Tan See Leng says he would never have entered politics if money had been primary consideration
During the debate on political salaries, Dr Tan says he sometimes wishes he could have had a longer runway and been better equipped for public office.
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SINGAPORE: Minister Tan See Leng said on Thursday (Sep 10) that had money been his primary consideration, he would never have entered politics, as he reflected on the personal and financial sacrifices in leaving the private sector for public service.
“I just felt I had to give back to the country and the people who had given me so much,” Dr Tan said during the parliamentary debate on political salaries.
Dr Tan, 61, is currently minister for trade and industry (energy and industry). He was a practising doctor, and took on top leadership positions in the healthcare sector before entering politics in 2020.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that Singapore’s political office holders will receive a salary increase of up to 9 per cent – the first time since 2011 that ministerial salaries have changed.
Reflecting on his own experience, Dr Tan said those asked to enter public service would have to make considerable changes to their lives, while their spouses and children may have to make some sacrifices.
“Yes, we hope many will still answer the call. But please don’t forget, that at a personal level, there is much that they must be prepared to give up,” Dr Tan said, pointing to time, future opportunities, personal goals, privacy and financial remuneration as opportunity costs.
Some people would conclude that the “sum total” was too high, he added.
“If that happens too often, Singapore loses – not because these people who we reach out to lack the heart to serve, but because the personal price becomes too great.”
Dr Tan, who spent more than three decades in the private sector before entering politics, said no realistic level of ministerial salary could have matched what he was earning before joining the government – or what he could have continued earning had he stayed in the private sector.
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PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Dr Tan began his speech with personal reflections on his time in the private sector.
Before entering politics, Dr Tan was a practising doctor. He founded Healthway Medical Group and was its CEO from 1993 to 2002. Under his leadership, the group expanded to 40 locations and achieved a turnover of S$20 million (US$15.8 million).
He was Group CEO and managing director of Parkway Pantai from 2010 to 2019, and was also Group CEO and managing director of IHH HealthCare Berhad from 2014 to 2019.
“Over the years, my responsibilities grew beyond the consult room.
“I was privileged to lead healthcare organisations and businesses, with the opportunity to shape not just individual patient care, but healthcare systems that served hundreds of thousands of people,” said Dr Tan, adding that the work was “deeply meaningful and fulfilling”.
While intellectually challenging, the work also “rewarded me handsomely”, he said.
On why he eventually left that career behind, Dr Tan said there was no single defining moment.
“It was a gradual but a growing inner realisation that whatever experience I had accumulated over those years in the private sector could perhaps be put to good use in a different way – not to change just a few lives at a time, or to build an organisation, but to give back to my country and my people.
“So when the opportunity came to serve, I stepped forward.”
Political office was more demanding, with longer hours, heavier responsibilities, and decisions subject to scrutiny, as well as little separation between public duty and private life, he said.
But Dr Tan said he viewed public service as a special, but tough calling.
He added that the government was “unlike any organisation” he had ever worked in, with multi-faceted issues and difficult trade-offs having to be made.
“For me, the learning curve was not just steep, it was humbling … It still is today,” Dr Tan said.
“Even after decades of experience in leadership, I find myself having to learn something new every single day – learning how the government really works, how policies intersect; learning to listen better, balancing competing interests; and learning the good intentions alone are never enough.”
Dr Tan said he sometimes asks himself whether he had made the right choice in entering politics.
“Have I given up too much; am I really doing good to justify my choice of public service?
“The reality is that political service demands significantly more from those who choose to serve.”
LONGER RUNWAY
Dr Tan also reflected on entering politics relatively late in his career, saying he had wondered how things would have been if he had had the opportunity to serve earlier – in his 40s rather than his 50s.
“There are times, I wish I could have been better equipped for public office. Perhaps if I had a longer runway I could in time have contributed more, been more useful to Singapore,” he said.
He recognised it was not easy for young professional executives to walk away from careers they have spent years building.
Dr Tan referred to Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and former Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who had been surgeons before entering politics.
“Their ministerial salaries could never have matched what they gave up financially,” he said.
The same dilemma could confront an entrepreneur whose company is just taking off, someone in finance who was beginning to reap the big rewards of years of work, or a rapidly rising mid-career executive supporting ageing parents while raising children.
But these are exactly the kinds of people whose experiences Singapore might benefit from, if they chose public service, said Dr Tan.
“People who come into politics in their prime, have enough runway to learn the ropes from their seniors, and then make lasting contributions to Singapore.”
NEVER BE MOTIVATED BY PROFIT
Dr Tan said the debate was not about whether public service should be motivated by money.
“There is no question: it must never be motivated by financial profit,” he said.
Neither was the aim to ensure that ministers could earn what they would otherwise have made in the private sector, he said, describing that as “simply not possible”.
Instead, the more fundamental question was whether Singapore can continue attracting people of ability, integrity and experience from all walks of life into political service, including those in the prime of their careers, rather than only those who had already made their fortunes.
“If we make entry into public service come at too high a personal cost for too many capable Singaporeans, then over time we will indeed narrow the pool from which our country can draw its leaders from,” he said.
“And … that would be a far greater cost than any salary we debate in this House.”
At the end of the day, the strength of the government depends not on what it pays those who serve, but on whether it can continue to recruit the best people, he added.
Source: CNA/wt(mi)
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