The matter of inequality is an issue which is "critical" for Singapore and an experience which has been "seared" into him as he has gone through it himself and seen it firsthand, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said in Parliament on Jul. 3.

The minister was responding to a question posed by Member of Parliament Murali Pillai from the People's Action Party (PAP), about how the "sheer size" of the property at 26 Ridout Road had engendered comments on whether the minister would be able to relate to the public and if the issue portrayed an image of inequality in Singapore.

"So it's not just an academic exercise for me," Shanmugam said.

Shanmugam: I grew up in a rental flat

In detailing his own experience of inequality, Shanmugam shared that he grew up in rental housing at Bukit Ho Swee, then lived in a three-room flat as a teenager at Block 3 Ghim Moh, an address he "still remembers."

"As an undergraduate, when I lived in Ghim Moh, I used to cross the old Bukit Timah railway line, walk up East Sussex Lane, to the bus stop along Holland Road, to take a bus to law school."

20 years later, as a Senior Counsel, he owned a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at Astrid Hill, about a kilometre away from Block 3 Ghim Moh.

"I would drive along Holland Road, and at the same bus stop, instead of walking up on the left, I make a right turn into Coronation Road West, to go into Queen Astrid Park, to go to my house there."

While this is only a short walking distance, the psychological and financial distance between Ghim Moh and Astrid is "oceans wide," he added.

"I think a lot about inequality and the gap, not least because I have straddled the gap, I have lived at both extremes: rental and GCB. So for my part, circumstances I grew up with, are seared into me. When you have gone through the experiences I have, you never forget them, regardless of how successful you become."

The late Lee Kuan Yew put in place a system for social mobility

Shanmugam then brought up his next point about how one does not deal with inequality by preventing poor children from doing well.

He added that the late Lee Kuan Yew had established a system which allowed a "poor Indian kid" to do well and become a successful lawyer.

"You tackle inequality by providing for social mobility, helping people to move up...by providing good support, opportunities, help everyone to move up, and redistributing income from those who have succeeded to the poor or less well-off through taxes."

In acknowledging the challenge of striking a balance in taxes, Shanmugam said that should taxes be too much, the wealthy will leave, while insufficient taxes makes the system unfair.

Within Singapore, the top 10 per cent of personal income taxpayers account for 80 per cent of the country's total income tax revenue, the minister highlighted.

As for those at the bottom 20 per cent, they save about S$4 in benefits for every tax dollar they pay.

Those who are wealthier in Singapore must therefore understand that this is a country where people "sink or swim together" and pay more taxes, he said.

It is also important to ensure that those who are less well-off are "properly taken care off" and there is social mobility and opportunity.

Shanmugam then highlighted that for himself between 2005 and 2007, before he became a minister, based on his income, he probably paid more than S$2 million in taxes and "rightfully so."

It is necessary to persuade those who have achieved more to come forward

Shanmugam then added that in finding ways to bring about greater equality, it is necessary to encourage those who either have more or have achieved more to come forward to contribute their time and resources in forging a stronger society.

This includes the public service, he added.

Shanmugam highlighted that Lee had brought in people who were either doing very well outside or had the heart to serve into government.

Some of these people were also "independently very wealthy" and were persuaded by Lee Kuan Yew to give up their careers in the private sector.

Together with Lee, they did "more than most" to make Singapore a more equal society, he added.

Hence, while other workable suggestions on how the government will be good, people who do well should not be penalised, Shanmugam said.

Lee Kuan Yew brought in people regardless of their financial background

Turning to the issue of empathy, Shanmugam further elaborated that Lee also brought in various people as ministers and MPs regardless of their financial background.

He had noted that this included trade unionists like Mahmud Awang, from the Singapore Traction Company Employees' Union, and Ho See Beng, from the Singapore Printing Employees' Union, as well as businessmen such as Lim Kin San and Edmund William Barker.

In the case of Lim, he was a "shrewd businessman" whom Lee brought into the public service and became the Housing Development Board's (HDB) first chairman.

In addition, Lim served as minister in various ministries including finance, defence and national development, where he was also responsible for building HDB flats.

Lim himself stayed in a "very large bungalow" at Dalvey Road, but this, along with his wealth, did not prevent him from feeling the plight of Singaporeans who had no homes to live in and doing his "utmost" to solve their problems by building HDBs for them, Shanmugam highlighted.

