Editorial: Game on

Paulo Coutinho

Chui Sai On’s speech was short and concise; he basically introduced his brand new team and promised to do better in his next term. He understood the spotlight yesterday should be on his all-new Secretaries and other top officials.
The names of the top officials came without a single surprise. All of them had already been splashed across the media – conventional and social – for several weeks, but the event wasn’t uneventful.
Just by looking at the picture we can see the ranking of the secretaries: Sonia Chan (Administration and Justice), Lionel Leong (Economy and Finance), Wong Sio Chak (Security), Alexis Tam (Social Affairs and Culture) and Raimundo do Rosário (Transport and Public Works).
Immediately to the right of the Chief, Ms Chan takes over the role of Florinda Chan (not related) as “first” Secretary, confirming a practice that has been institutionalized – by default the Secretary for Administration and Justice is the person that replaces the CE in his absence. Apparently, as part of the package she also gets Florinda’s nemesis, Pereira Coutinho, who was the first to say that Sonia got the job in reward for her crucial intervention in defusing the civil referendum, last August. Let’s say she inherits Mr Coutinho’s attention also by default: he is the president of the Civil Servants’ Association, besides being a lawmaker.
Ms Sonia Chan, who recently scored points being at the forefront of an international coalition that shut down a Russian hackers’ website, has one of the most sensitive portfolios as she oversees elections and the reform of the political system. During the press conference, she referred to it in very general terms: “My priorities” are administrative and legal reforms. What she didn’t say about political reform by contrast says a lot – not a priority.
Next in line, standing left of Chui is Lionel Leong. He’s the only member of the executive, like Chui and his predecessor Francis Tam, who didn’t make a career in public administration. A successful businessman, Mr Leong showed he meant business. From hour zero Lionel Leong stands for economic diversification, SMEs and human resources development.
When asked to comment, Mr Leong said the current decline in gaming revenues is due to “external factors”. But “we have to see the real impact of this situation on jobs and on SMEs in particular.” In the long run, “I’m optimistic.”
Then, in a statement that may reverberate on the stock market, Leong said that he and his team, “with the Chief Executive”, are going to study in-depth what has been achieved so far by the casino operators, especially, in non-gaming areas, suggesting that those non-gaming activities within our major industry may be highlighted in the current casino license renewal process.
The “veteran” of Chui’s executive is now former chief of staff: Alexis Tam. Speaking both in Chinese and Portuguese, he singled out clearly “the” priority of his vast and varied portfolio. Health is going to be his passion: “People in Macau are going to have better hospitals, better healthcare.”
15 years after the handover, it was interesting to listen to a Secretary addressing the audience in Portuguese (he briefly switched to Cantonese only to reply to a Chinese reporter). But Mr Raimundo do Rosário got the job not because of his linguistic skills. He’s in that position because he might be the “only” man for the job, to solve the most pressing issues of our city as perceived by the residents – traffic and housing.
Security has long been viewed as a “pacified” area of governance. The task of Mr Wong Sio Chak is basically to be… up to the task. But the growing number of activist-related activities may have drawn Chui to opt for a man that the Chinese press has nicknamed “The Hawk”.
The new secretaries are in, probably, for a single 5-year mandate. That is why one particular comment kind of summarizes the task ahead of this new government: “We have to do a lot and do it fast.” Alexis’ words.