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Jeffie Lam

The president of Macau’s top court has resigned from his role, clearing the way for his bid to become the city’s next leader.
According to an order issued by Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat-sing on Monday, authorities removed Sam Hou-fai at his own request from his positions as president and judge of the Court of Final Appeal, with effect from Wednesday.
He also resigned as a member of the independent committee that recommends judges.
Sam indicated his intention to throw his hat into the ring last week after Ho said he would not seek a second term by running in October’s chief executive election, citing unspecified health concerns.
“The position of chief executive is a noble one, dedicated to serving both the Macau Special Administrative Region and its residents,” the mainland China-born judge said last Thursday.
“I always hold a strong desire to serve Macau.”
The announcement by Ho, formerly the president of Macau’s Legislative Assembly, came after he took a rare, extended leave period of 39 days between June and July.
He is the first Macau chief executive not to seek re-election since the city reverted from Portuguese to Chinese administration in 1999. Both of his predecessors – Edmund Ho Hau-wah and Fernando Chui Sai-on – served two five-year terms.
Sam, born in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, in 1962, became a lawyer on the mainland before moving to Macau, then administered by Portugal, in 1986. He went to study law in Portugal in 1990 and returned to Macau in 1993, before becoming a judge there in 1997.
He was appointed the president of Macau’s top court in December 1999.
If elected, Sam would become the city’s first leader without a business background.
Some observers previously expressed doubts over his ability to lead, pointing to his lack of a strong social network or governing experience.
Ho Iat-sing and his two predecessors all hail from highly influential families with deep roots in the city.
Ieong Meng-u, an assistant professor at the University of Macau’s social science faculty, earlier said Sam’s legal background might not qualify him to lead a city in need of an economic overhaul.
He also expressed doubts over Sam’s ability to build a capable administration as his role as top judge had prevented him from establishing a strong social network that he could later tap for talent.
At the ceremonial opening of the legal year in 2020, Sam reminded all judicial officers in Macau to maintain a certain distance from society to avoid situations where they might be exploited or even be suspected of compromising their independence.
Sam is likely to enter another one-horse race if he signs up for the chief executive election. Only the first poll, held in 1999, was contested, with Edmund Ho beating fellow banker Stanley Au Chong-kit by taking 81.9 per cent of the votes, or 163, from a 199-member Selection Committee.
Observers said that in general those who had indicated their intention to run in the race would certainly have received Beijing’s blessing given Macau was not a polarised society.
Macau will hold its sixth chief executive election on October 13, with the nomination period lasting from August 29 to September 12.
Candidates must secure at least 66 nominations from the 400-strong Election Committee to run.
On a recent visit, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, urged the city to maximise its business advantages, economic foundations and cultural inclusiveness to bolster growth.


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Sam Hou-fai has resigned from Macau’s top court. Photo: Handout

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Sam Hou-fai quits Macau’s top court, clearing way for bid to become next city leader

Sam Hou-fai resigns as president of Macau’s Court of Final Appeal