The top-level panel set up to tackle poverty should have its tenure extended for at least two more years so that it can follow through on measures proposed, members have suggested.
The Commission on Poverty is to be disbanded after it submits a final report to the government next month.
The commission, one of Tung Chee-hwa's final initiatives before he stepped down as chief executive in early 2005, comprises 18 members drawn from different sectors, and five policy secretaries. It aims to improve policy co-ordination on poverty issues.
Commission member and Democratic Party vice-chairman Tik Chi-yuen said the commission's tenure should be extended for at least two years to follow through on the measures they have proposed.
He expressed concern that the government would attach less importance to addressing poverty in the future.
'We now have various policy secretaries sitting on the commission, and our work is more focused,' he said. 'If the commission is to be downgraded, the effectiveness of the measures would definitely be something we are worried about.'