Potential chief executive candidate Sam Hou Fai paid a visit to the headquarters of the Macau Association of Building Contractors and Developers yesterday where he met with top board members from eight major associations representing the city’s building contractors, developers, architects and civil engineers, his election campaign office said in a statement yesterday.
The Macau Association of Building Contractors and Developers is headquartered on the fifth floor of a residential high-rise on Rua do Campo, which is named for the association, which it built in the early 1980s.
The meeting was presided over by Mok Chi Wai, who chairs the association.
According to the statement, 16 representatives raised opinions and suggestions during the meeting, on topics such as enhancing local engineers’ professionalism, striking the right balance between the public housing supply and the private housing market’s development, improving legislation aiming to boost the city’s urban renewal process, streamlining the government’s administrative formalities assessing and approving the private sector’s construction plans, old buildings’ safety, and the rational distribution of public housing resources.
In addition, the statement said, several representatives said during the meeting that there are not enough places to park large construction machinery in Macau. They also suggested that Sam’s administration study the feasibility of making better use of the advantages brought about by Hengqin’s development with the aim of overcoming the current obstacles hindering the development of Macau’s construction sector.
According to the statement, Sam acknowledged during the meeting that his administration would need to study how to address the various issues raised by the representatives.
Health chief upbeat about Sam’s governance
Meanwhile, Sam paid a visit to an office in the Macao Daily News Building on Monday night where he met with senior members of about 40 associations representing young local people, his election campaign office said in a separate statement yesterday.
The Chinese-language Macao Daily News, Macau’s top-selling newspaper, is headquartered in the high-rise on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais, with some of its floors being used by a number of associations from various segments of civil society as their respective offices.
According to the statement, the representatives who attended Monday’s meeting with Sam included those from three major youth associations, namely the Macau Youth Federation (MYF), the Macau New Chinese Youth Association, and the Macau General Association of Chinese Students (AECM).
Monday’s meeting was presided over by Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long, who chairs the Macau Youth Federation.
According to the statement, Dr Lo said during the meeting he believed that Sam’s administration would be able to take Macau’s development to a new phase.
According to the statement, 22 representatives raised opinions during the meeting, on topics such as strengthening the training of highly-qualified local professionals, diversifying platforms and channels for young people to convey suggestions to the government, measures helping young people get a job or start a business, raising students’ awareness about career planning, young people pursuing their personal and career development elsewhere in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), and Macau’s development of its digital economy.
Only Sam has submitted his candidacy nomination form to the Chief Executive Electoral Affairs Commission (CAECE), which is required to announce its decision today whether to accept Sam as a candidate for the chief executive election on October 13.
The ex-top judge’s candidacy has been endorsed by 386 electors of the 400-member Chief Executive Election Committee, representing 96.5 percent of the total.
Sam, 62, is the former president of Macau’s Court of Final Appeal (TUI). He resigned from his position, which he had held since the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) on December 20, 1999, so that he could run in the October 13 chief executive election.
This handout photo provided by the Sam Hou Fai Election Campaign Office yesterday shows Sam (front, centre) posing on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting at the Macau Association of Building Contractors and Developers on Rua do Campo with board members of eight major associations representing building contractors, developers, architects and civil engineers, such as the association’s chairman Mok Chi Wai (front, second from right) and Macau Architects Association Chairman Leong Chong In (front, first from left).
Potential chief candidate Sam Hou Fai (second from left) takes notes while listening to opinions raised by participants during Monday’s meeting with representatives from about 40 youth associations, in an office at the Macao Daily News Building, as Macau Youth Federation (MYF) Chairman Alvis Lo Iek Long (left) also jots down notes while presiding over the meeting. – Photo: Sam’s election campaign office
