‘Complete leap of faith’: PM Wong on his decision to step into politics

SINGAPORE – When Prime Minister Lawrence Wong decided to resign from the civil service to run in the 2011 General Election, no one had told him what position or what pay package he would get if elected.

“At that point, I did not know where I would contest, whether I would be elected, what responsibilities I might be asked to take on, or what I would be paid,” he said on Sept 10, recounting his experience when entering politics.

“No one told me, if you win, this is the position you will get. This is the remuneration package. No one. It was a complete leap of faith.”

PM Wong, who was chief executive of the Energy Market Authority then, said he lost his pension as he was just shy of the 15-year mark to retain it when he resigned.

He was fielded in 2011 as part of the five-member PAP team in West Coast GRC, which won with 66.57 per cent of the vote against the Reform Party. 

When announcing the salary changes on Sept 8, PM Wong had said he would donate his full salary increase to good causes for the next five years.

The prime minister’s annual salary will go up from $2.2 million to $3.6 million, including bonuses. This means he will donate $1.4 million each year.

In his speech on Sept 10 during the debate on changes to political salaries, PM Wong clarified that he would also donate any tax benefit arising from the donations, following questions about the matter.

He said some friends had asked him if he regrets his decision to join politics, since he might have become a permanent secretary if he had stayed in civil service.

He could have kept his pension, earned more and faced far less public scrutiny, all while still serving Singapore.

PM Wong said his answer was no, adding: “I valued my years in the civil service greatly, and I continue to have the highest regard for those who serve Singapore in that way.”

“But political service is a different kind of responsibility,” he said. “You are not just helping to carry out decisions or implement decisions. You have to make the difficult choices, set the strategic direction, bring people along, and ultimately take responsibility for the outcomes.”

That is why he chose this path, he said, adding that the same is true of his colleagues. “We step forward to do what we can for Singapore and to serve our fellow citizens.”

Turning to the “tea sessions” that PAP leaders have with prospective candidates, he said: “What may be less well known is that we also ask candidates to write something about themselves.”

It is an old practice but a good one that the party has kept till today, he added.

He recounted that he wrote in 2011 that having worked as a civil servant, he knew that for Singapore to succeed, every generation “must throw up its own leaders” – people prepared to take ownership of the country and to serve their fellow citizens.

“And I wrote that I would like to be part of that team, to make a difference where it counted, and to contribute to Singapore’s development,” he said.

“That’s how I felt, and it is still how I feel today.”

PM Wong then said he knows there are Singaporeans who feel the same way as he did, and would be prepared to answer the call to serve and take responsibility for Singapore.

“Our task is to find such people, persuade them to step forward, and sustain a political system that enables them to serve with commitment and purpose,” he added.