CIVIL SERVICE NWC AWARD, PUBLIC SECTOR SALARY REVISIONS, AND REVIEW OF SALARY BENCHMARKS

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate resumed.

Dr Ong Chit Chung (Bukit Timah): Mr Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to join in the debate. Sir, I support the Government salary revision. In particular, the Government should be commended for taking the initiative to fine-tune the salary benchmarks and formula, making it even more realistic and practical.

Sir, after suffering pay cuts and being held back, in terms of benchmarking, during the Asian economic crisis, the question is: when should pay be adjusted for the public sector? Is it too soon? Is it too much? I think not.

Sir, we have a good Government. A good Government that shines like a beacon of light in the darkest moments of the Asian economic crisis. There is none better than the Singapore Government. It delivers. The Government brought us out of the economic crisis safe and sound. And Singapore is well-positioned indeed to ride the next wave of political and economic opportunities in the region. Whereas, in comparison, our neighbours have economic and political upheavals. We have peace, stability and economic growth. The Government has indeed given us security, peace and prosperity for more than 40 years. It has enhanced the assets of all Singaporeans. What more can we ask of a good Government?

We must pay well in order to have good men and women in the Government. The good men and women would make a major difference to the well-being of the entire nation. Let us not hold back but instead ensure that our country, Singapore, is in good hands, and that we have a bright future to look forward to. We can of course pay less, but we will get less. Rather, we should invest in our future and our children's future. It is, in my opinion, a very small price to pay to ensure that we have good Government, and good men and women in the Government.

Even the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), a Hong Kong-based think-tank, ranked Singapore first for the overall qualities of the political leadership and its successful economic management of the country. This is an independent research institution and it puts the Singapore Government right at the top, well ahead of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, with the rest of the other countries in the region trailing far, far behind all of us.

Sir, this is the real world. Let us not pretend that we can continue to have good Government without paying appropriate and realistic salaries. You get what you pay. This is the fundamental parameter and lesson from the private sector. We know it only too well because many of us are from the private sector.

Sir, it is indeed better to give realistic salaries to the public sector than to end up as a broken-back country and face the prospect of being refugees on the high seas, sailing to nowhere, as we have witnessed in so many other countries.

Sir, a new generation has grown up in Singapore, fascinated by IT, the dot.com and the life sciences. The Government has to compete for talents in the open market, even more so in the knowledge-based economy. Let us also not forget that good talented Singaporeans can also go global, go out of Singapore's shores to seek other opportunities in the brave new world outside.

Sir, I wish to make one point about performance of the public sector staff. I am glad that the Government is putting a greater portion of the pay into performance bonuses and incentives but I must highlight the perception that persists that the civil service is an iron rice bowl and many can get by day by day. The point here is that we must not be seen to be harbouring poor performers. We are not aware that many poor performers are downgraded or removed, whereas in the private sector, the risk factor is much, much higher, and staff are hired and fired according to performance and circumstances.

With higher pay, it is only right that we expect the Government to be more stringent in the selection and promotion of staff in ensuring accountability and not hesitating to act on non-performers. We must pay market rate. That is the right thing to do but, at the same time, market-related performance for the public sector staff must also be expected. The higher the pay, the higher should be the performance. The civil service should not forget that ordinary Singaporeans, the men-in-the-street, are indeed their pay masters, as well as their customers.

Sir, what is of concern to all Singaporeans is the widening income gap in the country, which is very much part of the global trend in the wake of the new economy, something we cannot totally avoid. It is impossible to close the income gap completely and swim against this tide but Singapore should do all we can locally to minimise the income gap. We must not allow the income divide to become a political divide of the haves and have-nots. We should take every opportunity to emphasise job training and skills upgrading for the bulk of the population, especially those older workers who need to re-adapt and retrain for the new economy.

In conclusion, I dare say that we indeed have a good Government and we should be thankful that we have a good Government, and we should support this pay revision.