A check revealed that the top 1,000 earners included people like Singapore Exchange's executive vice president Lawrence Wong, who pocketed S$1.4 million dollars in 2010; Hyflux's Group CEO Olivia Lum, who earned S$1.6 million; and Keppel Corporation CEO Choo Chiau Beng, who earned a whopping S$8.1 million a year.
The amounts represent the total package which include variable components.
Since the Committee to Review Ministerial Salary released its report last week, government feedback portal REACH has received close to 460 comments (as of 6.30pm).
The top two issues of concern were the percentage and quantum of pay reduction, as well as the new salary benchmark.
Feedback was divided as to whether Singaporeans felt the proposed pay cut of about a-third for ministers, is significant. In a quick poll, 43 per cent of respondents said they agreed to a moderate and great extent, that the cut was significant, while 55 per cent thought otherwise.
Eugene Tan, Assistant Professor with the Law Faculty at Singapore Management University, said: "I suppose Singaporeans are still uncomfortable with the fact that their ministers are among the highest paid in the world.
"I suppose given the concern of the average median income, the widening income gap, there might be some concerns on whether ministers are overpaid."
Remuneration experts though, said the new salary structure makes for a more equitable pay, especially when one takes into account the basic pay of S$715,000 a year for an entry grade minister.
Peter Lee, managing consultant with Remuneration Data Specialists, said: "This pay review comes up with a basic salary of S$55,000 a month. That to me, is not too high.
"In fact, technically we can equate somewhat to that of a top CEO job. The median fixed salary of a top CEO, in other words a company with over US$1 billion market capital or shareholder funds, you find that the median fixed salary is about S$800,000."
The proposed salary structure, now pegged to the median pay of the top 1,000 Singaporean earners, has been described as being "too elitist" as this accounts for only a small pool (0.05%) of the total workforce.
Observers said a clearer explanation is needed on the salary range, since not all ministers will be a top performer who earns S$1.1 million a year, including seven months (a one-month annual variable component, a three-month performance bonus and a three-month National Bonus) of variable components.
Asst Prof Tan said: "I suppose Singaporeans haven't reconciled with 'What is public service, what is the extent of public service?' We haven't really dealt with concerns such as what is the value of public service? What is the price tag?
"I think perhaps there is too much of a focus at this point, among Singaporeans on the price tag. In a way, not looking at the value of a good government, made up of talented and committed Singaporeans, what sort of difference that would make. (The government) will have to then demonstrate through the quality of policies, the implementation of policies, to show that Singaporeans are indeed getting value for money."
"I think that's where the challenge lies. I think with the emphasis on greater transparency, Singaporeans will know exactly what the ministers are getting and hopefully with a sort of annual report on the performance of ministers... That will help in a way to remove a lot of misunderstandings, a lot of speculations as to what ministers are actually drawing."
HR experts said that perhaps the term "ministerial salaries" has to be tweaked to better reflect total pay.
David Ang, executive director at the Singapore Human Resources Institute, said: "I think quite a lot depends on how we communicate this whole revision of the package. For example, we communicated that it is 'ministerial pay'. I think it's too broad a description and it gives rise to a lot of emotive issues.
"From a HR perspective, we tend to be a bit more specific in terms of what we would say are the total compensation and the total package, and we have different components. One part is what we call the basic (pay), which can include the 13th month (bonus). So we are very clear about this."
"I think it would be good to say that there's a total compensation, a total remuneration package. We call it a 'compensation and benefits' package. In HR, we call it a rewards package, which encompasses a number of things."
There is also tension with regards to the ethos of political service. Many Singaporeans feel that becoming a minister should not just be about the pay, while almost an equal number said that the pay has to be competitive enough so that the right talents come forward to serve the nation.
-CNA/ac
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