Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong’s wife Ho Ching defends his US$1.6 million salary

Lee Hsien Loong’s wife has defended his seven-figure pay, saying Singapore’s political salary system is unique as it does not include perks or pensions

Ho is the chief executive of state investment firm Temasek Holdings, which has itself recently come under the spotlight on its executive compensation

Reading Time:2 minutes

Temasek Holdings chief executive Ho Ching. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:41pm, 21 Aug 2019Updated: 10:54am, 22 Aug 2019

Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, on Wednesday defended her husband’s salary, saying Singapore’s pay system for politicians was not comparable to those of other countries.

The city state’s wage system stands out as it does not have any other perks in kind during office, and no pensions or other benefits after the term ends, Ho said in a post on Facebook published on Wednesday.

Ho was responding to an article by local blog site Seedly, which compared Lee’s pay to that of US President Donald Trump, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam, and others.

Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong earns US$1.6 million including bonuses. Photo: Reuters

“In most, if not all, other countries, they would have many other perks during term of office, like butlers and hairdressers, free flights on national airlines, even family holidays, etc; and quite a number like the USA would include perks after end of term of office,” she wrote.

Lee’s annual salary is S$2.2 million (US$1.6 million), including bonuses, according to the government’s website.

His pay was such fodder for speculation that the government dedicated a webpage on the subject last September, which said Lee does not get a performance bonus.