Lawmakers deny motion to debate fiscal reserve investment plan

Lionel Leong (2nd left, upper row) listens to lawmakers remarks yesterday at the AL

Lawmakers voted against Au Kam San’s motion yesterday for a plenary debate at the Legislative Assembly (AL) concerning the government’s plan to invest fiscal reserves through the neighboring Guangdong province. According to Au Kam San, a debate on the matter would be of significant public interest.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, revealed his intention to lawmakers earlier that part of the city’s huge financial reserves would be used for investments through the Guangdong government, whilst another part would be invested through the China Development Bank, in order to reach higher returns.
Stating the motion’s rationale, Au Kam San indicated that the government is incapable of investing money itself, but the idea of entrusting the neighboring region with Macau’s wealth also gives rise to concerns.
The region’s fiscal and foreign exchange reserves reached over MOP300 billion by the end of last year. The large sum’s return on investment, however, has always been low, at a return rate of 2 percent last year.
“Macau people’s public funds are in fact constantly depreciating,” said the lawmaker, raising criticism that “the return rate was low, because the SAR government doesn’t know how to invest its bulky reserves at hand. But why not reflect on its own shortcoming and improve the mechanism, rather than sending the money to other places for others to make investments on its behalf?”
According to Lionel Leong, the neighboring province would ensure Macau a principal and interest guaranteed investment with return rates between 4 and 5 percent; in addition, the national bank would guarantee a reasonable return through investing in projects bridged by the development fund between China and Lusophone countries.
Furthermore, Au Kam San argued that the Guangdong government is not necessarily an investment expert, and the China Development Bank’s previous investment records aren’t outstanding either.
“How can they guarantee the capital and interest with a 4 to 5 percent return rate? How will they set the collateral? If the investment fails to meet the goal, how and who will be held accountable? Under such an investment model, will the SAR government stay out of it or will it partially participate?” he questioned, urging the government to clarify all these questions, “rather than rashly invest tens of billions patacas of reserves through others without certainty.”
On the sidelines of yesterday’s AL meeting, the secretary told media it is his responsibility to allocate the fiscal sources well and ensure that the investments are made “safely and effectively.”
He stated that the government has always managed wealth cautiously. He explained, “safety means at least not losing money (….) we also hope the investment will be effectively incorporated into the country’s development; it will be even better if we can find some livelihood projects, such as food supply to Macau.”

Work accidents to include typhoon weather commuting

A bill that extends labor insurance coverage to include workers commuting under severe typhoon weather obtained its final approval by the AL yesterday. As an amendment to the Compensation Regime for Damages Arising from Workplace Accidents and Occupational Diseases, the bill suggests mandatory insurance for accidents occurring during employees’ direct commutes between home and work within a three-hour timeframe. However, the law does not cover workers who live outside Macau and need to cross the border to get to work.

On the lawmakers’ agenda

SMOKING BAN The government’s plan to introduce a full smoking ban in Macau casinos is set to raise further controversy, particularly within the Legislative Assembly as lawmakers continue to disagree on the matter. Lawmaker Zheng Anting stated that he agrees with a full smoking ban but stressed that implementing it while casino revenue is down will definitely have a negative impact on Macau’s gaming industry. Zheng recalled that a study commissioned by the Health Bureau to the University of Macau shows that the air quality in casinos has improved since smoking lounges were introduced. He added that a full smoking ban could potentially harm business activities. The lawmaker urged the government to review its plan to implement a full smoking ban. Lei Cheng I was of a different opinion, stating that according to the World Health Organization (WHO) there is no technology available in the market that can prevent the harms of second-hand smoking. She urged the government to stick to its promise and implement a full smoking ban inside casinos.

RECYLCING Melinda Chan has urged the government to plan and implement more effective measures toward environmental protection. She recalled that the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau’s domestic waste sorting and recycling project, implemented in the late 90s, has not achieved satisfactory results. Moreover, she stressed that there have been no developments in managing the disposal of discarded vehicles. The lawmaker stressed that there are about 240,000 private vehicles in Macau, including a growing number of discarded ones. Recalling that many of these vehicles have been left in the Ilha Verde, Taipa and NAPE area, she warned that they might pose dangers to Macau citizens in the case of a fire, for instance. She urged relevant departments to take action and present solutions concerning both recycling and discarded vehicle management issues.

BILINGUAL COURT RULINGS Court of First Instance (TJB) rulings are not always made available in both official languages, which makes it difficult for the population of Macau to access court decisions, said lawmaker Kwan Tsui Hang. The legislator recalled that while the Court of Second Instance and the Court of Final Appeal publish their rulings on the Macau courts’ website, the sentences published by TJB “are very limited.” She added that often TJB is unable to publish court decisions in both Portuguese and Chinese at the same time, “which threatens the public’s confidence on the city’s legal system.” She urged relevant services to implement deadlines for the releasing of documents in both languages.

Trade union law vetoed for 6th time

The Legislative Assembly (AL) vetoed a series of six bills proposed by lawmaker Pereira Coutinho on their first reading yesterday, which included a draft trade union law that was rejected for the sixth time.
The draft trade union law was vetoed without undergoing a debate, as several lawmakers made the criticism that it showed no revision and improvement from the previous readings. Some also explained that their negative votes resulted from the bill’s poor timing in the face of current economic, social and industrial conditions.
Legislator Lau Veng Seng suggested that the bill “would bring negative effect to Macau’s economic development and diversification,” while Song Pek Kei and Chan Meng Kam agreed on the need for legislation but doubted it was the right timing to propose such bill during the current downturn in the city’s dominant industry.
Meanwhile, lawmaker Mak Soi Kun stated “the legislation would not be mature until Macau establishes an industry accreditation mechanism, so that only when the workers hold a certificate, can they join a trade union and represent it.”
In addition, some lawmakers suggested the government should resume its responsibility to fill the gap in legislation and present a timetable as soon as possible.