In the case of Barker, who drafted the separation agreement between Singapore and Malaysia, he was a "successful lawyer" who lived in Queen Astrid Park.

Shanmugam also referenced the late Goh Keng Swee, who was Deputy Prime Minister, the "key architect" of Singapore's economy, defence and educated, and stayed at a "very large" black-and-white bungalow at Goodwood Hill.

The minister also brought up Hon Sui Sen, who served as Finance Minister, Chairman of EDB, and President of DBS, and also rented a black-and-white bungalow at Malcolm Road.

Here, Shanmugam highlighted:

"I should add that at that time, it was among the benefits that senior officials could rent houses reserved for them. When we moved to a clean-wage policy, these black-and-whites and other state-owned properties were made available to anyone, and the rentals were determined by the market."

He also added that he was not in any way seeking to compare himself with other current ministers or with the ministers he mentioned.

Instead, what he wants to make a point on is that "a person’s ability to serve should not depend on where he lives, or how poor or rich he is".

"And what about myself? I don’t believe the homes I lived in have affected my ability to serve and empathise," Shanmugam said.

On his own trajectory in politics

Came into politics in 1988

With regard to his own trajectory in politics, Shanmugam said that he had been doing well in his career as a lawyer, while he was serving as a backbench MP for more than 20 years, before he became a minister.

Shanmugam highlighted that when he became an MP in 1988, at the age of 29, he was a few months away from becoming a Partner.

"But I agreed to stand for elections in 1988, become an MP, and do what I can, to make Singapore a better place," he said.

The minister added that while he found the role of a MP demanding, because of his legal career, he also found it inspiring and enjoyed interacting with his residents in Chong Pang.

"When I came into politics in 1988, most Chong Pang residents were generally less well off. Many were like my parents who had to work tirelessly, to provide the best for their children. They are good, hardworking people. They want a better life; they want their children to do better. And I want to be there to help them to do so."

Asked by PM to become Minister

Subsequently in 2008, he was asked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to become a minister as former law minister S. Jayakumar was stepping down.

At this point, Shanmugam said that he was 48, at the peak of his career, and that it would have been much easier for him to continue being a full-time lawyer than to join Cabinet.

"I did also think seriously about the cutback in income. It was going to be very significant. I had to assess what it would mean, for me, my family, and assess that against what I could contribute by serving Singaporeans as a Minister."

In deciding to accept PM Lee's invitation to enter politics full time as a minister, he added:

"I asked myself, on my last day on Earth – and this is a question I ask frequently – when I reflect back on my life, what would I have wanted to have done with my life? Spend all my time at work, making more money?

Or, also spend some time doing some good for the community and others, and perhaps some good for the country? Many things that people spend time on, will not seem worthwhile to have done, in the rearview mirror, when your life is about to end.

Having twice or three times more money, would not make me twice or three times more happy or fulfilled."

Where he lives does not affect his ability to serve & empathise

The minister clarified that he was not suggesting he had made a "special sacrifice" in taking a pay cut or moving from his family home, however.

Rather, it is a privilege to serve Singaporeans, he said.

"I do not hide what I earned as a lawyer; it is public knowledge. My residents judge me by my heart and my commitment to serve, not by how much I earn and where I live," he added.

The minister then made the following point:

"I’ve lived in a HDB flat, a rental flat, a 3-room flat, a 5-room flat, a condominium, a semi-detached, bungalows, GCBs – before I moved to Ridout. My empathy did not increasingly decrease as my houses got larger, or as I made more money."

He also highlighted that nobody had made any issue of his ability or empathy to serve in the 10 years while he was living at his GCB at Astrid Hill.

"Does it (empathy) get more affected when you move from a GCB that you own, to a black-and-white that you rent? Is that the way we are going to judge politicians? I hope Members will seek to make Singaporeans and everyone understand what is involved.

Because we shouldn’t start judging people on the basis of where they live, or how successful they were in the private sector, and then say you’re too successful, you cannot come in to serve. I think that will be a wrong principle, and it’s contrary to everything that made Singapore successful in the first generation."

Top screenshot via MCI Singapore's YouTube.