Synergy of Macau urges CE to show ‘courage’ in tackling pressing issues

The Synergy of Macau Association claims that the new Chief Executive (CE), Sam Hou Fai, needs “courage” to address the issues currently troubling society.

In an extensive comment on the recent CE meetings with several civil society associations, groups, and individuals, Johnson Ian, leader of the association, noted that the CE has already listed most of the major problems that local society is facing but has provided no insight into how he plans to solve them.

Ian also pointed out that while courage is essential for the new government’s success, constant self-improvement, answering all questions about the positives and negatives, and always telling the truth are also necessary.

He remarked that only by following these strategies can the government “break the deadlock” that he claims Macau is currently in, in which problems have been identified for a long time but nothing concrete has been done to advance toward a solution.

“[Sam Hou Fai] has pointed out Macau’s existing problems all in one go, which requires a certain degree of courage, but what society needs are solutions,” Ian said, noting that the CE has done a remarkable job of summarizing all the issues, troubles, and concerns of society in various fields.

However, society does not know yet if he can face them once and for all, unlike previous leaders who, while also identifying the same problems, failed to produce results.

“Mr. Sam stated that these longstanding problems and new challenges cannot be avoided and must be confronted directly. He urged members of the Economic Development Council and various sectors of the community to explore and study practical solutions and to propose more constructive, feasible, effective, and long-term strategies that contribute to Macau’s overall economic development,” Ian remarked.

He added that all the issues highlighted by the CE are “factual and did not arise today.”

“Concerns such as the dominance of the gaming industry, the dependency on visitors solely from the mainland, the tax revenue reliant on gaming, the lack of innovation, and insufficient industrial diversification compared to societal expectations, among others, have always existed, are acknowledged by society at large, and have been discussed in the economic sections of newspapers on a weekly basis,” said Ian.

“The problem is that the government has been acting ‘evasively’ instead of ‘directly addressing’ these issues. The government has consistently relied on gaming revenue to sustain economic growth and social well-being,” he added.

The leader of the association added to his analysis by stating, like several lawmakers have recently, that the government’s statistics do not accurately reflect the true state of affairs, particularly regarding the unemployment rate.

He accused the previous government of yielding and allowing companies to hire unskilled foreign labor instead of solving the problem of youth unemployment and underemployment in Macau, claiming that they took the “easy road.”

For Ian, Macau’s economy is clearly “in a crisis.” While he is aware that these difficulties cannot all be solved at once, he claims that asking society for opinions and suggestions is not enough for the CE if he does not know how to act on them or does not intend to.

“The SAR government should face up to the difficulties and take into account the different views of society instead of making exaggerated remarks, glossing over the problems, and procrastinating. At the present stage, it should openly and honestly disclose the situation, data, and basic ideas that the SAR government has [to tackle the issues]. Otherwise, society will not be able to get a full picture of the problems,” he said.

Ian added that the government must show its determination and come up with a solution in the face of the pressing problems related to employment, satellite casinos, transportation, and the survival of small and medium-sized enterprises, “because society has talked about these relevant issues and solutions many times before.”