Bloated cabinet and rank inflation

Bloated cabinet and rank inflation bear uncanny similarities to the Myanmar military junta

When Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein called on his Singapore counterpart last week, we can be sure they did not merely discuss about the name of the orchid our nation has so kindly bestowed on him (we hope that orchid has not wilted yet by the stench of its new name).

A few days later, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a “cabinet renewal”. Well, it’s actually the same old stale soup except that quite a few climbed up the ranks. (read article here)

Did the Burmese general somehow impart their “art of governance” to our Prime Minister?

In a recent article published on Asian Times, the head of the Myanmar military junta Senior General Than Shwe was reported to have fostered rank inflation and growth of the flag officers corps to secure the loyalities of his men. (read article here)

This led to a bloated bureaucracy and rising government expenditure which threaten to saddle the state with an ineffective and expensive government.

The Prime Minister’s move to add more portfolios to an already bloated cabinet bears uncanny similarities to the Myanmar military junta’s self-preservation instincts.

After all, the PAP has admitted its difficulties in getting qualified Singaporeans to join its ranks. Those who do join eventually are probably enticed with promises of leadership positions in the government should they perform credibly well for an initial trial period.

Of the new faces introduced by the PAP in the 2006 general elections, three have been “fast-tracked” to become ministers - Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew becoming the Acting Minister for the Ministry of Information, Communications and Arts, Gan Kim Yong as the Acting Minister for Manpower and Lim Hwee Hua being made a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.

With the senior ministers remaining firmly entrenched in their positions, there is little choice but to create more new positions for the junior leaders to fill up.

The number of official positions within the cabinet is truly bewildering. Besides the ministers themselves, there are second ministers, acting ministers, senior ministers of state, ministers of state, senior parliamentary secretaries and parliamentary secretaries.

Some hold more than one position concurrently. For example, Mr S Iswaran will be appointed as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, concurrent with his present appointment of Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Why does a tiny island state of only 620 square kilometers in size inhabited by 4.5 million people need so many ministers to govern?

Such a bloated cabinet make governance a more complicated affair leading to reduced efficiency and it is an unnecessary toll on taxpayers as well.

Does a minister get separate salaries for the portfolios he or she is assuming? Is Lim Hwee Hua being paid for her concurrent posts as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Transport?

A minister is already being supported by a very capable civil service. Why does he still need a few senior ministers of state, ministers of state, second ministers, acting ministers and parliamentary secretaries to assist him?

These positions are absolutely redundant and can be do away with. If the Prime Minister wants to test out a particular MP, all he needs to do is to put him or her as an understudy to the minister in charge.

Having multiple and concurrent positions is both confusing and cumbersome. Though our PAP MPs are expected to multi-task, surely it will better for them to focus on their present job instead of dabbling their fingers in two or more ministries.

The root of the problem lies in the inherent structural weaknesses of the PAP system which necessitates a constant rewarding of positions to keep the allegiance of the newcomers.

The PAP has ceased to become a functioning political party where members are drawn by its ideals to join out of an innate desire and passion to serve the people.

It is a now a broken pseudo-corporate entity held ransom to monetary rewards in a desperate bid to recruit and retain talents within its ranks.

Talented Singaporeans will not join the PAP just to be an ordinary MP. They will rather ply their trade in the private sector. Therefore, the PAP needs to continue paying high salaries and offer government positions in order to recruit capable people to replace those who have left or retired.

The GRC system was put in place to ensure that these first-timers are not put through the rigors and heat of a political battle. As SM Goh Chok Tong once puts it succinctly, few people are willing to stand for elections under the PAP banner unless they are guaranteed a good chance of winning.

In 1968 when we were besieged by greater crises and dangers, we only have one Prime Minister and his deputy with 58 MPs running the country. Why do we need so many MPs and ministers now? Are we having an inferior team compared to the PAP old guard? If this is so, why should we paying them so much more?

This PAP system of governance is untenable in the long run and unfortunately Singaporeans will end up paying the price for an obsolete political entity which is bent only on preserving its own hegemony and power.

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