Local residents Ms Chan and Mr Vong, aged 60 and 27 respectively, told The Macau Post Daily yesterday that they didn’t mind whether the government would pay residents their annual “wealth-sharing” handout in cash or add the amount to their consumption subsidy smartcard.
Both residents declined to give their full names when talking to The Macau Post Daily in a vox pop about Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s 2021 Policy Address on Monday.
Chan made the remarks at the S. Lourenço Municipal Market Complex, while Vong made the comments in a phone interview yesterday.
Ho said in his policy address that the way the government will give resident its annual “wealth-sharing” handout next year would depend on their views and the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he reaffirmed that the government would continue sharing the city’s wealth with residents in cash if “everybody” prefers it that way.
Chan, who has been selling seafood at the market for 50 years, told The Macau Post Daily that she didn’t mind how the “wealth-sharing” handout would be paid out, but she was quick to add that her children once said that they would prefer having it in cash. She also said that her children told her that giving them the government’s consumption subsidy smartcard “forces” them to spend in local shops and restaurants and therefore couldn’t use the money to pay for tuition and other things.
When asked whether the smartcard had made the payment process easier or harder at her stall, Chan said that it had made it harder. She noted that she was illiterate, and that it had been very difficult for her at the beginning to enter the payment amount into the Macau Pass reader. She said that she often overcharges or undercharges her customers by accident.
Vong said also that he didn’t mind being paid either way, adding that both cash and the consumption card would help pay his daily expenses in one way or another. However, Vong said that if he needed to choose, he would prefer the smartcard because it could help inject money into local economy.
According to Ho’s policy address, the amounts of next year’s “wealth-sharing” handouts will be the same as this year’s – 10,000 patacas for permanent and 6,000 patacas for non-permanent residents.
Sandwich class housing
The chief executive said during Monday’s post-policy address press conference that Macau would need housing projects for the local sandwich class. Ho acknowledged that young people or those who do not live with senior citizens have only a small chance of buying a subsidised home-ownership scheme (HOS) flat.
Vong, who said that he was “queuing” for a public housing flat, said that he supported the government’s plan to build sandwich class housing but he added that there should be stricter policies to ensure that type of housing would benefit locals only.
The government’s public housing programme comprises social rental housing units and HOS flats.
Vong stressed that he hoped the sandwich class housing would only be available for permanent residents, adding that not only should the applicant be a permanent resident but whoever lives in the flat with the applicant should also be a permanent resident.
Vong suggested the government carry out more detailed background checks to ensure that the applicants do not have properties outside Macau. He also said that the government should set up two separate queues – one for public housing and one for sandwich class housing.
Vong said that he also hoped that the government would prioritise young people who have children under five years old if it decided to build housing for young people.
However, Ms Ng aged 23, told The Macau Post Daily in a phone interview that she disagreed with the sandwich housing project because she thought that the government should focus on its current housing projects such as social housing and subsidised HOS flats. She added that unless the sandwich housing programme would benefit young residents in particular, focusing on its current projects would be more important.
Ng also refrained from giving her full name.
Ms Chan is checking the balance as a customer pays with her consumption subsidy smartcard in the S. Lourenço Municipal Market yesterday. Photo: Prisca Tang
