In its campaign platform for the upcoming direct legislative election, the Macau United Citizens Association (ACUM) list, the No.3 on the ballot paper, urges the government to set up an investment fund company “for all residents” so as to share the government’s revenues with local residents every year.
The platform calls for the government to allocate 100 billion patacas from its extraordinary reserves to this proposed investment fund company and give every permanent resident initial shares worth 100,000 patacas in the company so that they could earn dividends every year in line with the fund’s revenues. The candidacy list says that the proposal would enable local residents to benefit from the country’s rapid development and grasp the opportunities created by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) – which comprises nine cities in Guangdong and the two special administrative regions.
The ACUM list is headed by incumbent lawmaker-cum-civic leader Si Ka Lon, 43, with his fellow legislator-cum-civic leader Becky Song Pek Kei, 36, being the number-two candidate.
The ACUM list first ran in the legislature’s direct election in 2005, when prominent businessman Chan Meng Kam and property developer Ung Choi Kun were elected. Both were re-elected in 2009.
The ACUM list has been set up by the Alliance for Common People Building Up Macau (API) – one of the city’s biggest community associations, which is generally regarded as representing the city’s sizeable Fujianese community.
In the 2013 direct election, the ACUM list garnered the highest number of votes, at 26,426, enabling three of its candidates to be elected, namely Chan, Si and Song. Ung did not seek re-election in the 2013 election.
It has been rare for a candidacy list to win three directly-elected seats.
Chan did not seek re-election in the 2017 direct election, when the camp set up two candidacy lists, the ACUM list headed by Si and the Macau Citizens Development Association (ACDM) list headed by Song. Four years ago, both lists had one candidate elected each – Si and Song.
For the upcoming direct election, Si and Song return to run on the same ticket again – the Macau United Citizens Association (ACUM) list, which comprises 13 candidates this time.
The list’s campaign platform also calls for the Macau government to give a monthly subsidy of 10,000 patacas for 12 months to local university graduates choosing to work in other GBA cities, with the aim of encouraging young local people to integrate themselves into the GBA development.
The platform also calls for an increase in the amount of seniors’ pensions. The candidacy list also urges the government to set up a health insurance system “for all residents”.
The platform urges the government to supply at least 5,000 subsidised home-ownership scheme (HOS) flats every year.
The platform urges the government to improve its accountability system for officials.
The number-one and number-two candidates of the Macau United Citizens Association (ACUM) direct-election list, Si Ka Lon (centre) and Becky Song Pek Kei (left), listen to opinions from a woman at the Taipa Central Park on Tuesday. Photo: ACUM
