Being right in the middle of a public consultation regarding political reform in Macao that will engage the polity’s future for decades and yet having two thirds of the population not being aware of the aforementioned consultation should franticly waken red-blinking signals as to why our community seems to be so oblivious of politics. To characterize the situation as “political apathy” borders euphemism!
But this result raises questions going beyond the supposed “ignorance” reflected by the opinion poll released by the Association of Macao New Vision. “Lack of interest” and “boredom” complement the diagnosis, and here the cure does not only relate to quantity (the government needs to step-up its communication campaign by having more posters and TV ads!) but also and more importantly so to quality: are the public consultation sessions really an exchange between the government and the population, or a revamped exercise in “you brag, we listen quietly and we decide unilaterally”? Are the proposed changes being perceived as meaningful by the citizenry? Are the numerous associations in Macao allowing for a significant mediation between government and society? And what about the press, and especially the Chinese press? What about the role that diversified op-eds are supposed to play in helping shape the different components of public opinion?
Among the many questions that require some kind of discussion regarding the ongoing political reform consultation is the permanence of “functional constituencies” in Macao’s legislature in the name of tradition, stability and prosperity.
If tradition is to guide us, what kind of tradition are we talking about? Functional constituencies were designed by colonial administrations to coopt local elites and relay colonial authority in places where a foreign administration was always the minority in distant lands. In Hong Kong, functional constituencies started in the nineteenth century and were of diverse usage until the mid-1980s when they regain their final footing. In Macao, traces of these functional constituencies can be found in the 1920s, and a direct reference to them appears in the 1963 Portuguese Overseas Organic Law, and of course again in the “freer” Organic Statute of 1976. The rationale of a colonial administration is based on a top-down approach that has very little respect for modern political thinking. Basically, “functional constituencies” are both unfair and the harbinger of inequality: just like rich people had more political say in nineteenth century Europe, these sectorial interests in society enjoy an additional say in law making in Macao and Hong Kong to this very day, in fact twice as much in Macao than in Hong Kong, as only 1 out of 32 and 1 out of 15 citizens, respectively, vote for these constituencies in both SARs. Isn’t it time for colonial inspiration to finally end?
And then come the consideration for sophistication and efficiency. How can one justify the longevity of just four functional constituencies for 10 seats out of 29 returned by less than 8,000 people? In Hong Kong, there are 30 such constituencies and 226,000 people get to vote: are four functional constituencies really mirroring contemporary Macao? And then, as far as efficiency is concerned, legislators returned by functional constituencies are reported every year as being the least present in the legislature’s working sessions and the least engaging with the government. What about good governance then? Functional constituencies legislators champion the issue of conflict of interests, as they are judge and party, lobby representatives made legislators and thus protect the interests of their sector first and foremost. Prosperity for whose benefit?
If one had to find a messenger to blame for political corruption, forget about universal suffrage: functional constituencies are your perfect culprits!
Published in Macau Daily Times, March 30th 2012
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