Graft has declined, says outgoing Macau leader
Outgoing Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah says graft, once rampant under the Portuguese administration, eased off under his leadership.
'The integrity of Macau civil servants has greatly improved in the past 10 years,' he said yesterday at his official residence,
'I can't say that we started from ground zero in 1999 in terms of fighting graft, but we had a strong start when we set up a relatively independent anti-graft agency with investigative powers.'
He attributed part of the graft problem to a lack of qualified Chinese civil servants when Portugal handed over the city in 1999.
Dr Fernando Chui Sai-on, elected in an uncontested poll in July, will replace Ho on December 20, the 10th anniversary of the handover.
Ho said Macau's capital inflow showed his government was relatively clean. 'Investors will not rush into a place without evaluating the government's corruption level,' he said.
But Ho declined to say whether he had any role in the Ao Man-long graft case, a question repeatedly asked by legislators, journalists and the public.
The question was prompted by an allegation that Ao, former secretary for transport and public works, made in court in 2007.
Ao, who received hundreds of millions of patacas in kickbacks involving public works projects, told the Court of Final Appeal that any project worth more than 6 million patacas had to be approved by Ho.
Ao was jailed for 281/2 years for bribe-taking, money laundering, abuse of power and other crimes.
Ho said the case was still being investigated and he should not comment. Soon after Ao's arrest in December 2006, Ho said he was sure Ao was the only high-ranking official implicated in the scandal.
Asked yesterday how he made that assessment, Ho said it was based on a report by graft investigators.
'All the information that I had for drawing that conclusion was based on a detailed report by the Commission Against Corruption,' he said.
Last week, Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, praised the Macau judiciary for co-operating with the government and legislature, saying it was 'constructive' for society, in contrast to the situation in Hong Kong. Zhang also praised Macau for 'never blindly following others' and for its 'resolve in opposing foreign interference'.
Asked to comment on Zhang's remarks, Ho said Macau's government, legislature and judiciary had a similar understanding of the Basic Law and therefore acted in concert.
'Their shared understanding of the Basic Law helps them reach consensus on key issues,' he said.
Beijing has called on Macau to reduce its reliance on gambling. Ho said it would take a long time to achieve that aim, which may be helped by regional co-operation and the growth of Macau's convention industry.
'This will be what the next government will work on. It can't be simply done by implementing a few policies,' he said.
