Lawmaker Au Kam San said yesterday he hoped voters will decide whether to vote for him or not in the September 17 direct legislative election by reviewing what he did in the legislature in the past 16 years.
Au is the first-ranked candidate of the New Democratic Macau Association (ANMD), No. 13 on the ballot, while Helu Chan Kuok Seng, an e-commerce businessman who is in his twenties is the second-ranked candidate. Au’s list comprises six candidates.
When Typhoon Hato hit Macau last month, Au had posted a status update on his Facebook, titled “make a mountain out of a molehill”, about the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Macau Garrison whose troops helped clean up the city, a move generally welcomed by residents. Au’s remarks sparked fierce debate among netizens.
Speaking to The Macau Post Daily yesterday when he was handing out campaign booklets to passers-by in Areia Preta, Au admitted that the title of the status update had led to “misunderstanding” of its contents, adding that he had already apologised to residents when he attended an election debate hosted by government-owned broadcaster TDM on Monday.
Au said he thought the issue would deeply affect how many votes he could get. “[I] hope it will pass very soon… Registered voters will [decide whether to vote for me] by looking back on the things I have done in the legislature [since 2001],” he said.
Au also said he did not mean to criticise the PLA soldiers. Instead, according to Au, his update just wanted to slam the local government’s inefficiency in removing the huge piles of rubbish after the killer typhoon had swept through Macau.
Au, a full-time politician and former teacher, said that as a democrat his political platform mainly focuses on fighting for democracy and improving residents’ livelihoods, adding that the livelihood issues residents face were related to the city’s “undemocratic” political system, such as the fact that the chief executive and most lawmakers are not elected by universal suffrage.
Au also said he believed that no sitting lawmakers understand the government’s public housing policies better than him, adding that, if re-elected, he would try his best to urge the government to increase the supply of public housing units.
Au, 60, also said he expected that it’s the last time that he’s running in the election as an electoral group’s top-ranked candidate.
Veteran lawmaker Au Kam San (second from left) and fellow candidates of the New Democratic Macau Association (ANMD) Helu Chan Kuok Seng (first from left) and Tong Ka Io pose yesterday in Areia Preta. Photo: Debby Seng
