RETIRED CIVIL SERVANTS (Ex-gratia payment)

Mr Ling How Doong asked the Prime Minister, as Members of Parliament who retired before 31st December 1992 will receive the ex-gratia payment, whether the Government will consider the same for civil servants who retired before 31st December 1992 instead of 1st January 1982 and, if so, how many more retired civil servants will benefit from the scheme and the additional amount involved.

Mr Wong Kan Seng (for the Prime Minister): Sir, the answer to the first part of the Question is "no". The civil servants will not be considered for the same kind of ex-gratia payment when they retired before 31st December 1992 instead of 1st January 1982.

The reason is that it is not appropriate to compare Members of Parliament with civil servants. The retired civil servants' contribution to the political destiny of Singapore, while important, was not equal to that of the retired MPs. They did not face the same risk to their lives and limbs as the MPs who stood for and won their elections in the turbulent period from 1959 to 1965. Furthermore, pensionable civil servants have secure tenure whereas the MPs' tenure is uncertain. They may or may not be re-elected. Moreover, those civil servants who retired after 1st January 1982 would have received a higher pension because the NWC payments after this date, till 1993, were made pensionable. From 1993, NWC adjustments as well as salary revisions were made non-pensionable.

Although MPs who retired before 31st December 1992 will receive the "ex-gratia" payment, the cut-off date for computing their reckonable service for the "ex-gratia" payment is 31st March 1989, and not 31st December 1992. This is because the MP's allowance was significantly revised after 31st March 1989 and the service rendered after this date had been adequately recognised.