Trade Unionist lawmakers call for refined cash handout

Two of the four trade unionist lawmakers have either commented on or questioned the government’s lack of refinement in the cash handout scheme, which has been issued 15 times since 2018.

Unionist Leong Sun Iok has made a written inquiry on the matter, while his fellow unionist Ella Lei has issued a statement revealing her views.

With the government recently submitting the 2023 Budget bill to the parliament, it was confirmed that the government still has the intention of keeping the cash handout at its current level in the coming year.

Both lawmakers have stressed they favor extending the scheme to next year. However, they have an opinion on the criteria for eligibility.

Leong highlighted that, during his recent community visits, residents suggested to him that the government should terminate cash handouts to those ID holders who no longer have connections with the city or who primarily live outside Macau.

The lawmaker called for the government to verify if beneficiaries are still alive before issuing the payment. Leong finds the situation especially unacceptable when the government, while citing legal restrictions on fund issuance as the reason, has declined to issue central provident fund subsidies to eligible beneficiaries for three years in a row.

Lei has suggested the government restrict eligibility with the duration of stay in Macau. Macau ID holders who cannot remain in the city for at least 183 days in a year, for example, should be excluded from the cash handout. Exemptions can be made for students studying abroad, she added as an example.