ESM Goh
ESM Goh Chok Tong has emerged from retirement to tell us that we must be grateful and worried. Without record-high ministerial salaries, Singapore’s finest minds might actually have to suffer the horror of generating passive income from their $100 million nest eggs instead of “sacrificing” for the nation.
Imagine poor Shanmugam-level talents scraping by on a few million a year + 9.7 months of bonuses + fat allowances, all benchmarked to the top 0.02% of earners because obviously only the ultra-rich know how to lead. Retired ESM Goh Chok Tong has already told those of us who don’t mind this sort of “sacrifice” to shut up. We don’t even come close to the top 0.02%.
For the rest of us plebeians, the economic theory that happiness does not increase above a certain income level is known as the Easterlin Paradox. While richer people are generally happier than poorer people, research has shown that beyond a certain threshold (often cited around US$75,000–US$100,000 per year) additional income provides diminishing returns for daily emotional well-being, sometimes resulting in a plateau. That’s why many Singaporeans who earn $200,000 a year (only a fraction of our ministers’ income) are happy enough to be politically apathetic.
But look at the left hand side of the diagram. Our happiness plateaus differ! While you and I may be happy to have a working lift going up top our HDB unit, our ministers need a GCB. We can only blame ourselves for not being in that 0.02%
So how do we arrive at that 0.02%? The highest IQ? What about attributes like kindness and compassion. Did our ministers also score high in those areas? Recently, WP MP Gerald Giam asked something embarrassing in Parliament.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how many reports of biting by male Wolbachia mosquitoes have been received since 2024; (b) what is the current error rate for the sex-sorting process for Project Wolbachia; and (c) what scientific evidence ensures that these released male mosquitoes lack the physiological capability to bite or draw blood from humans.
Yep, yao mo gao chor ah? You mean he didn’t know that male mosquitoes of all species don’t such blood and only only feed on plant juices? So Mr Giam is ignorant about mosquito biology and I have seen hordes of PLPs sniggering away on social media. But does that make him a lousy MP? I once walked past him outside Hougang MRT. He nodded and smiled. I once met Peng Eng Huat inside the lift going up to my parents’ place. He said hello to me. I once saw Sylvia Lim at a Japanese restaurant. She smiled and waved. I also walked past Indranee Rajah outside the Supreme Court. She acted like I was transparent. Ng Chee Meng pointed his finger at my face and lectured me during his house visit when I asked him a tough question. My former division commander Chan Chun Sing talks to people like they are Hokkien peng though I thought his cotton from sheep debacle was decidedly more sia suay than Mr Giam’s male mosquito biting.
Some PLP insisted that Chan Chun Sing made a Freudian slip because he wasn’t prepared while Gerald Giam had all the time in the world to do his research. Well, for someone in the top 0.02% and drawing millions a year, I would hold him to a much higher standard. What’s more, if economic growth doesn’t translate into job security and a better life for our citizens, what’s the point of having economic growth? What’s the use of having an ocean of water that you can’t drink? This ought to be the most disappointing statement from our leaders but then, not everyone is disappointed.
Regardless of whether we the plebians get our share of the country’s wealth, our leaders are assured that they’ll get their share. Ironically, membership into that 0.02% is decided by humble folks who might not get a share of the country’s wealth. When you’re shipwrecked on an island, you don’t just want your fellow survivors to be able to find food. You also want them to be willing to share, especially when there’s plenty. What’s the point of having a good catch if only a privileged few get to eat?
Finally, I have a question for retired ESM Goh. Is the difficulty of finding ministerial material due to the lack of people willing to forgo tens of millions of dollars over a 20-year period or could it be because ministerial material, especially the humble and compassionate type, are unwilling to join a party for the top 0.02%?