Lawmakers yesterday elected the presidents and secretaries of the new, eighth term of the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) seven committees – the Committee on House Rules, 1st Standing Committee, 2nd Standing Committee, 3rd Standing Committee, Follow-up Committee for Land and Public Concession Affairs, Follow-up Committee for Public Finance Affairs, and Follow-up Committee for Public Administration Affairs.
The legislature announced the results of the elections by secret ballot in a statement yesterday evening.
The elections of the seven committees’ presidents and secretaries were carried out behind closed doors after yesterday’s plenary session, the second one of the legislature’s new term.
The legislature’s new four-year term started on October 16, when its first plenary session was held, during which André Cheong Weng Chon, a newcomer to the Legislative Assembly after serving as the Macau Special Administrative Region’s (MSAR) secretary for Administration and Justice between December 20, 2019 and October 15, 2025, was unanimously elected by his peers as the legislature’s president.
Cheong is one of the seven members whom Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai appointed to the 33-member Legislative Assembly, which comprises 14 deputies directly elected by universal suffrage, 12 deputies indirectly elected by association representatives, and seven deputies appointed by the chief executive after the direct and indirect elections.
During the first plenary session of the legislature’s new term, indirectly-elected lawmaker Alan Ho Ion Sang was elected, also unanimously, as the legislature’s vice-president. Indirectly-elected legislator Si Ka Lon was elected as the first secretary of the legislature’s executive board, while directly-elected lawmaker Ella Lei Cheng I was elected as its second secretary. Both were also elected unanimously.
The four-member executive board – the legislature’s top management body – consists of the legislature’s president (speaker), vice-president, first secretary and second secretary.
According to the Legislative Assembly Procedure Rules, the legislature’s four-member executive board headed by the president of the Legislative Assembly suggests the number of standing committees that the legislature should have, and what they should be called, when a new four-year legislative term starts.
The executive board also suggests the number of members that each standing committee should have and who should join which committee, according to the Procedure Rules.
The number of members of each standing committee must range from 7 to 11, according to the Procedure Rules.
The rules for follow-up committees are the same as those for standing committees, according to the Procedure Rules.
During yesterday’s plenary session, lawmakers unanimously passed the executive board’s suggestion concerning the number of members of each standing and follow-up committee and the list of lawmakers on each committee.
A total of 31 lawmakers will sit on the three standing committees and three follow-up committees. As is customary, the president and vice-president of the legislature do not sit on any of the committees.
As is customary, the members of the 1st Standing Committee are the same as the Follow-up Committee for Land and Public Concession Affairs; the members of the 2nd Standing Committee are the same as the Follow-up Committee for Public Finance Affairs; and the members of the 3rd Standing Committee are the same as the Follow-up Committee for Public Administration Affairs.
The number of standing committees and follow-up committees and their designations remain the same as in the previous legislative term (2021-2025).
The legislature’s standing committees are tasked with reviewing bills after their outlines have been passed by a plenary session.
Yesterday’s plenary session also unanimously passed the executive board’s suggestion on the list of lawmakers on the seven-member Committee on House Rules.
After yesterday’s plenary session, members of the seven committees elected their respective presidents and secretaries behind closed doors.
Indirectly-elected lawmaker-cum-urban planner José Chui Sai Peng was elected president of the seven-member Committee on House Rules whose remit includes raising suggestions on amending the Legislative Assembly Procedure Rules. Chui succeeds Alan Ho at the helm of the committee.
Directly-elected lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng, a nurse by profession, was elected president of the 10-member 1st Standing Committee, succeeding Ella Lei.
Indirectly-elected lawmaker-cum-banker Ip Sio Kai was elected president of the 10-member 2nd Standing Committee, succeeding restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo who had retired from the hemicycle.
Directly-elected lawmaker-cum-unionist Leong Sun Iok was elected president of the 11-member 3rd Standing Committee, succeeding lawyer Vong Hin Fai who had retired from the legislature.
Ella Lei, also the executive board’s second secretary, was elected president of the Follow-up Committee for Land and Public Concession Affairs, which was chaired by José Chui in the previous legislative term (2021-2025).
Directly-elected lawmaker Becky Song Pek Kei was elected president of the Follow-up Committee for Public Finance Affairs, which was chaired by Wong Kit Cheng in the previous legislative term.
Indirectly-elected lawmaker Ma Chi Seng, representing the cultural and sports sector, was elected president of the Follow-up Committee for Public Administration Affairs, succeeding businessman Zheng Anting who had retired from the hemicycle.
Meanwhile, indirectly-elected lawmaker-cum-gaming executive Angela Leong On Kei, also representing the cultural and sports sector, was re-elected president of the legislature’s Administrative Committee, which is responsible for financial and administrative work for the operation of the legislature. She obtained 32 votes out of the 33 votes cast during yesterday’s plenary session, with one blank ballot.
The Administrative Committee consists of a lawmaker elected by fellow legislators, the secretary-general of the legislature, and a staff member from any of the departments and offices in the legislature. The lawmaker chairs the committee.
Legislative Assembly (AL) President André Cheong Weng Chon chairs yesterday’s plenary session in the hemicycle when legislators were voting on the executive board’s suggestion on the lists of lawmakers on the legislature’s seven committees.– Photo: Tony Wong
