The Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Jospehine Teo, has clarified her recent remarks on NSmen pay which had raised the ire of some people.
Speaking at a REACH public forum last week, Mrs Teo was reported by Channel Newsasia (CNA) as having said that NSmen’s service to the country “cannot be measured in dollars and cents”. This was in response to a call by a member of the audience for NSmen to be paid more.
CNA reported her:
“While she noted the importance of giving NSmen recognition, Mrs Teo said service for the country cannot be measured in dollars and cents.”
Her remarks caused anger among some who countered that if that was the case, PAP ministers’ contributions should also not be measured in dollars and cents which in their case ran into millions of dollars.
Incidentally, CNA’s report has been deleted since the uproar, without any explanation from the news outlet.
There is however a google cache version of it here.
On Tuesday, Mrs Teo, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, posted the following clarification on her Facebook page:
