Singapore. Civil Servants get more money

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In Dec 15, 2007 Straits Times article titled "Civil Service pay hike is to retain and attract younger generation talents: SM Goh", Mr. Goh Chock Tong explains why civil servants have to be paid more. According to him, unless they are paid attractive salaries, they will instead work in the private sector. Therefore money, lots of it, has to be paid to persuade them to join and remain working in the civil service.

As you know, this is the standard excuse given for pay rises in the government. According to Singapore government doctrine, Ministers will not stay in the government unless they are paid $3 million per year. What is more, even if they stay, they will become corrupt. Therefore the necessity of paying them $3 million per year, so as to prevent them from becoming corrupt if they remain in the government; and if they chose not to be corrupt, they will leave the government.

Since this is the standard reason of the Singapore government in justifying their outrageous salaries, the same argument applies according to Mr. Goh to the civil service. If mind boggling salaries are not paid, Singaporeans will not join the civil service. Instead they will work in the private sector and earn 10 times what is paid in the civil service.

These are arguments which, I think, most normal rational Singaporeans find difficult to follow. First coming to the $3 million per year of tax payers money paid to ministers; what evidence is there to show that any of these ministers have or will earn $3 million outside the government. No evidence has been shown of this. In fact my reckoning is that if Mr. Goh himself were to leave the government now, it is unlikely for him, even to find a job with $10,000 per month. Well look at it? What qualifications does he have other than the ability to please his master Lee Kuan Yew? He is not a professional, but merely an administrator.

But even if he was a professional, tell me how many professionals earn $3 million per year? I haven't come across any. Neither have other Singaporeans.

The same goes with all the other ministers. This theft by each of them of $3 million per year is outrageous. And to say that anyone of them could earn this outside without robbing UOB Bank is ludicrous.

But what is worse is the bad example set by these Lee Kuan Yew ministers. They have shown the Singapore population by their repeated salary increases and by their unashamed justifications of these excesses that all that matters in life is money. That the pursuit of money and money alone is the be all and end all of life itself. So these Ministers take as much money as they can. Now it is the civil servants turn to do the same.

And it is this shameless greed in this government's entire philosophy that destroys the minds of young Singaporeans. Are parents now trying to make their children pursue money at any cost? And what if they cannot become ministers like Goh Chock Tong and be paid $3 million a year? Is it permitted, then to steal and rob. After all what the ministers are doing is no different. It is theft anyway you look at it.

Is one really then surprised that the Singapore Bar has the highest rate of fraud among lawyers in the world. David Rasif only last year stole $12 million of his clients money and absconded. Since then, there have been a series of other cases of Singapore lawyers running away with their client's money, running into millions. Lawyers stealing their client's money in Singapore has become a way of life. They are no longer afraid of being caught. For them, in following the example of Mr. Goh Chock Tong, money is glorious. It doesn't matter how you get it.

But could there be another reason for Mr. Goh wanting to increase civil servants salaries? Could there be a brighter side to this? Could it be because, Singaporeans are refusing to join the civil service because it has been discredited? Are Singaporeans beginning to feel ashamed of their civil service being used by Lee Kuan Yew, not as an independent public service but as a political tool to destroy opponents? Are they looking upon the police as people who arrest innocent citizens such as Dr. Chee? A judiciary used to bankrupt citizens like JB Jeyaretnam? In other words, a civil service which has lost all pride and independence? Have the people decided that they refuse to be used by Lee Kuan Yew for his dirty work? Therefore is Mr. Goh finally realizing that civil servants are leaving the service in great numbers and there are few new entrants? Is this this the reason why he has no choice but to try to stem the tide of resignations by increasing salaries?

Is this another sign of desperation of the Singapore government?

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
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Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com