1/13/2012

Protect our ministers

Don’t give me that puzzled look can? I was thinking of another title, ‘The temptation of Jesus Christ’, but that may be too religious an approach. There are many reasons why Sinkies need to stand up to protect the ministers. And there are many known and good reasons to do so. We were told that they are the crème ala crème of the super talents on this piece of rock. This must be a good enough reason for many Sinkies. Many also believe that they are the best people to run this country. Without them, the economy is going to go downhill, prices of properties will collapse, many would become foreign workers. There will be a flight of capital and investments and we will slide back to the Third World. Our reserves and CPF savings will become banana currency. We don’t want that to happen.

There is a more basic reason to want to protect the ministers. The most fundamental assumption of the Ministerial Salary Review Committee is that the ministers are also humans. This rude revelation is a big departure from the assumption that they are immortals. Good that the Committee set this record straight for once. This assumption is also similar to the fear that they will succumb to temptation to be corrupt. Looking at them as humans, understanding the weaknesses of human weaknesses is half the battle won. There is no need to pretend that they are immortals and above the weaknesses of human beans. As humans they are subject to the same temptations of the flesh, of greed, of corruption, and the endless desires and wants.

This is what I mean when I say we need to protect the ministers as they are human beans too. Monday, Parliament is going to debate the salary recommendations of the Review Committee. And it is likely that they are going to vote for or against it. With 81 MPs and the Whip in force, the recommendations will be passed. This is bad. The recommendations are full of treacherous loopholes and traps that will compromise and bring down the good ministers.

I hope that they will be wise enough to look for a clean and simple package that will protect them from the temptations of man, of being human. I hope they will come out with a simple recommendation, a new recommendation that will remove all the loopholes and trappings that will lead the ministers to their downfall. It is unfair to design a system that is flawed and inviting the beneficiaries to think crooked. The new recommendations on the table are not much different from the current package, with many variables and flexibilities and loopholes for wrongdoings. If the ministers are put in a situation where they can be selective in what they are doing, say by doing this or that they could improve their bonuses etc, being human and weak, they could be lured into those erroneous paths.

There is no need to throw away the whole recommendations in toto. The recommendations have provided a decent framework as to how much the ministers can hope to get as their salary. Just compute them into simple numbers like $1.1m which is the base and $10m which is the maximum. With these two extremes, add a couple of options like $3m and $5m. Remove all the other variables and measurement criteria. Just put the four numbers to vote and let them be the salary of the ministers.

Once this is done, the ministers will be released from all the distraction of money, money will no longer be their daily preoccupation. An added precaution is that there shall be no other incomes by virtue of other appointments or duties. They can take on whatever duties or appointments if they so desired, but no more money, not even a token allowance. No more creative appointments as well. This will then be the simplest and cleanest and most transparent package for the ministers, and to protect them from themselves, to free them from temptations, and from thinking crooked. I want to say no crooked bridges as well, but that would be too complex to deal with.

May the main task of Parliament next week be towards a revised and simple salary package for the ministers. This is the best that everyone can hope for, for country, for the ministers and for the people. The police or uniformed personnel can do whatever to protect the ministers, but the most difficult task is for the ministers to protect from themselves. The people need to do their part to assist the ministers by proposing a simple compensation package that is free from mischief and temptation. This is a responsible thing to do. It is a simple task but very daunting. And it would need very brave and righteous ministers to agree with such a proposal. Just tell them it is for their own good and their own protection. Think they will understand the simple logic behind the proposal and assumption.

May God bless them and give them wisdom in this very difficult moment of their lives. Boon Wan is the best person to help to enlighten the rest of the ministers, to see light in times of darkness.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is your third or fourth or fifth articles on the same topics. You are dead serious about the SIMPLE PACKAGE, yes even "increasing their base(only)pay".
The cabinet never "foresee" the dangers of the recommendations (by the committee), so shortsighted they are.
I would like to "bookmark" or "download" your article and read it after 2 further election cycles.

Divali said...

[Transparent Pay System, My Foot]


But unknown to most of us, and the whole wide world watching the money game in play, the PM seems to have an ace up his sleeve that runs counter current to all the talk about the pain of pay cuts. This get-out-of-jail free card (as if ministerhood was indentured servitude) would make sure the appointee can have his cake and eat it too. Specifically, the PM is empowered to offer...

http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/2012/01/transparent-pay-system-my-foot.html

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Pay them and be done. There can never be any such thing as a "fair" system. These people TAKE they don't EARN therefore it's impossible to establish an idea of a market price for their labour/ intellectual / management / leadership services.

So the task is left to deciding on finding a purely ARBITRARY STANDARD which means anything goes, no right, no wrong, which leads me to the conclusion -- just make it up, pay the fuckers, and be done with it.

Anyway most of the commentary is commkng from people too emotionally worked up and locked in a blame-fest of illusory problems resulting from the over-exaggeration of small events. People blame the government for everything which is perceived to go wrong. So how can any of these folks be trusted to be "objective" when it comes to discussing ministerial salary?

