Holy shit, he really said that?

BBC: Finally Prime Minister, I read that you’re apparently the highest-paid head of government in the world. Your salary is about four, five times what President Obama gets. Are you worth all that money?

LHL: (Laughs) I’m not comparing myself and I don’t look at these rankings. We go on a system which is open, honest, transparent. What is the job worth, what is the quality of person whom you want. You need the best people for the job and these are jobs where you make decisions which are worth billions of dollars. And you cannot do that if you’re pretending and you just say, well, we’re all in it for the love of king and country. We wanted to be honest, we want people not to come in for the money but at the same time, their sacrifice cannot be too great. And at times like these, you want the best possible government you can have. [BBC Audio Link]

Is this the best $3.7 million comment from the highest paid politician in the whole wide world? The words from the best of the best in Singapore?

"The sacrifice cannot be too great"? Yes, a frigging sacrifice worth $3,700,000 per annum with "no sound , no picture" when Mas selamat jalan; GIC & Temasek lost billions and Town Council did the Lehman Bro Special!

Sacrifice? For heaven's sake, the real sacrifice comes from the common NSmen and reservists (NOT WHITE HORSES) who are paid real peanuts (not the Mrs Goh Chok Tong's kind) for their priceless service to nation! Yes, I still remember the measly $60 NS pay which increased to $90 per month during my time! Yes, we did the "sai kang" [shit job in NS] for the love of king and country and we've been had! It's so sad that Singapore has changed from a country to a cuntry where no money, no honey? The greed culture set by the leaders is here to stay!

The day they paid themselves millions, they made a mockery of national service and nation building. The damage is done! Whatever spin that they can come out with to justify their greed will sound hollow. The saddest joke is the "decisions which are worth billions of dollars" are just that! Lost through GIC and Temasek!

To hear the highest paid politician in the world come out with such wisdom of self-worth and self praise is indeed a national disgrace! Greatgrandma of my grandchild is right again when she commented, "Lee mai kui chui, lang bway kong lee si eh kau!". Roughly translated from Hokkien, "Lee (you) don't open your mouth, nobody would call you dumb!"

Or is it another case of "chui kong lumpar song?" [meaning: mouth speaks, testicles happy]

The "job worth" and the "quality of person" of the highest paid is beyond my comprehension.

I've always thought that "Fixing the opposition and buying votes" [link] was the main Job Spec of PM. Now we learn that "open, honest and transparent" self-praise is also required to earn one's keep.

Well, maybe he thinks he is just 'too big to fail'! [Link]

While they never get tired of their hubris, I'm tired of "pretending" that we are getting value for money from these minsters.

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