Singaporeans. This has led to some criticising the government for overpaying its employees. In response, the government has maintained that a high pay is necessary to prevent corruption, attrition, and the influence of outside money in the public service, as well as to attract talent from the private sector. The salary of civil servants is organised into grades. The salary of Members of Parliament (MPs), Cabinet ministers, and judges are also based upon this scale. Salary grades generally begin with one or two letters, and end with a number that corresponds. The top civil service grades are grades 1 to 4, upon which ministerial salary is also pegged on. The salaries of political appointments, such as the MPs and the speaker of Parliament, are ratios of the MR4 salary. While new ministers salaries start off at the MR4 grade, the prime minister may increase a minister's pay grade at his discretion. While the salaries of political leaders are generally fixed upon the pay grades, the salaries of civil servants may vary greatly. For example, the MR4 discount of being only 60% of the median top salary is done only for ministers, "to reflect the ethos of sacrifice that political service involves", and does not apply to civil servants. For most civil servants, the pay scale consists of ranges rather than specific fixed salaries, and the actual salaries of civil servants can vary widely depending on performance and other factors. Most civil servants can be divided into three divisions, which each having its own pay grading system: Management Executives (MX); Operations Support (OSS); and Technical Support. Senior civil servant pay grades are sometimes known as Staff Grade and Superscale (for senior management). MX9 superscale officers have an average annual salary range of about $200,000 to $260,000. Code of conduct Civil servants need to declare casino visitation within a week if they went to 2 local casinos more than four times a month, or if they have bought an annual entry pass. See also Organisation of the Government of Singapore Statutory boards of the Government of Singapore Public Service Commission President's Scholar The SAF Scholarship References Civil service by country Singapore Civil Service