Higher ministerial pay may ease recruitment hurdle, but other deterrents remain: Analysts
Non-monetary factors such as loss of privacy are bigger deterrents to entering political life, say experts after the government's first ministerial pay revision since 2011.
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SINGAPORE: Raising ministerial salaries may make it easier to attract candidates from the private sector, but the move is unlikely to significantly widen the pool of people willing to enter politics, analysts said.
Non-monetary considerations, such as scrutiny of politicians and their families and the uncertainty of a political career, are likely to weigh more heavily on potential candidates, they added.
Even though the individual is the one who decides to enter politics, their families, who are private citizens, come under greater attention and scrutiny by extension, said Dr Teo Kay Key, senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Institute of Policy Studies.
"That aspect of privacy might be something that people would not want to give up, regardless of compensation amount. This is especially the case in the current age of social media," she said.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Tuesday (Sep 8) that Singapore’s political office holders will get a salary increase of up to 9 per cent, taking the annual sum drawn by a minister in the lowest grade to about S$1.2 million.
The salary revision, the first since 2011, takes effect on Oct 15.
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Mr Wong said before the last General Election, he had spoken to several permanent secretaries as well as CEOs and senior business leaders earning several times a minister's salary, but none were prepared to make the move.
Even with the salary adjustments, private-sector candidates are unlikely to make a beeline for politics, said Singapore Management University (SMU) associate professor of law Eugene Tan.
He said the changes are more an attempt to ensure remuneration does not become a bigger hindrance than it already is to capable individuals considering politics.
While salaries are an important consideration, non-monetary factors such as the uncertainty of a political career, loss of personal and family privacy, and stepping outside one's professional comfort zone are more likely to affect their decisions, Assoc Prof Tan said, adding that no pay formula can fully address the non-financial concerns that deter people from entering politics.
He pointed to Mr Wong's comments on how people weigh the team they may join, what it stands for and whether they want to serve alongside its members.
“In short, how the government governs and how it engages with people, especially the private sector, matters immensely,” said Assoc Prof Tan.
NUS assistant professor of political science Elvin Ong noted that the Workers' Party has drawn some "good calibre" people who might otherwise have been strong candidates for the People's Action Party.
"This suggests that the market for a limited pool of good candidates is competitive among political parties," he said.
RECRUITING FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR
Mr Wong also said on Tuesday that the government is not trying to match private sector pay, but it cannot pretend the opportunity cost does not exist.
Dr Teo agreed, saying a high salary should not be the main draw for any candidate, as this would suggest a focus on monetary benefit rather than public service.
Given that senior private-sector executives already draw competitive pay, she said, the adjustments may be better aimed at narrowing the change in lifestyle candidates would face on entering politics. Setting out how the public service component factors into the salaries also helps candidates understand what is expected of them even if they take a pay cut, she added.
A one-off increase of up to 9 per cent to the lowest grade benchmark, unchanged for 15 years, works out to less than 1 per cent a year, said Asst Prof Ong, adding that given inflation over that period, there may be no real wage increase.
The revised framework prevents political salaries from becoming increasingly disconnected from the broader market, said Mr Aslam Sardar, CEO of the Institute for Human Resource Professionals.
The changes make the framework more relevant rather than helping it compete on headline pay, he said, noting that the substantial discount reflecting public service was retained.
“From an HR perspective, that is a sensible distinction. Competitiveness does not necessarily mean matching the highest-paying alternative. It means ensuring that the overall proposition is credible for the talent and responsibilities involved,” he added.
Mr Aslam noted that private sector pay varies widely: in 2025, the CEO of CapitaLand Investment was paid about S$5.08 million, Singapore Airlines' CEO S$7 million, and DBS' CEO S$9.64 million.
This, he said, is why the changes should be seen as restoring market relevance to political salaries rather than closing a simple gap with private-sector leaders.
PUBLIC REACTION
Experts said publishing the figures in detail helps the public understand how politicians are paid and evaluated.
Ministerial responsibilities are difficult to compare with most other jobs, and the explanations provide context for how the new benchmark was set, Dr Teo said.
However, being transparent about the figures will inevitably invite comparisons with ordinary Singaporeans' own pay, she said.
“With finances and cost of living being something that is typically top of people’s lists of concerns, it will be hard to stop people from making comparisons to their own personal situations,” she added.
Assoc Prof Tan said the measures could carry a political cost if they go further than the public can accept, describing the headline figures as "mind-boggling" to the average Singaporean.
“Given the economic uncertainty and the imminent technological disruptions at workplaces, today’s announcement could come across as being tone-deaf or even self-serving,” he said.
While the issue is unlikely to win votes, he added, the government cannot shy away from it if it wants to sustain and strengthen Singapore's system.
It is important for political leadership to show that Singapore needs capable and committed leaders – a vital ingredient to the country's success that may have been taken for granted, he said.
“This in turn requires the ruling party and prime minister to demand high standards of political office holders and to be rigorous in ensuring that quality of leadership is not only maintained but enhanced.”
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