In it, he made the point about how top civil servants risked being seen as cold if they were given the same level of remuneration as the private sector.

I do not disagree with Mr Au, or indeed, with the numerous other writers who maintained that civil servants should be in it for 'Duty, Honour, Country' and not for money.

I agree wholeheartedly that if, one day, all our civil servants were in it just for pay, it would be a sad state of affairs indeed.

In a perfect world, we can pay our civil servants peanuts and expect them to work out of their duty to society. At the other extreme, we have to pay them obscene amounts of money before they will serve us.

Singapore is a market economy and we take pride in not manipulating market forces artificially.

As such, if we are having problems filling positions in the statutory boards, armed forces and the teaching industry, given that the urge to serve the country remains more or less constant, doesn't it mean that the only way out is to increase wages?

Sitting on our hands hoping that more people develop 'love and loyalty' will not work, and neither will asking others to do the job, while one remains in their own private sector jobs.

Furthermore, it is important to differentiate between the high-ranking ministers and the common man on the ground.

The comparison to the Pope is only applicable to top ranking civil servants, while for not so high-flyers, matters of bread and butter have to take precedence over the desire to serve.

It is not easy to watch your peers in the private sector receive more pay and bonuses, while you stay in the civil service.

In addition, for those who are in the lower tiers of the civil service, the word 'service' is far more applicable, as they are mostly treated as servants by the general public, as is evident by the number of complain letters about government agencies.

Thus, while you argue for a pay freeze for civil servants, think about your children's teacher, or the receptionist at the statutory board you saw today. Do you really expect them to just serve you for nothing but 'Duty, Honour, Country'?

Tan Hau Teck