Political pay structures elsewhere in Asia are shaped by factors including bureaucratic hierarchy, austerity and symbolic restraint
4-MIN READ4-MINVincent TanPublished: 8:00am, 16 Sep 2026Singapore’s ministers are among the world’s highest paid, a system its leaders have defended as necessary to attract capable people into public service and reduce the temptation of corruption.Its latest salary review has once again put the spotlight on that approach, while highlighting a wider regional divide over how Asian governments value political leadership and public service.Under the city state’s formula, the prime minister’s salary is pegged at twice the benchmark for an entry-level minister, which is based on the median annual income of the country’s top 1,000 Singaporean earners after applying a 40 per cent public-service discount.
