08/09/2026

TUESDAY | SEPT 8, 2026

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Singapore lawmakers to scrutinise ministerial salaries

SINGAPORE: Top ministers will discuss ministerial salaries in parliament today, a sensitive and closely watched topic in the city-state, where political office comes with high rates of pay to attract talent and deter graft. Singapore pays its political leaders the highest salary in the world, with a junior minister taking home S$1.1 million (RM3.5 million) annually and the prime minister earning S$2.2 million (RM7 million) a year. The salaries have not been adjusted since 2012, when ministers took a 36% pay cut to allay public discontent about how much they earned. High ministerial salaries are a sensitive issue among the population, where the median income was just S$5,775 last year. Inflation crept up to 2% in July,

Singapore uses the salary of the top 1,000 Singaporean earners as a benchmark, saying the qualities and abilities of the top 1,000 “reflect the desired calibre of the people whom Singapore needs for good government”, according to the Public Service Division website. The high salaries are meant to attract top talent and prevent corruption, and cases of graft by senior officials have been rare. – Reuters

committee recommendation for a raise. A second review due in 2023 was deferred till now because of economic uncertainty. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing will provide the government’s response today to a committee’s recommendations on ministerial salaries. Lawmakers will debate the issue later in the week.

o Prime minister earns S$2 million a year

by the Swiss president at US$606,000. In comparison, the British prime minister makes US$230,000 while US President Donald Trump earns US$400,000. After the 2012 pay cut, the government reviewed salaries again in 2017 but chose not to adopt a

with the central bank expecting the figure to remain elevated until the second half of next year. According to data from non-profit PoliticalSalaries.com, the Hong Kong chief executive is the second-highest earner globally with US$719,000 (RM2.9 million) annually, followed

Marcos cousin charged with graft MANILA: Prosecutors here filed a criminal charge yesterday against a lawmaker and cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal involving bogus flood control projects. (RM476.8 million) in alleged bribes, anomalous budget insertions and project allocations. Romualdez has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Plunder is a non-bailable offence referring to large-scale corruption punishable by life imprisonment. Remulla said prosecutors include former lawmaker Elizaldy Co and several others accused of conspiring to unlawfully accumulate wealth through government funds. In a statement to reporters, Romualdez’s lawyer said his client would face the allegations against him through the courts. – AFP Six killed in Delhi building collapse The case came more than a year after Marcos put the so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects, believed to have cost Filipino taxpayers billions of dollars, centre stage in a public address. Several construction firm owners, government officials and politicians have been accused of pocketing funds from the projects. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday the“plunder” case against Martin Romualdez, the president’s congressman cousin, involved a total of 7.4 billion pesos intended to file additional cases against Romualdez and others implicated in the flood control scandal. Romualdez’s co-respondents

Seven Indonesian airports remain shut TANGERANG: Seven Indonesian airports, including two serving Jakarta, remained closed because of volcanic ash from eruptions at Mount Anak Krakatau. South Sumatra has been reopened. “We cannot say when this will end due to dynamic weather conditions,” said Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi. “All we have to do is wait, and wait, and wait,” he said. Krakatau in the Sunda Strait spewing smoke and volcanic ash. – AFPPIC/ INDONESIA’S CENTRE FOR VOLCANOLOGY AND GEOLOGICAL Hazard Mitigation HANDOUT

NEW DELHI: At least six people were killed and several others injured after a building housing students collapsed, the city-state’s chief minister said yesterday, as rescuers searched for anyone still trapped in the debris. The building, in the southern part of the city near colleges and universities, had a basement and five upper floors and was being used to house students, media reported. “It is certain that there was water in the building’s basement. Due to accumulation of water and repair work, the old building collapsed,” Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said.

Visuals after the collapse on Sunday showed heaps of bricks and broken concrete pillars at the site, with police, rescuers and locals searching for trapped survivors. Six people, who were taken to a nearby hospital after being rescued alive, were stable, Gupta said. Police were searching for the owner of the building, television channels reported. Building collapses occur frequently in India, especially in crowded urban neighbourhoods where unauthorised construction is widespread and law enforcement is weak. – Reuters

Renowned volcano expert Surono said windy and dry conditions were blowing the sulphur and silica-laden ash all over the place and pose risks to plane engines. “For Anak Krakatau, the recent eruption was unusual,” he said. Anak Krakatau is one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically active zone where different plates on the earth’s crust meet to create a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. – Reuters had received “definite assurances” from Washington and that there was “no indication” that the changes in South Korea would affect US Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty commitments. Manila has deepened defence cooperation with the United States under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, including expanded joint exercises and greater access for US forces to Philippine military facilities. Teodoro said Manila was also broadening security ties with other partners. – Reuters

On Monday, passengers at Jakarta’s main airport, the Soekarno Hatta, which is in the city of Tangerang near Jakarta, were scurrying around, frantically looking for their flight status on information boards. Carlos Zabala, 24, was travelling to his native Spain after a vacation when he learned his flight was repeatedly delayed. Expressing his frustration, he blamed operators for the lack of clarity.

Ash from Anak Krakatau has blanketed Jakarta and several surrounding areas since it erupted late on Friday, leading to the closure of the airports for safety reasons. The Transport Ministry said more than 270,000 people have been affected by the delay, diversion, or cancellation of 2,300 flights. Jakarta’s main airport will remain closed, the ministry said, along with six other airports. One other airport in

Philippines raises alarm over defence exercise cuts SEOUL: China could see recent cuts to US-South Korean military exercises as an opportunity to reassert itself in the Indo-Pacific, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said yesterday, though he said Washington had assured Manila that its commitments to the Philippines remained unchanged. exercises with South Korea has prompted debate among security analysts over the credibility of US deterrence in Asia and whether rivals such as China could perceive a weakening of US resolve. “It is a possibility, of course. China is very quick to exploit gaps,” Teodoro said when asked whether Beijing could seize on the move. “If we’re talking about the Indo

Speaking on the sidelines of the Seoul Defence Dialogue, Teodoro said there had been no reduction in US-Philippine military activities. President Donald Trump’s decision last month to scale back military

Pacific as a whole, then it may signal some opportunity for China to reassert itself.” Teodoro said, however, that Manila

Rescuers at the scene in New Delhi on Sunday. – REUTERSPIC