The Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed two government-drafted bills, which regulate weapon usage and e-governance respectively.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak addressed yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle about the arms bill.
The bill regulates the private possession of weapons, the outline of which was passed last year.
It permits the possession and use of weapons and related items for the purposes of self-defence, professional activities, sporting competitions and ornamentation or collection purposes, and also establishes an arms licensing system, Wong said.
According to Wong, the bill stipulates that the holder of a weapon must prove that he or she is mentally and physically capable of managing the weapon, and also specifies the obligations of the holder of a weapon and the penalties for non-compliance, so as to strengthen supervision.
Wong said if a person does not have a licence and fails to apply for a licence to possess a controlled weapon, he or she is liable to imprisonment for two to eight years.
The bill passed yesterday will become law 60 days after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO) in the near future.
E-government law
During yesterday’s plenary session, legislators also passed a government-drafted bill on the handling of e-government affairs by public institutions, which will replace paper notices with electronic notices.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon stressed that it was not mandatory for the public to opt for the e-notification service, and that a promotion campaign will be launched before the law came into effect.
Cheong underlined that e-notification is becoming increasingly popular, its greatest advantage being its speed and accuracy, such as notifications of traffic offences and tax payments, sent to citizens via the government’s mobile app “Macao One Account”.
According to the new law, public entities can replace the posting of public notices on paper on their premises by posting digital documents on their websites.
However, Cheong said that there is no official website for public notices for the time being, and a study will be conducted accordingly. Cheong was quick to add he believed that it was not technically difficult to do so.
The new e-government law is scheduled to take effect on September 1.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak looks on during yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle.
– Photos courtesy of TDM
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon looks on during yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle.
