UM scholars call for long-term development plan

Ricardo Siu believes that Macau’s gaming industry will enter an adjustment period

Ten scholars from the University of Macau (UM) held a seminar called “Policy Outlook for the Coming Government” at the Hengqin campus yesterday.
They shared their views on the future direction of the Macau government under the re-   election of Chui Sai On as Chief Executive.  An assortment of issues, including the establishment of a sovereign fund and the diversification of the economy were raised, with scholars urging the administration to take action.
Professor Ricardo Siu Chi Sen from UM’s Faculty of Business Administration, said that Macau’s gaming industry will enter an adjustment period which will have a profound impact on the city’s public and private revenue. As a result, the administration has to evaluate how to best invest in the public reserves.
“I hope that the government will establish a professional committee to decide how to handle the reserves in the next five years”, he declared.
The professor claimed that the government can hire fund managers from the private sector under the current public servant employee system, as the government’s salary regime is unable to attract new staff.
“In the upcoming year, I hope that the government can provide a clear direction on how this fund will be managed”, he said.
Dr Siu also said that the authorities should think about whether they need to establish a new, more flexible screening process in order to hire finance professionals.
Moreover, the scholar has stressed the importance of casino tourism to Macau. “We are not only going to develop into a leisure city or develop our tourist industry. It is important to think about how we can combine the tourism and gaming industry together,” he stated.
Another UM scholar, Dr Lin Guanzhi, director of UM’s Centre for Macau Studies, also highlighted the importance of the gambling industry as a mechanism for developing other businesses.
Dr Lin said that the exhibition and conference industry has better development prospects due to its connection to the gambling industry.  On the other hand, more traditional domains such as the cultural creative industry and the traditional Chinese medicine industry have not seen any advancement.
He said that Chui Sai On’s election platform mentioned the expansion of the most advanced industries to allow the gaming industry to benefit from the development of other sectors. He also claimed that this is a new idea for the government, which will see officials reflecting on how the gaming industry will be able to assist further sectoral development and therefore eventually contribute to the diversification of the local economy.
Meanwhile, Iau Teng Pio from UM’s Faculty of Law, believes that more has to be done to accelerate the reform of Macau’s legal system. He argues that while judicial independence should remain, the efficiency of the judicial administrative process should be improved.
The professor took paperless case files in other countries as an example, suggesting that many countries have abolished the paper-based file system for cases that are currently on trial.
“Lawyers don’t need to rush to court to submit the indictment (…) They would be able to know in which stage their case files are by keying a password into a computer only, instead of going to the court to enquire about it”, he explained.
The scholar is disappointed that despite claiming to be an international city, Macau is lagging behind the rest of the world on issues like this.
He also called on the local courts to ensure better use of their website to release accurate information regarding the hearing schedule, as well as to quickly publish legal documents.
When concluding the seminar, Hao Yufang, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, said that while residents are more concerned with housing and economic issues, scholars have paid more attention to the government’s long-term plan for Macau, which he said is more meaningful.
He also said that what a government should do is to create a long-term strategy that does not only solve the short-term day-to-day issue, but also to foresee and plan the future development of the city.
“My first hope is for the new administration to propose a long-term development plan (…) We are not only looking at the next five years, but [thinking about] what we want Macau to become in the upcoming 10 to 15 years”, he said.