Singapore PM defends massive pay hikes as 'responsible course to take'

SINGAPORE: Singapore's prime minister said on Thursday he deliberated "long and hard" over an increase in ministerial and lawmakers' salaries, already among the highest in the world, but felt it was necessary to attract talent into government ranks. Lawrence Wong said in a parliamentary debate that the increase was "the responsible course to take". "One of our most important responsibilities is to ensure that Singapore continues to have capable political leadership in the years ahead," he said. The salary hike starts from October 15 and will increase the prime minister's annual pay by 64% to S$3.6 million ($2.85 million). According to data from non-profit PoliticalSalaries.com, the Singapore prime minister is the highest-paid world leader followed by the Hong Kong chief executive with $718,000 annually, and the Swiss president at $606,000. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump earns $400,000. A Singapore junior minister, whose salary is now S$1.1 million a year, will have a new salary that can go up to S$1.8 million a year depending on performance and responsibilities. However, the increment will start with a one-off increase of up to 9%. Lawmakers' pay will also rise to S$18,500 per month from S$13,750. The sharp hike of already high salaries meant to attract talent and deter graft has captured national attention, but the parliamentary debate was relatively muted with just six of the 95 elected lawmakers speaking. Singapore last adjusted ministerial salaries in 2012, when ministers took a pay cut of 36% to allay public discontent about how much they earned. Overall spending on salaries of those holding political appointments is expected to remain below 0.05% of government expenditure and below 0.01% of GDP, said Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing. In parliament, Pritam Singh, the head of the opposition Workers' Party, said his party "agrees with this more sober approach" of an up to 9% increment for members of parliament. The hike has sparked memes and unease online, with some users on Reddit calling it "tone deaf". Smaller opposition parties have opposed the hike. Singapore's median salary for fully employed residents was S$5,775 a month in 2025. Meanwhile, core inflation crept to an annual 2% in July with the central bank expecting the figure to remain elevated until the second half of 2027. ($1 = 1.2640 Singapore dollars)