Public hearing on idle plots | Ho Iat Seng says he followed Rules of Procedure

Ho Iat Seng, president of Macau’s Legislative Assembly (AL), has stated that he simply followed the AL’s Rules of Procedure when rejecting a motion by pro-democracy lawmakers Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San, which was aimed at launching a public hearing regarding 16 idle plots of land that the government has declared it will not recover.
President Ho met reporters on Friday to share his insights on the AL’s performance throughout the second legislative session, which ended on August 15.
Asked whether links between some lawmakers and the plots of land in question had impacted his decision to reject the motion, Mr Ho stressed once more that Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San’s request failed to meet public hearing requirements under Macau’s Basic Law.
“Rules on public hearings have [recently] been amended, and article number 71 of Macau’s Basic Law now applies to the AL’s Rules of Procedure. Therefore, [this article] sets out the mechanisms. When I, the AL president, found that not all procedures under the AL’s Rules of Procedure were met, I could only reject [their request],” he concluded.
Lawmakers Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong submitted a motion requesting the launch of a public hearing, which would have called on government officials to explain why 16 idle plots of land had been excluded from the administration’s recovery list.
Ho Iat Seng denied the lawmakers’ motion, arguing that their request did not comply with the Basic Law. He added that he believes the AL has no grounds on which to hold the proposed public hearing.
On Friday, the AL’s president recalled that the lawmakers had filed an appeal with the Standing Committee on Rules and Mandates. They will also be able to appeal to the plenary and take their motion to a vote.
“We are not against anyone or [against debating] any subject. We are simply following the AL’s Rules of Procedure. The AL president is not entitled to prevent any matters from being discussed. But there are principles that need to be observed,” he added.
President Ho acknowledged that Macau’s government failed to provide the AL with comprehensive information on the idle plots of land: “Information was not provided in great detail. I do hope the government can provide further clarification on the matter (…) and explain what still needs to be solved. Without information, we can’t follow up on the case,” he warned.
He reiterated that the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, has pledged to provide the AL with further information on land deals at the beginning of the coming legislative session, starting October 16.
The government has been working on recovering unused land. It recently announced that at least a third of 48 idle plots, which were not properly utilized by leaseholders, could not be recovered.
The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has launched a probe into the deals for the 16 land plots.
Ho Iat Seng on Friday presented a report on the AL’s second legislative session activities, recalling that a total of 14 bills have been passed by lawmakers. Six bills tabled by lawmaker Coutinho were vetoed.
Ho said that a total of seven bills are still under assessment by respective AL Standing Committees, including controversial pieces of legislation regulating animal protection, the smoking ban, and medical malpractice.
The average AL plenary attendance rate stood at 95.5 percent, while the attendance rate of Standing Committee meetings was set at 86.3 percent. Lawmaker Victor Kwan, a member of two committees, attended only one meeting of each committee in a total of 26 meetings – the lowest attendance rate among lawmakers this legislative session.
The number of spoken and written enquiries increased over the previous legislative session, with a total of 127 spoken enquiries delivered and 687 written enquiries submitted.

Ho stresses ‘loyalty’ to PRC

The Legislative Assembly President Ho Iat Seng has said that he could not comment on lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho’s intention to run for the Portuguese Parliament, dubbing it “a diplomatic matter.” He recalled, however, that lawmakers serving in the AL swear an oath of loyalty to the People’s Republic of China.
“He’s the one running [for Portuguese Parliament], I cannot comment further. There’s no regulation in Macau [preventing him from running]. He’s the one who needs to evaluate [his candidacy],” he said.
Lawmaker Coutinho recently revealed that he would consider running for Parliament in the country’s general elections.

AL president issues warning over associations’ spending

As Macau entered an adjustment phase with regard to the decline of gaming revenue over the past 14 months, AL president Ho Iat Seng stated that there is a limit to the number of areas where the government can make cuts.
He suggested that associations such as the Macao Foundation should consider channeling more funds into social responsibility projects to help those in need.
“The Macao Foundation [receives large funding grants]. So it may need to work with institutions on social responsibility (…) Furthermore, not all meetings [organized by government entities] need to be held in hotels, when meetings could be hosted at public facilities.”
Mr Ho said that caution in public spending should not only apply to economic downturns, but that governments should strive to always exercise prudence in public spending.
He recalled, however, that there are areas that the authorities should not cut. These include education and services provided to handicapped citizens, as well as other social policies.
The government is currently working on a new draft of the Budget Framework Law, which will reinforce the AL’s power to oversee the administration’s work. On Friday, Mr Ho announced that under the revised legislation, they will request the government to present the previous year’s budget execution reports by May instead of October.
This will enable the AL to supervise Macau’s budget more carefully.