THE first local Law Draftsman warned yesterday that the experience of expatriate officers should not be overlooked in the run-up to 1997.
Tony Yen Yuen-ho, 47, is the third local to take up a senior post in the Legal Department following the appointment of Peter Nguyen QC as Director of Public Prosecutions and Daniel Fung Wah-kin QC as Solicitor-General.
Mr Yen, who will earn about $140,000 in his new post, is responsible for the bilingual law programme and has been Deputy Law Draftsman for less than three years. He has been acting as Law Draftsman since last September.
On his appointment yesterday by the Attorney-General, Jeremy Mathews, Mr Yen warned that localisation should be implemented at a cautious pace.
'There must be a balance between the aims of localisation and the need for experienced staff,' he said.
Expatriate staff in his department were relatively more experienced.