The New Hope candidacy group, the No.2 on the ballot paper for the 2025 direct legislative election, urges the government to increase the amount of its wealth-sharing cash handouts to 15,000 patacas from the current 10,000 patacas.
The group’s political platform also calls for the government to implement its wealth-sharing programme on a permanent basis.
While the government’s wealth-sharing programme has been, in principle, carried out over the years on a provisional basis rather than a permanent basis, the cash handouts have, in fact, been paid to local residents every year since its launch in 2008.
The amount of the annual cash handouts has remained unchanged at 10,000 patacas for permanent local residents and 6,000 patacas for non-permanent local residents since 2019.
The group’s political platform for the 2021 direct election called for the government to raise the amount of the cash handouts to 12,000 patacas.
The New Hope group headed by veteran lawmaker José Maria Pereira Coutinho is one of the six candidacy groups running in the ongoing direct election with polling day on September 14.
The group’s political platform for the 2025 direct election also urges the government to issue a consumption subsidy to every local resident every year worth at least 10,000 patacas, with the annual amount to be raised in line with the inflation rate.
The group’s platform calls for the government to increase the old-age pension to 4,500 patacas per month.
The government had increased the amount of the old-age pension from 3,740 patacas to 3,900 patacas per month earlier this year, with the increase taking effect retroactively from January this year.
The group’s platform also urges the government to increase its annual subsidy for senior citizens to 12,000 patacas.
The government has increased the amount of the annual subsidy from 9,000 patacas to 10,000 patacas, effective from this year.
The New Hope group’s platform calls for the government’s newly launched childcare allowance to cover children up to the age of 12, a change from the current one benefitting children up to the age of three.
Currently, only parents whose children are permanent local residents are eligible to receive the childcare allowance, which was launched earlier this year. Each beneficiary is entitled to receive an annual allowance of 18,000 patacas.
The group’s platform also urges the government to raise the amount of its childcare allowance to 2,000 patacas per month, equivalent to 24,000 patacas per year.
The campaign platform also calls for a 10-percent increase in the city’s statutory minimum wage every year.
Macau’s statutory minimum wage currently amounts to 34 patacas per hour, which has been in force since January last year.
The New Hope group, which won two seats four years ago, has fielded incumbent lawmaker Coutinho, 68, as its first-ranked candidate for the 2025 direct election, but the group, has fielded sitting legislator Che Sai Wang, 59, who was the second-ranked candidate in the 2021 direct election, only as its third-ranked candidate for the 2025 direct election.
Instead, the New Hope group has fielded George Chan Hao Weng, 50, who was the fourth-ranked candidate in the 2021 direct election, as its second-ranked candidate for the 2025 direct election. Chan stood as a candidate for the direct legislative election for the first time four years ago.
Che has been a candidate of the New Hope group since the 2013 direct election, ranking fifth in both 2013 and 2017.
Coutinho was first elected in the direct election in 2005 after he had failed in his first election bid in 2001. Coutinho, whose parents were born in Goa when it was still a Portuguese colony, is a prominent member of Macau’s community of mixed Portuguese-Asian descent and upbringing, customarily known as the Macanese.
Coutinho previously worked in the Economic Services Bureau (DSE) – which was upgraded to the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) in 2021 – where he headed the Intellectual Property Department between 1999 and 2001.
The New Hope group is the electoral vehicle of the influential Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM), of which Coutinho is the veteran leader.
Coutinho was re-elected in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021. The New Hope group won two seats in the 2013 direct election, when the group’s then second-ranked candidate Leong Veng Chai was elected. Leong failed in his re-election bid in the 2017 direct election when he was the second-ranked candidate as the group won only one seat at that time.
The group comprises 11 candidates for the direct legislative election this time.
Chan, the group’s second-ranked candidate for the 2025 direct election, is currently a public servant working in the Sports Bureau (ID), while sitting lawmaker Che, the group’s third-ranked candidate for the 2025 direct election, previously worked in the Transport Bureau (DSAT).
The group’s political platform also calls for the amount of the government’s annual health e-voucher, which currently stands at 700 patacas for each beneficiary, to be increased to 1,000 patacas.
Only permanent local residents are entitled to receive health e-vouchers.
The group’s platform also calls for tuition-free enrolment in the city’s public higher education institutions for local residents.
The group’s platform urges the government to ensure that every local resident in need will always be allocated a public housing unit.
The campaign platform also calls for free public healthcare services for all permanent local residents.
The candidacy group calls for the city’s number of days for statutory paid maternity leave in the private sector to be raised to 98 days, the same as in the mainland, from the current 70 days.
José Maria Pereira Coutinho (centre), the first-ranked candidate of the New Hope candidacy group, speaks during a press conference on Monday about the group’s political platform, as the second-ranked candidate George Chan Hao Weng (left) and third-ranked candidate Che Sai Wang look on. The press conference was held at the headquarters of the Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM) in Zape. – Photo: Tony Wong
