So the Presidential Election is around the corner and the latest news is that Tan Jee Say said that that he is willing to take $500,000 salary a year if elected. When asked on how he arrived at the figure, Mr Tan replied:

“People ask me what is a good figure to live on so I think this is a good figure, it’s a lot of money to live on…I think it’s generally far above what an average family needs.”

The previous President Nathan however, took home a whopping $4.2 million dollars a year! I wonder what he spent on with that kind of moolah? Yachts? Private properties overseas? Hmmm…

Even though I strongly believe that this President post is totally unnecessary, I applaud Tan Jee Say for volunteering to accept a much lower pay. It just speaks volumes on his character. If he is elected, that would just bring a lot of pressure for the Government because, how can the President earn much less that than Prime Minister? And if the President is willing to do his job without a million dollar salary, why don’t all the Ministers follow suit.

Honestly, I still think that $500,000 for a President is still too much. Obama gets around SGD$480,000 and his responsibility far outweighs any minister in our tiny island. I suggest $20k a month just like Japan’s Prime Minister. If you want to be rich, serving the country is not the place to be; go set up a business and be a businessman!

If you are approached with 2 evils, choose the lesser evil,
Evil Bunny!

Just in case you don’t know who Tan Jee Say is.