If you thought the debate on the hot-button issue of wages was as heated as it could get, think again.

Reform Party Chairman and minimum wage advocate Charles Yeo recently shared some extremely strong words for those on the other side of the fence, declaring those who oppose a minimum wage policy "need to be shot" in an Instagram Story on Tuesday (Oct 13).

Yeo, a criminal defence lawyer, clarified today (Oct 14) that his remark was "a figure of speech" and not meant to be taken literally.

The 30-year-old's initial comments on Tuesday were part of a series of Stories expressing support for Leader of the Opposition and Workers' Party (WP) Secretary-General Pritam Singh's call for a $1,300 universal minimum wage to be implemented.

In a Facebook post on Monday (Oct 12), Singh had suggested that the universal minimum wage be implemented in parallel with the government's existing Progressive Wage Model (PWM).

The $1,300 universal minimum wage is a "very commendable move by the WP as a start," Yeo opined.

However, it is still "very low" as it works out to $6.50 an hour, assuming a low-wage worker works 10 hours a day, he added.

Instead, he suggested a figure of $1,700 to $2,000, albeit with the caveat that he is "not an economist".

He then went on to attack those who are against a minimum wage, writing, "I am not even joking. It's f****** disgusting how they think they can get away with oppressing the voiceless."

Yeo's posts drew flak from some, including blogger Michael Petraeus.

Petraeus, who runs the Facebook page Critical Spectator, wrote, "He is not some random person, after all, but a candidate in parliamentary elections and the chairman of a registered political party.

"To see its leading representative freely promoting ideas of killing people who have different opinions is, at the very least, disconcerting."

Remark on shooting a metaphor: Yeo

Addressing the criticism, Yeo clarified in another Instagram Story today: "For the record — 'ought to be shot' in my post yesterday is a figure of speech or metaphor.

"It did not mean I literally think they should be shot dead — where would we get a gun in Singapore anyway."

He had meant that those against a minimum wage are "so morally bankrupt as to render their views worthy of zero consideration", he continued.

Yeo also hit back at Petraeus, branding him "an absolute joke" and telling him to "go and die".

Progressive Wage Model

Under the PWM, which was first introduced in 2012, wage increases are pegged to a skills ladder.

The model is mandatory in the cleaning, security and landscape sectors.

In the lead up to the elections earlier in July, various opposition parties, including WP and the Singapore Democratic Party, had made the case for the introduction of a minimum wage.

However, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam argued the PWM puts workers on a "ladder of skills and wages" and is better than a minimum wage, which is "only the first step".

kimberlylim@asiaone.com

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