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Author: Cheryl Guzman
Note title: Diss-Gace-Fu Ministerial Salary Review
I woke up this morning and saw this comment by MP Grace Fu, and as a taxpayer, I am going to practice my right to say something.
theonlinecitizen
MP Grace Fu: "When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were. The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut. If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering political office."
Dear Ms Grace Fu,
Before you comment on yours and your fellow colleagues' impending salary cuts, I have a few questions for you. Seeing that you hold quite a double portfolio (Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts & Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources), you might need some help from me to guide you in your train of thought because like SMRT, I think you have derailed and broken away from your true purpose as a Minister- a civil servant so to speak.
1. What were your reasons (really), when you decided to joined the PAP in 2006. Of course pay was not a factor then because being a Minister was going to pay more as a CEO, South East Asia & Japan of PSA International Pte Ltd. The "glory" that came with it? The money? Because it sure doesn't seem like it was the need to serve the nation and people. Your motivations for joining the civil service are/were clearly wrong. If you are worried about future possible salary cuts again (that are tied to your performance), quit now and let someone else with the heart to serve, do it for the right reasons.
2. You said if there are further cuts to your over $1.1 million annual salary, and up to 13.5 months bonus, it would deter people from joining politics. Maybe you are so busy wondering where to put your money and holding your double-portfolio that you find no time to read the papers because other than your colleagues, ALL of your fellow politicians globally (who govern bigger countries and more often than not bigger and troubling issues like war, natural disasters, political unrest, debt crises...etc) earn less than you. I'm sure your job has its challenges, but being in charge of Information, Arts and Communications versus a Prime Minister who has to fight to make sure his country doesn't go into default... honestly... it makes your job look like child's play.
3. If you were so worried about a change in standard of living for your family with the pay cut, then what is your husband for? I'm sure you have the luxury (unlike many others) of a double income since your maid is around to help care for your three children. And does your standard of living inlcude a 3 room HDB flat, taking crowded public transport, no nice family holidays, SGD$1000 income per month, and mountains of bills that you worry you cant pay every month? You do know that your so-called standard of living is not the common STANDARD of living amongst alot of your fellow Singaporeans. Especially not the lower 20% that you now have to buck up to help raise that standard of living. So stop the sod story.
4. You're worried about loss of privacy and public scrutiny? You should have known that comes with the job. It's like a taxi driver who complains that he hates driving (though he probably has less of a comfort in his income than you are). Let's face it, you don't get chase down the road by paparrazzis and yourself and your colleagues ever only make an appearance once every 5 years when you need our votes. I'm sure if you stepped out of your house (which is not in Yuhua- which you are an MP for), hardly anyone would recognize you. I am sorry to inform you that you're not a celebrity (not even the so-called local artistes are celebrities). You're a civil servant. Just like Mdm Zubaidah teaching Maths in Loyang Secondary School.
5. You whine about a pay cut that still makes you a millionaire. Well the economy wasn't exactly stellar the last two years, and many people saw themselves take a paycut too. With some losing their jobs. So what is your bone of contention here? This is your first pay cut in your entire career and your tone seems one filled with regret and warning of what future cuts could result in. Obama earns less than you, but he still joined politics. I'm pretty sure he is more talented and capable than you, because for a start, he speaks better. So does every other Minister (and a certain Royal family). Money and talent? Join X-Factor. it's a USD$5million contract. There you get more money and you can show off whatever this talent is that all of you keep harping on. And you only need to win 3 votes out of 4 to get through.
6. People deal with tsunami devastations and you can't even solve a "ponding" issue (you guys shot yourself in the foot by trying to downplay the actual flooding by calling it "ponding", so now it just seems like you're being paid millions and yet can't even solve a simple plumbing problem).
7. Quit being a public SERVANT now because you are definitely in it for the wrong reasons- duty to serve comes after money in the bank. Join X-factor and I might still vote for you. Continue to whine and gripe about your (no longer outrageously) but still obscenely high salary, and 5 years down the road, you'll see if anyone would still vote for you.
We're paying your salaries, so get back to work and quit wasting time making diss-grace-fu comments like that because it just puts you in the limelight which puts you in public scrutiny (which you "seem" to want to avoid).
Thanks.
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