Cabinet of Singapore

[2] Following the recommended wage reductions by the committee which were then debated and subsequently accepted in Parliament, the prime minister's salary was reduced by 36% (includes the removal of his pension) to S$2.2 million.

Constitutional talks between Legislative Assembly representatives and the Colonial Office were held from 1956 to 1958, and Singapore gained full internal self-government in 1959.

In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party (PAP) swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore.

Gan Kim Yong, Ong Ye Kung, Josephine Teo, Lawrence Wong, S. Iswaran and Chan Chun Sing were reshuffled into new portfolios as minister.

While Lee Hsien Loong, Teo Chee Hean, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ng Eng Hen, Vivian Balakrishnan, Grace Fu and K. Shanmugam retained their portfolios with no new appointments.

Up to the outbreak of World War II, Singapore was part of the Crown colony known as the Straits Settlements together with Malacca and Penang.

The council, which was composed of "such persons and constituted in such manner as may be directed" by royal instructions,[6] existed to advise the Governor of the Straits Settlements and wielded no executive power (including the Colonial Secretary).

The Governor was required to consult the Executive Council on all affairs of importance unless they were too urgent to be laid before it, or if reference to it would prejudice the public service.

[11] In the general election held that year, the Labour Front took a majority of the seats in the Assembly, and David Saul Marshall became the first Chief Minister of Singapore.

This led to confrontation between Marshall, who saw himself as a prime minister governing the country, and the Governor, Sir John Fearns Nicoll, who felt that important decisions and policies should remain with himself and the Official Members.

[15] Other constitutional arrangements were swiftly settled in 1958, and on 1 August the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the State of Singapore Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz.

In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party (PAP) swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore.

In May 2009, then MP Hri Kumar proposed during a Parliamentary debate that this stand be reconsidered as the prime minister would be able to draw on the experience of many capable Singaporeans.

"[29] Critics have commented that adopting the practice would disenchant Singaporeans, deepen the already parochial political culture, and lead to a lack of accountability and legitimacy.

[27] At present, it is not clear what evidence the president may rely on to be satisfied that the prime minister has ceased to command the confidence of a majority of MPs, as the Singapore courts have not yet had to decide the issue.

[51] In theory, Parliament acts as a check on the power of the Cabinet as ministers are required to justify their actions and policies upon being questioned by MPs.

[61] In October that year, the Government issued a white paper entitled Competitive Salaries for Competent & Honest Government[62] which proposed that the salaries of ministers and civil servants be pegged at two-thirds the average principal earned income of the top four earners in six professions: accounting, banking, engineering, law, local manufacturing firms and multinational corporations.

Although "[s]alaries should never be the motivation for persons to become ministers", the financial sacrifice had to be minimized if outstanding and committed Singaporeans were to be encouraged to take on the "risks and public responsibilities of a political career".

[63] Following Parliamentary approval of the white paper in November 1994,[64] the Government established an independent panel to examine the benchmark for the prime minister's salary.

In response to public disquiet, Goh Chok Tong said that, spread across the population, the rises amounted to about $11 per person, equivalent to "about five plates of char kway teow [fried noodles with cockles] per Singaporean".

[69] The pay increases were justified by the Government on the grounds that the salaries had to keep pace with those in the private sector to attract the best talent and to avoid corruption.

[68] During a Parliamentary debate on the issue, then Nominated Member of Parliament Thio Li-ann said: "It would be a sad indictment of my generation if no one came forward to serve without excessive monetary inducement, as to be bereft of deep convictions is to be impoverished indeed.

"[70] On 11 April 2007, then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong told Parliament: "To make it quite clear why I am doing this, and also to give me the moral standing to defend this policy with Singaporeans, I will hold my own salary at the present level for five years.

"[71] The following day, it was clarified that the Prime Minister had decided to do so a while ago, and that he had not been influenced by pressure arising from the announcement of the ministerial pay rise.

[79] On 21 May 2011, following the 2011 general election, the prime minister announced that a committee would be appointed to review politicians' remuneration, and that revised salaries would take effect from that date.

The committee to Review Ministerial Salaries, then chaired by Gerard Ee rendered its report on 30 December 2011, and released it to the public on 4 January 2012.

As regards ministerial pay, the Committee recommended benchmarking an MR4-grade minister's salary to the median income of the top 1,000 wage earners who are Singapore citizens, with a 40% discount "to signify the sacrifice that comes with the ethos of political service".

Setting out the position of the Workers' Party, Chen Show Mao said that the basic monthly salary of an MP should be $11,000, the pay of an MX9-grade director in the Management Executive Scheme of the Civil Service.

"[89] Rounding up the debate, then deputy prime minister Teo Chee Hean said that under the WP's proposal for calculating ministerial salaries, the quantum achieved was similar to the sum proposed by the committee, and that in his view the WP had approved the three principles of the new system: the requirement for the pay to be competitive, recognition of the ethos of political service, and the desirability of a "clean wage" system (that is, one in which ministers do not receive additional benefits such as housing and medical allowances).

[97] The committee to Review Ministerial Salaries recommended that pensions for political appointment holders be abolished in favour of Central Provident Fund payments.