Ho Iat Seng was re-elected yesterday as the Legislative Assembly (AL) President, with Chui Sai Cheong, an indirect-elect legislator and the brother of Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On, elected Vice-President
After being sworn in yesterday at a ceremony held at the Chief Executive Headquarters, the 33 legislators comprising the sixth Legislative Assembly (AL) body held their first plenary session at the AL, to vote for the heads of the legislative body.
Ho Iat Seng – who received 30 votes in favour – will continue for a four year-term as the AL President, a position he was firstly elected to in 2013.
After being elected, Mr. Ho stated that he planned to fulfil the mandate period and therefore put aside temporarily a possible bid for the Chief Executive elections in 2019.
Mr. Ho is also a deputy in the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing, the Vice-President of Macau Chamber of Commerce and President of the Macau Industrial Association.
Chui Sai Cheong will replace Lam Heong Sang as the AL Vice-President, with the legislator dismissing any concerns of conflict of interest caused by ties to the current CE, his brother, and to his roles as businessman and legislator.
Chui Sai Cheong is currently a General-Manager at Companhia de Investimento Predial Chui’s, Lda, is the President of the Macau Management Association and also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
“Macau is a very small community so it is common to see the same people with different positions. I don’t think [conflict of interest] will be a problem,” legislator Chui said.
When questioned about a possible conflict of interest due to being a member of the Prosecutors Committee, the legislator said he would “question his legal advisor” if there is any overlap between these judicial and legislative positions.
The Prosecutors Committee is an independent ruling body responsible for the appraisal and disciplinary management of magistrates and judicial officers of the Public Prosecutions Office.
Indirectly-elected legislators Kou Hoi In and Chan Hong were also elected by the new legislators as the AL’s first and second secretary of the board, respectively.
Experience versus responsibility
When questioned about the election of the new AL heads, directly-elected legislator Agnes Lam told Business Daily that the experience the AL President has makes him a “good choice for President” with Ho Iat Seng having been able to “deal well with controversies from the last years”.
“Mr. Chui is also an experienced candidate and has been in the AL for quite a long time. We have a lot of newcomers to the AL, so [there’s] not a lot of people with the experience level for these positions. In Macau, there is a tradition for indirectly-elected legislators to go to these positions, which I don’t really agree with, but respect,” Ms. Lam told Business Daily.
Meanwhile the AL’s youngest legislator, Sulu Sou, argued that more directly-elected legislators without connections to the business world should be elected to these positions since “they feel more responsibility towards the public and towards the citizens”.
“In the last elections, representatives from the business sector were elected, which happened again this time. It’s something I believe was decided by the indirectly-elected legislators,” legislator Sulu Sou added.
Appointed legislator and head of the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau (UM), Davis Fong Ka Chio, told Business Daily yesterday that he will look to “inform” other legislators and not “just defend the government” during a four-year plenary session that will delve into the issue of the renewal of the city’s gaming concessions.
“In the last 13 years, we have conducted between 30 and 40 research projects in the area of gaming. I will look to assist the CE in implementing policy using science and legal basis and contribute to the debate at the AL,” he added.
The gaming concessions of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) and MGM China Holdings Ltd are set to expire in 2020, with the gaming licenses granted to Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Sands China Ltd. (Sands China), Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A. and Galaxy Entertainment Group expiring in 2022.