That would be like expecting horny, masturbating monkeys at the zoo to do calculus

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Hi Divali, thank you for pointing it out.

I decided not to use the title, Temptation of Christ, because Christ was not tempted by the Devil. Mortals in his place would be easily tempted.

A simple and clean salary is Very Important to prevent ponding in the whole compensation package.


I can design a package with $300k per annum as the base to con the sinkies but with many hidden or flexible variables, and the unthinking Sinkies will go around happily claiming that the pay is only $300k.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Matilah, that's what I am saying. Pay them whatever, $5m, $10, just ask them how much they want. But make it clean. No hidden or variable stuff. Period.

The part about people blaming govt is so foolish of you. Today it is not people blaming govt but govt blaming people. Got it?

Can't you see that they are feeling so pressurised by the people calling for salary cut?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Aiyah the government has always blamed the people for nearly 50 years. Nothing new there

Anonymous said...

No, that would be like expecting horny, masturbating Jizzus Cuntry aka Matilah Singapura to do calculus

Anonymous said...

You should have called it, "temptation of Jizzus Cuntry"

Anonymous said...

Not wise to let pay be a stumbling block at the ministerial level. Then again, if you are looking for pop stars you should expect to pay market rate.

Structurally, the stage is designed for "pop stars"

Before anything else, you must do the necessary if you want to get the price right.

Or else, comes election, it will be ugly again.

Anonymous said...

Redbean,

may I recommend you the most eff ective pay solution ever that work for our God-In-White and hope that you can recommend it because it is really that good. I am very humble man and give this solution for free, usually this type of recommendation will required to pay me $1 million but I give it for free because I pity our MIW with paycut and thus give them a very good solution so that they can be very, very, very , very happy.



So the solution that I recommend is the very same solution that recommend by our MIW on lesser mortals. Since they give us this medicine, the medicine can also work on them because they admit that they are also human not GOD.


This solution is called Subsidy Affordability and Rebate aka SAR

SAR make sure that our MIW get infected with the right and satisfying renumeration, and SAR prove to be very successful when applies to lesser mortals (remember that there is no public protest), so naturally this solution works on MIW too !



REBATE:
We should give our Ministar $20,000 per month, and give them one time rebate per year of $100,000 . This package is still very generous compare to other country, and very down-to-earth package indeed since our clowns suddenly become human.


Subsidy:
If our gahmen's lifestyle get affected by the paycut, they can request for subsidy from the government, and we the public will determine how much to assist them with maximum subsidy of $10,000.


Affordability:
If the gahmen still complain that their salary not enough to buy them bungalows, properties, new BMW, new Merc,
Tell them that all these are really already very affordable because they can pay installament up to 30 years. And these we really can't help because it is proven affordable since they agree with Marlboro Tan on the definition of Affordability is:
IF YOU CAN PAY UP, IT IS AFFORDABLE !


Don't worry that our MIW can't adjust to paycut, they will get use to it just lesser mortals get use to arising price hike. MIW are human with short memory just like any of us. They soon forgotten that they have paycut !


With the above recommendation, I hope both MIWs and lesser mortals can live together happily after.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Haha, that is as good as KY gel or solution.

My suggestion is more generous than Gerard's. Gerard only offers them $2-3m and need to monkey around with the variable components and KPIs to get more. Mine is up to them, be it $5m or $10m, just ask and be given. After that get to work for the good of the people. Don't have to tweak anything to get more bonuses from the formula. Bonuses given in advance, in goodwill and belief that they will serve the people well.

And if they can improve the life of the people, come next GE they can ask for more and the people will willingly give.

But if they screw up, then they will have to ask for less or the people will say good riddance.

This is what democracy is all about, performance and reward, linked to the people's well being.

Anonymous said...

Redbean got the spirit right, take as much as they(MIWs) want, JUST DELIVER THE GOODS TO THE PEOPLE.
Everyone will be please and be pleased with one another.

patriot

Anonymous said...

One of the many sacred cows has been slaughtered. Hopefully more and more sensitive issues can be tackled. Nothing is OB

Anonymous said...

Satire
-------
MENSA reports that the IQ of Singapore politicians have increased by 10%.
After PAP lost the Aljunied GRC.

Anonymous said...

The taxi driver is paid in so many ways to bring a passenger from point A to point B. That is his job and he is amply rewarded.

Now he turns around and say, if I drive well, if I make the drive more comfortable, if I sing karaoke, you must appreciate what I am doing and give me more tips. And tips means tip plus the whole iceberg beneath.

Anonymous said...

P_igs
A_re
P_igs

Dogs cannot change eat shit habbit.
狗改不了吃屎

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Employers who left their money and valuables around to tempt the maids are irresponsible. The temptation of money for the taking is too much even for immortals.

The Sinkies are irresponsible if they allow the politicians to write their own paychecks, decide how much they want and to take.

It is the fault of the Sinkies for allowing this to happen. Don't blame the maids or the politicians.