SINGAPORE, Jan 12 — Singapore will soon review the salaries of its political office holders, following the deferral of the last scheduled review in 2023.

Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing, who is also Coordinating Minister for Public Services, said the move is timely as the salary structure and benchmarks have not been updated since they were introduced in 2012.

He was responding to a parliamentary question by Alex Yam on whether the government would proceed with a review after the earlier delay.

The current framework, established following a 2012 review, was intended to be assessed every five years by an independent committee and covers political appointment holders, Members of Parliament and Non-Constituency Members of Parliament.

A subsequent review in 2017 found the framework to be sound and recommended annual adjustments in line with benchmark salaries, but the government chose not to make any changes.

The scheduled review in 2023 was later deferred due to global economic uncertainty and downside risks at the time.

Chan said the government has now convened an independent committee, chaired by Gan Seow Kee, which will submit its report to the government before an update is provided to Parliament. — Reuters