The efficiency of the Legislative Assembly “has significantly increased” in the past year despite a heavier workload, its president Kou Hoi In stated.
His remarks were published in the activity report of the local legislature for the legislative year that was concluded on 31 August 2022.
“With the commitment from all parties, all the tasks have been carried out in a solid, orderly and steady manner [in the past year], achieving a good start for the current term of the Legislative Assembly,” Mr Kou said in the report.
“The 7th term of the Legislative Assembly, formed in October last year under the principle of ‘patriots governing Macau’, … allows the works of the legislature to be more rational and pragmatic,” he continued.
The current four-year term of the legislature began in October last year, following the direct and indirect elections that saw 21 candidates disqualified from running for failing to uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to the Macau SAR.
According to the activity report, a total of 41 plenary sessions were held between October 2021 and August 2022 and the city’s 33 legislators achieved an average attendance rate of 98.4 per cent. There were also 176 sub-committee meetings held in the past legislative year.
In contrast, 35 plenary sessions and 142 sub-committee meetings took place in the legislative year of 2020-21.
In addition, the legislators submitted a total of 670 written enquiries and 82 oral enquiries in the legislative year ended August 2022.
The latest activity report also mentioned the Legislative Assembly had improved its electronic system, paving the way for the success of the first ever online plenary session in July during the city’s worst community COVID-19 outbreak.
“The Legislative Assembly pays close attention to the grassroots of society, gets a grasp of and reflects social sentiment and public opinions,” Mr Kou claimed.
