The Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM) is calling for more transparency to be implemented in the Legislative Assembly (AL), particularly over the Standing Committee’s closed-door meetings.
Until August 30, the association is conducting a survey on whether lawmakers should be required to work full-time at the AL, and whether parliamentary commissions’ meetings should be open to the public. The survey has been distributed on social media platforms.
Lawmaker and president of ATFPM, José Pereira Coutinho, argued that the media must be informed of the committees’ discussions during their closed-door internal meetings.
The lawmaker criticized the AL for its lack of transparency, recalling the previously-discussed bill on banning indoor smoking in casinos.
“At that time when the government submitted the full ban on casino smoking bill, 26 legislators voted in favor. And what happened next? When the bill went through the second commission internal meeting, all of them changed opinions,” Coutinho said.
The lawmaker argued that ever since the region’s handover to China 18 years ago, it had not improved its legislators’ transparency to the public.
“The media must know and must be informed by being present in internal meetings,” he said.
According to him, the six working committees of the AL should change their regulations and allow the press to be present, unless discussions are “very sensitive.”
He also believed that closed-door meetings would hinder the growth of confidence the public has in its government.
“If you don’t have transparency in people’s houses, how can the people trust and believe in what you are stating to the AL?” he questioned.
Meanwhile, ATFPM is also calling for the government to issue stricter criteria for its legislators to work as full time lawmakers.
As most of the legislators are busy businessmen or working part-time jobs, Coutinho, who has raised this concern in recent years, stressed that the issue was never discussed on social media, and has not been brought to the government.
The lawmaker believes that legislators should be working full-time for the regions’ residents in order to provide high quality decision making.
Coutinho also expressed the opinion that these part-time lawmakers are formulating decisions that serve their self-interest.
“[The] majority of the influential [people] are businessmen in Macau. If they are legislators, it would help them run better the business. It’s an added value,” the lawmaker explained.
Questioned by the Times on the different factors that may hinder the six working committees of the AL to open their meetings to the public, Coutinho condemned the legislators, saying, “Because they are liars, many lawmakers are liars,” citing the aforementioned smoking ban bill as an example.
The lawmaker also criticized the fact that only the presidents of the AL Standing Committees are allowed to speak to the press to summarize the meeting’s debate. “The media only listens to the president and only tells what he likes [the press] to hear,” he commented.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker also commented on the upcoming exit of Uber, along with the approved taxi fare increase, describing it as a contradiction.
“You have to pay more for bad quality service. In many aspects, Macau is light-years away from an intelligent city. Macau is going backwards,” he said.
Coutinho recalled that issues such as public housing, healthcare, transportation and social provident funds were raised several years ago; and lamented that the public is still raising such issues.
“It just means we’re not moving forward,” he concluded.
Poster banning at AL questioned
During the press conference ATFPM organized yesterday, Coutinho suggested that the proposed ban of the use of posters and banners during AL plenary meetings is a setback to the MSAR’s freedom of expression. According to Coutinho, “if we cannot raise cards at the AL and if we cannot express our opinions at the end of each bill, we are like civil servants inside the AL because the government decides everything.” According to the lawmaker, the proposed banning of posters at the AL would not benefit legislators nor the public. He added that such a measure would only threaten Macau’s freedom of speech. “That’s not good for Macau,” he stated.
