Employ adequate public officers

We need sufficient people working in the public sector to deliver public services to the people. We need adequate numbers of  teachers, nurses, doctors and policemen, in proportion to the population. If the population increases, we have to employ more public officers. In particular, we need more people in the police force to keep law and order, to investigate crime and fraud and to prosecute criminals. If the increase in public officers is in line with the popular, the total cost of public service will still remain at the same share of the national spending.

We should not try to keep down cost by employing insufficient public officers. We need sufficient manpower to maintain the standard of public service. We cannot expect over-worked officers to deliver the expected standard of service.

If we do not provide sufficient employment in the public sector, there will be insufficient jobs in the private sector to absorb the excess manpower. We should not have too many people selling insurance, property and financial products, as they do not add to the real wealth of the country, although they may create false wealth through asset bubbles.

We should also avoid paying high salaries to the top levels of the public sector to match the salaries in the private sector. The private sector salaries are likely to be excessive anyway, and should be moderated in some suitable way, e.g. to impose a high rate of tax on extremely high earnings. If we remove one top earner, we may be able to create jobs for 50 people at the working level.

Let us have a fair balance. We need adequate people in the public sector to provide an adequate level of service while keeping the cost at an acceptable level.

Tan Kin Lian