Useless rantings of a few disgruntled S'poreans...: GST hike for S'poreans, Pay hike for millionaire Ministers.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

GST hike for S'poreans, Pay hike for millionaire Ministers.

I received an email on the minister salary increase and I decided to expanded on it:

Now we know what is the real intention of the GST hike not only to "help the poor" but perhaps to also fund the Minister Pay hike.

Although the Ministers are already earning 1.2 million dollars per year, this is not mentioning the PENSION (not CPF hor) they are going to receive after they retire, they wanted to increase it to 2.2 million dollars per year.

The reasons?

It is not because they managed to improve living standards of poor and normal S'porean (income for many S'poreans had be stagnant for many years, can you remember when is your last pay hike?!?) but because PM Lee says that we should not expect the ministers to make "unreasonable financial sacrifices" given that the top professionals are paid more than them.

They say we should pay them well because it will ensure the govt stay "competent and honest".

Does that means that they will turn CORRUPTED and USELESS if they are paid less than 2.2million per year?

It is quite disgusting to hear the ministers saying that 1.2 million per year is not enough to keep them clean and motivated, while they say that if they increase the Public Assistance scheme (ONLY old, sick and disabled who can't work, have no one to depend on and have no $ to feed themselves can apply, so stop dreaming) pay out from $260/month to more than $290/month it will "erode the work ethic" of these people.

The ministers' decisions really reminds me of Ms Wee Shumin's infamous assertion that "if you’re not good enough, life will kick you in the balls. that’s just how things go" and like what Mr Wee Siew Kim (Ms Wee's dad and AMK GRC's MP) said, Singaporeans like Mr Tan Jee Suan should just face up to the "brutal truth".

The best thing we can do is to get out of their "elite uncaring face(s)".

The best is what some Young PAP office holders said when they defend the salary hike.

Miss Elaina Olivia Chong Vice Chairperson of Young PAP Women , said:

The life of a Minister is not attractive. How many are willing to sacrifice every evening either at Meet the People Sessions, chairing Review Committees and carrying another baby in a HDB kopitiam even on precious weekends?

A platoon with the acumen of Bill Gates, risk appetite of George Soros and the heart of Mother Theresa, I would think. And the compensation? Priceless. Haven’t we all heard this all too often, “Pay Peanuts Get Monkeys".

So we now know having to spend a weekend to carry babies in a HDB kopithiam is a waste of their "precious weekends".

No wonder I never seen them at kopithiams after the elections. 1.2 million per year of salary is obviously not enough for them to do such things, we must pay them more!

She even says that the ministers have the "acumen of Bill Gates, risk appetite of George Soros and the heart of Mother Theresa".

While whether the current ministers have the acumen of Bill Gates are debatable, it is certain that they have a risk appetite than is much more than George Soros.

How else would you explain the decision to approve Temasek Holdings' bid to buy Shin Corp , owned by Thaksin when the Thais are already mounting fierce protests against him for corruption?

It is also interesting to note that NO ONE is taking responsibility for the Shin corp fiasco in Thailand.

Any private sector CEO would be sacked immediately if they are involved in a fiasco of such magnitude, so where is the accountability?

So much for "Pay Peanuts Get Monkeys". Does anyone still remember TT Durai?

Another "honest mistake" I guess.

As for them having the heart of Mother Theresa, I really don't know how will she feels if she knew that the ministers who baulk at increasing PA scheme from $260/mon to more than $290/mon because they think that it would "erode the work ethic" of these people are being associated with her kindness.

What is even better is what Mr Nicholas Lazarus, a member of YPAP committee, said:

The question to be asked by the critics of their proposed pay increase is this- are you criticizing because you honestly do not believe that the Ministers are entitled to a pay increase or is it because you are simply ENVIOUS (emphasis mine)?

So PAP not only think that it is a chore for their ministers to carry babies during their "precious weekends", it also say we oppose the pay hike because we are JEALOUS of them!

What kind of mentality is that?!?

I rest my case.