An online petition that has collected nearly 9,000 signatures in little more than three days was submitted to the government yesterday morning in the hopes of calling off the project at Hac-Sa Reservoir.
The Association of Synergy of Macao initiated the petition, questioning the government’s proposal on the Hac-Sa Beach and Reservoir overhaul project – colloquially referred to as Project Hac-Sa. The signatures and a petition letter, were submitted to the Chief Executive yesterday morning.
The association listed three demands in the petition letter: suspension of the inauguration of a proposed Kun Iam statue at the reservoir, retention of the scrapped barbecue stoves and grass skiing range, as well as an explanation about why the budget soared from MOP230 million to MOP1.6 billion.
With so many signatures, the petition acted as an example of the people monitoring the government, lawmaker Ron Lam, part of the management of the association, said.
In response to questions from the press, he added that accounts and corruption watchdogs should “proactively” intervene to investigate if any malpractices exist.
Johnson Ian, president of the association, said the core of the demands is to ask the government for the detailed budget, so that there is information for public discussions and evaluations.
Lam highlighted that this petition is a vivid example that “whatever people in Macau have gone through, they still have the right to speak up for social issues.”
The main argument of the public has revolved around the need for another Kun Iam mega statue in Macau. In March 1999, the then Portuguese-Macau government inaugurated the Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre, which comprises a 20-meter-tall and 50-ton Kun Iam statue and a multipurpose hall at the foundation that resembles a lotus flower on the outside.
“It is understandable that the government strives hard to install new facilities in the hopes of attracting tourists, but inaugurating a Kun Iam statue at Hac-Sa Reservoir has no clear use,” Agnes Lam, former lawmaker and director at the Centre for Macau Studies, University of Macau, told local media Exmoo.
The academic added that the post-commencement mode of leakage of project details was not ideal. “There were procedural flaws,” she said, emphasizing that the public has the right to know.
For three projects in a row within two weeks, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) has commenced projects of high public relevance without prior announcement to the public.
On the other hand, urban planner Manuel Iok Pui Ferreira criticized the government for skipping legal steps in the now-withdrawn inauguration of the Kun Iam statue, according to local media Shimin Daily. The urban planner highlighted that the project concerns a hillside, natural environment and an original ecology, but the government had not applied for a Planning Condition Draft or allowed discussions at the Urban Planning Committee. This is a violation of the principal of the Urban Planning Law.
Ferreira emphasized that previous municipal constructions, such as the panda pavilion at Seac Pai Van Park, as well as other government projects, such as meteorological projects on Taipa Grande, had Planning Condition Drafts issued before commencement.
He further noted that the fact that a mega project concerning “the backyard of Macau” had not had Planning Condition Drafts issued for discussions is unacceptable. The urban planner added that even in mainland China, project proposals are publicized for the public to discuss and make choices. He emphasized whatever is proposed for Hac-Sa, the people should have the right to know. He was also dissatisfied with the lack of public consultation before identifying the use of the land retrieved at Hac-Sa as a youth campsite.
