HIS not budging on universal suffrage, says New Macau

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng is not budging on the issue of universal suffrage, according to lawmaker Sulu Sou, who met with Ho yesterday at the government headquarters.
Yesterday, a group of New Macau Association members, including Sou, met with Ho to discuss the Policy Address scheduled for the upcoming Monday.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Sou told the media that the Chief Executive made no comments on the topic of universal suffrage. The topic was brought to Ho during their meeting, along with the association’s other democracy-related proposals.
Last August, Sou raised the topic of universal suffrage to Ho during an earlier meeting. Back in that meeting, Ho had explicitly not ruled out the adoption of universal suffrage.
Yesterday, Sou remarked that the Macau SAR government is taking the first steps to collect opinions from the Macau public on universal suffrage.
“Within his term, the Chief Executive should commence political reform procedures for both the Chief Executive election and the upcoming Legislative Assembly (AL) election,” said Sou.
Macau currently has 14 directly elected lawmakers, and 19 lawmakers who were appointed without a popular election. Sou pointed out that the AL elections of both 2013 and 2017 saw no increase in the number of directly elected lawmakers.
Sou proposed some changes to be made in 2020 to ensure that the 2021 AL election would have more directly elected lawmakers.
“Can we consider having more than half of the AL lawmakers directly elected for the 2021 election?” asked the lawmaker.
The group proposed that, within Ho’s term, the government should outline a timetable for political reform, especially for universal suffrage in deciding the Chief Executive.
“There is no need for a capable and reputable leader to worry about endorsement from the people,” said Sou, adding that universal suffrage grants a leader the people’s support.
Despite not commenting on the advancement of local democracy, Ho backed up a proposal suggesting that the government increase its working efficiency.
According to Sou, Ho’s administration has proposed to rid government departments of overlapping functions. Some departments will merge to avoid repeating functions, while other relevant departments might manage some funds.
“Previously, because some individuals needed to retire, the government would specifically set up a new department to offer a position to these retired individuals. I think such situations should become history,” Sou commented.
The association wants a comprehensive review on the structures and functions of public funds and public departments.
The group also voiced the need for more direct communication between the people and the government, on not just livelihood, but other pressing issues.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, the current government under Ho’s leadership has received praise from the Macau local community. Several surveys showed that the majority of the population is satisfied with Ho’s performance in tackling the Covid-19 outbreak.
Sou hopes that the local government can continue its current direct conversation with the people and extend that direct communication to all departments.
“We will complement the government’s good work, but we will not defy any leader or any government official,” said Sou.
The group also made mention of the outstanding land issues, urban planning issues, youth housing policies, and employment security measures that require ongoing attention. JZ