing and HDB popular again

 

Khaw Boon Wan packing up in his office at MOH (Photo by MOH)

SINGAPORE: In his last blog post as Health Minister, Mr Khaw Boon Wan said he is determined to make housing and HDB Singaporeans’ popular icon again.

Recounting his earlier days in the Health Ministry, Mr Khaw said he went to the Health Ministry in 2003 during the SARS period with some trepidation, not quite sure what he was walking into.

He will go to the National Development Ministry with even greater trepidation.

This is because it is red—hot with widespread unhappiness, and housing is a new frontier for him.

Mr Khaw said he hopes Singaporeans will bear with him, with patience and understanding.

He added that he will work very hard to shorten the learning curve, and listen intently to all suggestions and criticisms.

Mr Khaw said it has been an eventful eight—year term at the Health Ministry.

He added that there were many more things he had wanted to do in the ministry like transforming the long—term care sector, ensuring nursing home affordability, ElderShield reform, a third medical school, and expanding polyclinics.

He will now entrust this agenda to the next Health Minister.

— CNA/cc/sf