ANALYSIS | NEW CABINET LINEUP: ‘There’s insufficient political talent from outside the public service,’ says scholar

The University of Macau’s professor of public administration, Eilo Yu, believes that there’s insufficient political talent from outside Macau’s public administration, which helps explain why the new government lineup is mainly comprised of current civil servants.
“This is Macau’s political reality: we do not have sufficient political talent outside public service (…) so if senior officials continue to be chosen within the public administration, I would suggest the government develop mechanisms to promote civil servants who have potential, providing them further training opportunities,” he told the Times.
Mr Yu commented that the government should ensure that civil servants are able to progress in their careers, while being afforded opportunities to show their talent and work on appropriate policies. “In the future, the Chief Executive could appoint secretaries from a list of talented civil servants,” he suggested.
Commenting on Chui Sai On’s new cabinet lineup the scholar acknowledged that senior officials chosen by Macau’s leader “are familiar with the administration’s operations.”
Professor Lou Shenghua from the Macau Polytechnic Institute’s school of public administration told TDM that, judging by the new cabinet lineup, “Macau will enter a new era where public servants will govern the city, which has both advantages and disadvantages.” He advised the government to widen its vision when choosing principal officials in the future.
The scholar argued that Macau’s secretaries’ terms of office should have a time limit, as happens with the Chief Executive, who can only serve for two consecutive terms. “I personally believe that, acting as the Chief Executive’s administrative team, they should have a tenure that is consistent with that of the CE. This also shows the spirit of accountability,” said Prof Lou.
Chief Executive Chui Sai On announced his new cabinet lineup on Monday, confirming all names that had been disclosed by local media in recent weeks. Lionel Long, who has been appointed Secretary for Economy and Finance, is the only secretary whose professional background focused mainly on business activities.
Mr Leong seems to have “very important connections with the private sector, and the government expects him to work with businessmen to develop Macau’s economy,” said Mr Yu.
The scholar added this is an opportunity for Mr Leong to demonstrate his political ability, as this might even be a platform grooming him to become the next Chief Executive in 2019.
Regarding the new Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Sonia Chan, currently the director of the Office for Personal Data Protection (GPDP), the academic believes that her role in handling the unofficial referendum on universal suffrage cases was not significant for her appointment.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that “her cooperation in the event does show that she would like to work with the government and Beijing.”
An order issued by the GPDP last August led to the arrest of political activists and referendum organizers, including Jason Chao.
As for Raimundo do Rosário, appointed Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Prof Yu said that his appointment shows that the Central Government approves people with different backgrounds, rather than just accepting ‘pure Chinese’ officials.
“He’s Macanese, this shows that Beijing accepts any Macau citizen no matter the group they come from,” he stated. Scholar Eilo Yu suggested that Mr Rosário should “build his image  independent from land developers’ interests.”
He believes that this new lineup is fresh enough to help ensure changes in Macau. But Prof Yu recalled that implementing a reform and new policies is not an easy task, “as they need to respond to many stakeholders’ expectations.”
“We will have to observe and see whether they will be able to achieve changes,” he said.
Pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San said that Macau’s population would be able to see whether the five secretaries are qualified for their jobs within two years.
He believes that the change in Chui’s cabinet was “pretty thorough this time.” “It actually shows that the government’s performance has not been satisfying over the past 15 years. These secretaries know what Macau’s problems are; such as the backwardness of the judicial system (…) the question is whether they are competent to handle them. We certainly hope that they are afforded some time to tackle the issues,” he stressed.
Lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho has also urged the new government to first tackle housing, transport and other pressing matters. He’s hoping that new secretaries will not wait for problems to appear to come up with solutions. Mr Coutinho vowed for a forward-looking mindset from the new government lineup.
The CE also confirmed on Monday that Mr Alexis Tam will be the new Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, while Mr Wong Sio Chak, currently heading the Judiciary Police, will be serving as the Secretary for Security. Catarina Pinto & João Pedro Lau