Ex-chief secretary Akers-Jones urges Carrie Lam to get tough on land use
David Akers-Jones says incoming chief executive must have a ‘strong hand’ when she takes office
Former chief secretary David Akers-Jones has urged Hong Kong’s next leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to tackle the city’s problems with firmness and honesty, saying issues such as the land shortage were a “shame and disgrace”.
The 90-year-old ex-official, who supported former security minister Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee in the city’s leadership race in March, also described Lam as “a determined person who has a gentle side to her nature”.
On his meeting with Lam on March 20, days before the election, Akers-Jones said it was “just for a brief moment”. “I haven’t seen her ... haven’t spoken one word to her since then,” he said.
Akers-Jones joined the government in 1957, and rose through the ranks to became chief secretary and acting governor before retiring in 1987. Lam joined the government in 1980, and was promoted to development secretary and chief secretary in 2007 and 2012 respectively.
Lam will be Hong Kong’s fourth chief executive since the 1997 handover, and the second to have risen from the civil service.