Lawmakers are there to help keep the government clean. So, as guardians of the public purse, they must take extra care to uphold their own personal honesty and integrity. It is, therefore, disappointing that they voted down a proposal to review a decade-old reimbursement system that allows them to claim travel and entertainment expenses of up to HK$164,390 a year without receipts. The Independent Commission Against Corruption has long recommended an overhaul. Questions must be raised about why legislators see no need to prove that their expenses are genuine.
Thursday's vote is the second time legislators have taken a stance against overhauling the system. In 2004, they voted down a similar proposal. One can only speculate how they would react if senior government officials claimed a similar privilege. Expense records examined by the South China Morning Post show a third of lawmakers claim the maximum amount to which they are entitled. Some do so by claiming the full monthly average of HK$13,699 over consecutive months; others ask for the maximum annual amount of HK$164,390 at the end of a financial year.
Legally, there is nothing wrong with this. The system is based on honour. But most lawmakers seem to believe that they are free to spend the money as they wish, so long as they keep within the total sum allowed. No one is suggesting our lawmakers are doing anything remotely comparable to the outrageous abuse of expenses which plunged British members of Parliament into a scandal. There is, however, a need to maintain not only public propriety, but the appearance of it. For this, keeping clear and clean spending records is essential.
It is clear that at least some Legco members have used reimbursements to subsidise their salaries, staff payments and operations. But there are already substantial payments separately earmarked to cover these items. Legislators receive more than HK$1.5 million a year to operate an office and pay staff. Their monthly salary has recently been raised from HK$56,750 to HK$68,200. An additional HK$26,130 is provided for yearly medical and dental treatments. Some lawmakers have argued these are still not enough to cover what they need to perform their duties effectively. A kind of cross-subsidy from their travel and entertainment accounts is necessary, they suggest. If so, the matter should be brought out into the open. They are entitled to adequate compensation to ensure they are able to do their work effectively. But as long as these financial items are distinguished, legislators should not abuse their privileges and set a bad example for others.
So far, only the Civic Party is open to revising the expenses system. Certainly, compared to the princely sums paid to top government officials, lawmakers may feel hard done by. But relative to what most people earn, they are in a privileged position. It may well be that lawmakers and their parties need greater resources - and more financial support - to cross swords effectively with high-and-mighty ministers, who are backed up by an army of staff and other resources. But at a time when many workers in the private sector and the civil service are facing a pay cut or freeze, it would be hard for legislators to argue they need to be paid more. That is the political reality and the real reason they oppose revising the expenses system, which would have shrunk their resources further. But while we can understand their dilemma, they are wrong to choose convenience and expediency over principle.
