High ministerial salaries have always been a controversial topic.
However, the costs of running Singapore’s parliament, judiciary and
cabinet have not been the subject of much public discourse.
Following the redrawing of electoral boundaries for this general election, the number of elected Members of Parliament (MPs) in the next Parliament has been increased from 87 to 89. Including the non-elected MPs, namely, three Non-constituency MPs (maximum nine) and nine Nominated MPs (maximum nine), the current total number of parliamentarians adds up to 99. Compare this to the first parliament of Singapore which had 64 MPs who were all elected in single-member constituencies.
The reasons for increasing the number of MPs have not been told and people generally do not question why we need so many MPs in Singapore. But each MP receives a monthly salary which is paid by the tax-payer. In addition, there is a Parliamentary Secretariat that provides support to Parliament together with its support staff.
The Cabinet governs the country and consists of different ministries that are headed by cabinet ministers. The Prime minister heads the cabinet and is assisted by two Deputy prime ministers and supported by some 18 ministers (Click HERE), making a total of 21 ministers. Compare this to our first cabinet in 1960 that consisted of one Prime Minister, one Deputy Prime Minister and seven Ministers, making a total of nine ministers. And in 1985, exactly 25 years after Singapore became independent, there were 13 ministers, with one Senior Minister and two Deputy Ministers (Click HERE).
Each minister is in turn supported by junior ministers, parliamentary secretaries, permanent secretaries, and several layers of ministry officials and the annual budget for each ministry has been increasing. The judiciary has also been expanding and the number of judicial officers and supporting staff has also increased at a rapid rate with new policy directions.
According to Budget 2015, the total estimated government expenditure (including our parliament and judiciary) for FY 2015 is S$ 46,490,503,600 (Click HERE). The growth of our population, global changes and greater efficiency may be the reasons for such a heavy expenditure but considering that the tax-payers are funding it all, the question that begs to be asked is whether or not there is wastage or overspending. Has any study been made to see if we are optimising the use of our resources and if we could scale back some spending?
The reasons for increasing the number of MPs have not been told and people generally do not question why we need so many MPs in Singapore. But each MP receives a monthly salary which is paid by the tax-payer. In addition, there is a Parliamentary Secretariat that provides support to Parliament together with its support staff.
The Cabinet governs the country and consists of different ministries that are headed by cabinet ministers. The Prime minister heads the cabinet and is assisted by two Deputy prime ministers and supported by some 18 ministers (Click HERE), making a total of 21 ministers. Compare this to our first cabinet in 1960 that consisted of one Prime Minister, one Deputy Prime Minister and seven Ministers, making a total of nine ministers. And in 1985, exactly 25 years after Singapore became independent, there were 13 ministers, with one Senior Minister and two Deputy Ministers (Click HERE).
Each minister is in turn supported by junior ministers, parliamentary secretaries, permanent secretaries, and several layers of ministry officials and the annual budget for each ministry has been increasing. The judiciary has also been expanding and the number of judicial officers and supporting staff has also increased at a rapid rate with new policy directions.
According to Budget 2015, the total estimated government expenditure (including our parliament and judiciary) for FY 2015 is S$ 46,490,503,600 (Click HERE). The growth of our population, global changes and greater efficiency may be the reasons for such a heavy expenditure but considering that the tax-payers are funding it all, the question that begs to be asked is whether or not there is wastage or overspending. Has any study been made to see if we are optimising the use of our resources and if we could scale back some spending?
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