SDP Chief Chee Soon Juan: True leaders eat last. It is about improving the people’s lives, not your own

SINGAPORE: While the increase in salaries for political officers in Singapore was announced almost two months ago, it is still a topic that appears to be very much at the top of Singapore Democratic Party Chief Chee Soon Juan’s mind.

Dr Chee talked about it in a video he posted on social media on Thursday (Oct 29), questioning why the increase took place at a time when some in Singapore are facing hardships.

He specifically cited Prof Tommy Koh as having said that 100,000 citizens cannot even afford one hot meal a day, as well as other problems, such as the number of businesses shutting down, elevated retrenchment levels, and the slowdown in residents’ employment.

Moreover, he noted that 60% of the workers in Singapore said in 2024 that they live paycheque the paycheque, although to be fair, the research this figure was taken for said that this was due to prioritising experiences and self-care over financial planning.

Nevertheless, Dr Chee also mentioned mental health issues as Singapore’s biggest health concern, driven, at least in part, by the high cost of living. He added that the number of suicides and bankruptcies have increased in the city-state.

“Does all this look like the government has our backs? And it’s not our backs that we’re worried about. It’s the assault from the front that we fear,” he said, going on to mention higher costs for a range of items, such as the GST, transport, water, and so on.

“At the time when things are deteriorating, when we cannot fix the problems that people are facing, they say let’s go ahead and increase our salaries. Such an irresponsible act goes against everything I’ve learned about leadership. True leaders eat last. True leadership is about service, not privilege, about sacrifice, not self-enrichment. It is about improving the people’s lives, not your own.

A true leader doesn’t ask, ‘What is my market value and how much should I be compensated?’. A true leader asks, what more can I do for my people?” he added.

The SDP chief also challenged the country’s leaders to show their strength by lifting people up, creating good jobs and opportunities, and giving Singapore the confidence that their future will be better than their past. 

For him, this is the measure of a true leader.

“Singaporeans are not asking for the impossible. They’re simply asking for an economy that works for them, not just for the ministers and billionaires,” he said. /TISG

Read also: You cannot solve the anxieties of younger Singaporeans by simply giving them more money