The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed two government-initiated bills that will require all officials and public servants to take an oath of office indicating that they uphold the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Basic Law and bear allegiance to the MSAR.
The two bills passed in their final readings yesterday are one amending the current law concerning officials of bureaus and other bureau-level entities, Law 15/2009, namely directors (or presidents), deputy directors (or vice-presidents), department chiefs, and division chiefs, as well as one amending the current regulation on public servants, i.e., the Macau Public Administration Staff Statute.
The outlines of the two bills were passed during a plenary session of the legislature in December last year, after which the two bills were reviewed by its 2nd Standing Committee, before they were resubmitted to yesterday’s plenary session, which Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon attended, when they were voted on article-by-article in their respective second and final readings.
The two bills will take effect on November 1 this year.
The amendments passed yesterday have been made in compliance with the amended version of the MSAR’s national security law, which took effect in May 2023, according to which all officials listed in Law 15/2009 and all public servants are also required to take an oath of office.
According to the two pieces of amended legislation, officials listed in Law 15/2009 will be required to take their oaths at a ceremony, while public servants in general will only be required to take their oaths by signing a declaration.
According to the amended legislation, officials listed in Law 15/2009 and public servants in general who refuse to take their oath of office will be disqualified from taking office. More specifically, the government will revoke the appointments of officials listed in Law 15/2009 who refuse to take their oath and terminate the employment of public servants who refuse to take their oath.
When taking an oath of office, according to the amended versions of Law 15/2009 and of the Macau Public Administration Staff Statute, those who intentionally read out words that do not comply with their oath’s respective terms, or sign a declaration in which the terms of the oath have been tampered with, will be regarded as refusing to take the oath.
In addition, those who take their oaths in a way that is insincere or unsolemn will also be regarded as refusing to take the oath.
Meanwhile, according to the amended Macau Public Administration Staff Statute, public servants can also obtain sick leave certificates from private but non-profit medical institutions that have signed agreements with the Health Bureau (SSM) in providing public servants with medical services, in addition to the current situation where they can only obtain the certificates from hospitals, either public or private, or public health centres.
The provision has been added to the bill by the government after its committee review process in the legislature.
During yesterday’s plenary session, several lawmakers acknowledged the extension of coverage of medical institutions whose sick leave certificates issued to public servants will be accepted by the government, saying that this would be a step towards the ultimate goal that all types of medical institutions, including all other private clinics, they said, should be covered.
Cheong underlined that the new provision aims to make it more convenient for public servants to obtain sick leave while also minimising the possibilities of the occurrence of the situation where doctors falsely issue sick leave certificates to public servants who are not sick.
Cheong said that for the future, the government aims to extend the coverage to all doctors in the city, on the premise of being able to ensure the effective supervision of doctors issuing sick leave certificates to public servants. However, Cheong said that the government does not have a schedule as to when it will submit another amendment bill with the aim of achieving this aim.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon speaks during yesterday’s plenary session in the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) hemicycle. – Photo: GCS
