Policy Address 2015 | Uneventful debate at the AL, diversification and cooperation top concerns

It was an uneventful afternoon at the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday, where the chief executive was, for the second consecutive day, tasked with answering lawmakers’ questions. They were mostly non-controversial questions, even from outspoken lawmakers like Pereira Coutinho and Ng Kuok Cheong. The main topics addressed were economic diversification, regional cooperation and elderly care. It was so humdrum that some of the attendees found time to take a nap or play video games while the CE was replying to the lawmakers.
The session began with easy questions: Kou Hoi In was one of the lawmakers to note that the local economic structure is too dependent on gaming, saying that “now is the time to promote the diversified development of the economy.”
In response, Mr Chui Sai On said the new government is placing great importance on economic diversification and professional training. “We noticed a fast development of the gaming industry in the past few years. The government actions were planned bearing in mind that the gaming sector was driving the other economic activities,” he stated, adding that the local authorities hadn’t predicted such a fast pace of gaming development.
Appointed lawmaker Cheang Chi Keong expressed concerns with the gaming slowdown and asked about the factors that led to such a massive fall.
“The government will do what it can to stabilize the situation. The gaming sector has a relatively high weight in the local economy. (…) The new [gaming] projects continue to be developed and will have a major influence in gaming and non-gaming activities. The percentage of VIP rooms/mass market has been changed, with the latter gaining importance. But the gross gaming revenue is still MOP20 billion per month; comparing with other countries where gambling is legal we are still on top,” the chief executive said.
However, Chui Sai On admitted that there is “structural change” in the gaming sector, and praised the fact that the number of tourists didn’t go down – a fact that, according to him, will be beneficial to Macau’s major industry.
The government leader noted that the local economy’s entering a “normal adjustment phase,” and said the region is ready for the challenge through measures like the creation of an investment fund to better manage the region’s financial reserves.
Chui also said there would be “a certain budget control” due to the new financial prospects. Despite that, he said that the administration intends to hire more staff in the health and, especially, security sectors. The priority given to security was explained by the fact that “it takes longer to train personnel” for security forces.
Adaptation strategies seem to be arising, given the “new normal” in Macau. The CE said that the government wants to promote non-gaming related activities along with regional co-
operation. “In order to diversify the economy we hope to develop works related to regional co- operation and use vacant land to overcome the problem of lack of space. We also need to promote the training of talents,” he said.
Chui Sai Peng said “the high speed development registered during recent years has caused difficulties in governance,” and then inquired about the cash handout program. Chui Sai On said that the population has welcomed the measure, introduced in 2007, but also mentioned “scholars and experts” who say it “is not in accordance with the economic laws.”
Chui hinted at a possible review of the program, highlighting that “it is not a regular mechanism” and is seen as a way to distribute public income, and could be indexed to it.
Head of the Macau Civil Servants Association Pereira Coutinho denounced what he deemed “unequal treatment” of public servants, who consequently want an early retirement. The CE replied that the authorities are increasing benefits, especially to front line workers, adding that the career progression for public servants will be revised.
As expected, another topic that tops the list of concerns for several lawmakers is the increasing number of non-resident-workers (TNRs), with Lei Cheng I asking about a report on labor import that had been promised one year ago (Chui said that it will be made public soon); and Kwan Tsui Hang stating that the importing of labor results in the shrinking of residents’ wages. “There is an extreme irrationality in the wealth distribution and the residents are not pleased,” the lawmaker said.
The CE answered with a government motto: “We always act accordingly to the principle that the non-resident workers import is intended to overcome the market shortages.” But he also said that the secretaries for finance and public works should work together to review the labor import mechanism for the major public constructions, in order to tackle illegal work – a problem on the rise in the public works sector. Chui admitted there’s a need to import workers and, at the same time, to promote the local workforce.
So Chio Fai approached the regional cooperation debate by commenting that the round-the-clock border brought positive results. The CE added that the HK-Zhuhai-Macau bridge is also expected to enhance the cooperation, as are the “high level meetings” between the Pearl River Delta regions.
Regarding public works, Ho Ion Sang said there’s a “vicious cycle” that results in low-quality projects due to under-budgeting and delays. The CE agreed, although he declared that government law experts advised him against addressing the light rail transit issue. He said that a compensatory measure should be introduced in future public contracts in order to safeguard the government’s interests.
The troubles faced by the local middle class were brought up by lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng. She said that youths that own their property are “slaves to their homes” and those who don’t own a flat face surging rents. The CE argued that “the government predicted the fall of housing, food and other prices.” He also mentioned the introduction of mechanisms targeting the middle-income earners, such as medical benefits and tax exemptions.
The “tragic reality” of public housing was mentioned by Au Kam San, who said that over 40,000 families had applied to the scheme and couldn’t get a flat. The CE indicated that the affordable housing law should be amended, but also that many of those families weren’t eligible for the scheme, or could find a place in one of the 19,000 units built under the scheme, since some of them remain vacant.

Consultative bodies with shorter mandates

There was almost no reference to the creation of a municipal body devoid of political power, as announced by the CE on Monday. Regarding consultative bodies, the CE said that several of them were created during the 15 years of the MSAR’s existence and it is now “time to review those bodies, whose members shouldn’t have mandates superior to two, three years.”

Space available for elders in Hengqin

Early retirement was one of the issues up for debate, with the issue raised by both New Macau Association representatives, Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong. The former said that elderly people were led to believe that they wouldn’t suffer financial loses if they retired earlier, before the latter revealed that they, in fact, had lost money.
“We will put in efforts so that the elderly have a dignified life after retirement,” answered Chui. “Respect for the elderly is a good feature of ancient Chinese culture and the older people should be able to live in the same neighborhood where they lived [during their active life].” The CE pledged more investment to create more elderly care homes and strengthen the healthcare.
Concerning local elders gone to live on the mainland, he mentioned that, should they want to return to Macau, they could be housed in Hengqin, and said that he would ask the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture to look into the introduction of the measure.