PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION (Remuneration of Members)

11.42 a.m.

The Chief Secretary (Mr W. A. C. Goode): Sir, I move,

That this Assembly, pursuant to subsection (1) of section 10 of the Public Service Commission Ordinance (No. 41 of 1956), resolves that the remuneration of the Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission shall be as follows:-

(a) for the Chairman, an inclusive salary of $2,300 per month.

(b) for the Deputy Chairman a retainer of $750 per month and, in addition, $50 per day on which he attends a meeting of the Commission with a maximum of 20 days in any one month; and

(c) for other Members, a retainer of $500 per month and, in addition, $50 per day on which they attend a meeting of the Commission with a maximum of 20 days in any one month.

Sir, I hope that this motion will not require any advocacy from me. It seeks the approval of this Assembly, in accordance with the law, to the rates of remuneration which we consider to be appropriate for the members of the newly reconstituted Public Service Commission, a body charged with a task that is not only onerous and responsible, but is undoubtedly of vital importance to the future good government of Singapore.

The remuneration proposed for the Chairman has been fixed both in relation to the remuneration paid to the Chairman of the previous Public Service Commission, which was $1,890 a month, and also in relation to the salary of a Judge of the Supreme Court, which, as the Assembly may be aware, is $1,950, with the usual allowances payable to Government officers. In the case of a salary of $1,950 the variable allowance for a married man would be $280, making a total of $2,230.

In view of the statutory provision of subsection (2) of section 10 of the Ordinance, that the remuneration of the Members of the Commission shall not be diminished during their term of office, we have thought it better not to link that remuneration in any way with the variable allowance paid to Government officers. The variable allowance, as the name implies, is subject to variation and to reduction, and we have accordingly put the Chairman on an inclusive salary of $2,300 a month.

The rate for the Members of the Commission remains the same as that paid to the Members of the previous Commission, and their appointments are, of course, on the understanding that they may continue their other occupations. But the Deputy Chairman will have greater responsibility, and to mark that we have fixed his retainer at $750 a month as compared with $500 a month for the ordinary Member of the Commission.

I said just now, Sir, that the Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission are undertaking a most onerous and important public duty, and I ask all Members of this House to join me in wishing them well in their task. The time for criticism and recrimination is past. The public service is being rapidly malayanised and, in a matter of months, the full burden of work and responsibility will fall on the shoulders of local officers. At the same time, we have transferred to the new Public Service Commission the full responsibility for appointments, for promotions and for discipline in the public service. These are not easy matters - and I speak with some experience in handling them. They involve mastery of the code of Government regulations and administrative procedure, and they involve many very difficult and very worrying personal decisions.

The Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission will need, Sir, the wholehearted and unwavering support of this Assembly if they are to discharge their duties in the best interests of Singapore, and if they are to command the prestige and respect both of the public and of the public service which are essential to their success. So I do hope, Sir, that they may start their term of office with the unanimous good wishes of all of us in this Assembly. Sir, I beg to move.

Mr Braga: I second it.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this Assembly, pursuant to subsection (1) of section 10 of the Public Service Commission Ordinance (No. 41 of 1956), resolves that the remuneration of the Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission shall be as follows:-

(a) for the Chairman, an inclusive salary of $2,300 per month;

(b) for the Deputy Chairman, a retainer of $750 per month and, in addition, $50 per day on which he attends a meeting of the Commission with a maximum of 20 days in any one month; and

(c) for other Members, a retainer of $500 per month and, in addition, $50 per day on which they attend a meeting of the Commission with a maximum of 20 days in any one month.