Filibusters over budget vote in Legco waste of time and resources

Ask anyone about the Legislative Council's performance and the reply is likely to be the same: stop the filibusters! Like it or not, the tiring theatrics are back. For the second year, the government budget is being held hostage by a few rebel lawmakers. What's annoying this time is that not only is this tactic unable to achieve anything, it also takes longer and more resources to deal with. Alas, the public has no choice but to bear with such pointless gestures, pending a mechanism being put in place to keep the house in order. Amid growing discontent with the farce, Legco chief Jasper Tsang Yok-sing has rightly thrown out 957 of the 1,507 amendments proposed by the League of Social Democrats' Leung Kwok-hung. The reason is simple. They are frivolous and meaningless, and serve no purpose other than dragging out the meeting.

The decision, which followed tough remarks by the chief secretary and a joint appeal by government-friendly lawmakers to axe the stunt, may give the impression that Tsang was under pressure to act. The truth is that the Legco president, with or without pressure, has the duty to ensure council business is run efficiently. Until there is a consensus on how to end filibusters, Tsang can only try to reduce the damage in advance by controlling what can or cannot be tabled. The strategy only eases the burden. A record 960 amendments, the majority tabled by Leung and his allies to stall the budget vote, are still before Legco. Last year, the council took 16 days to go through 710 amendments to the budget, spending 133 hours in total. This came after Tsang took a controversial step to end the marathon debate under a special house rule. Unless better alternatives are found, the public expects Tsang to do the same.

Elected representatives are the voice of the people. Their right to speak should not be unduly curbed. Admittedly, our political system is designed so lawmakers only play a limited role in shaping government policies. Their frustration is understandable. But that does not mean the rules should be exploited. Having been used to stall various agendas such as enhanced old age allowance and government restructuring, it risks degenerating into a meaningless ritual. The rebels may well believe that their actions have an appeal to their constituents. But it is irresponsible of them to try to score points at the expense of Legco's overall image. The public is clearly fed up with the repetitive antics. An anti-filibuster mechanism should be adopted before the next menace comes along.