Outgoing Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng reaffirmed yesterday that he decided in August not to seek a second five-year term “due to my health condition, without any other reasons”, saying that it was the COVID-19 pandemic which negatively impacted his health as he was only able to sleep for three to four hours “every night” during the three-year period from early 2020 to late 2022.
Ho made the remarks during a press conference at Government Headquarters summarising his five-year administration, which started on December 20, 2019 and will end at midnight on December 19, 2024 when he will be succeeded by Sam Hou Fai who will then be sworn in as Macau’s sixth-term and fourth chief executive the next day, the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland.
Ho held the press conference, which lasted about 45 minutes, after presenting his government’s work report for this year, including a summary of his five-year governance, and a brief proposal for next year’s budget to the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday afternoon. Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong is scheduled to present the outline of the government’s 2025 budget bill to the legislature tomorrow.
Ho announced in a statement on August 21 that he decided not to seek re-election as “my health has still not fully recovered”.
According to the Macau Basic Law, Macau’s chief executive can serve no more than two consecutive five-year terms.
Ho took leave for 39 consecutive days from June 21 through July 29, during which the government said in a statement on July 20 that Ho used his leave of absence to undergo routine physical examinations and to receive the necessary diagnosis and treatment, and that he was in good health.
Replying to a reporter’s question which asked him to elaborate on his reasons for his decision not to seek re-election as chief executive during yesterday’s press conference, Ho noted that he explained the reasons in a statement in August. Ho noted that he has lost weight over recent months, adding that it was for health reasons that he decided not to seek re-election – “without any other considerations”.
Ho, 67, said that he is no longer young, “because of which I should let somebody younger than me do the job”.
Ho said that the post of chief executive is a “very high” pressure job, particularly during the three-year pandemic, during which he and his five policy secretaries were only able to sleep for three to four hours every night. Ho also said that he and his five policy secretaries were still only able to sleep for three to four hours per night as they still could not readjust their biological clock.
Ho said that during the three-year COVID-19 pandemic, he and his policy secretaries were continually worried about the possible occurrence of COVID-19 cases in the community.
Ho said that he and his five policy secretaries have still not recovered from sleep disorders resulting from the three-year pandemic. He added that the situation has negatively impacted his health.
Ho noted that when asked by reporters early this year about the possibility of seeking re-election, he preferred not to give a clear answer because, at that time, he had already noticed that something may be wrong with his health.
Replying to another question, Ho said that when he was speaking to journalists in June, he was asked how he was feeling about his job, he merely replied that he was “very tired”. Ho said during yesterday’s press conference that he made the remarks at that time because he already knew that “there was some problem with my health”
Ho said yesterday that his health has gradually improved over recent months.
Meanwhile, Ho said that the three-year COVID-19 pandemic had impacted him most during his five-year tenure. Ho noted that soon after he took office on December 20, 2019, his administration had to start tackling the pandemic.
Macau recorded its first COVID-19 case on January 22, 2020.
Ho said that during his five-year term, his administration had to fight the pandemic for three years, but that the government was, nevertheless, able to continue with its effort to promote Macau’s development in various aspects during the period.
Ho also underlined that while the three-year pandemic adversely impacted Macau to a great deal in various aspects at that time, his administration has managed to “basically” achieve all its goals and objectives listed in his 2019 election manifesto.
Meanwhile, Ho also said that the government believes that Macau will be able to generate gross gaming revenue (GGR) of 240 billion patacas next year.
He also pointed out that when he took office in late 2019, Macau’s financial reserves stood at 579 billion patacas, while now they amount to over 600 billion patacas, despite a four-year-long budget deficit, i.e., from 2020 through 2023. Ho, a former president of the local legislature, business community leader and member of the elite Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), said the fact that Macau’s financial reserves have continued to grow despite the pandemic and budget deficit was the result of “good investment performance”.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng addresses yesterday’s press conference at Government Headquarters about his five-year administration. – Photo: Tony Wong
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (left) shakes hands with Legislative Assembly (AL) President Kou Hoi In after presenting his government’s work report for this year, including a summary of his five-year governance, and a brief proposal for next year’s budget to lawmakers during yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle, where he announced that the government’s 2025 budget proposes the continuation of its annual cash handout scheme with the amount to remain unchanged at 10,000 patacas for each permanent resident and 6,000 patacas for each non-permanent residents. – Photo: GCS
