You must pay for the quality of the person you want

"Our attitude is: you must pay for the quality of the person you want, and pay for the responsibility of the job which you want the person to do.

And what can be more responsible than running a central bank or running an economy or running an education system, where you're not only dealing with billions of dollars but where you make a mistake, the livelihoods and the futures of millions of people will be at stake.

You want the best person and you want him to be properly motivated and focused on his job and not based on a revolving door."

-- The Prime Minister, when asked about the high salaries paid to top government officials in Singapore.