There’ll be six new faces in Chief Executive-designate Sam Hou Fai’s Executive Council, the members of which were confirmed on Friday. The 11-strong council is Macao’s de facto cabinet, responsible for helping the SAR’s next leader make policy-related decisions.
Its newcomers are: Lao Ngai Leong, a businessman and Macao deputy to the National People’s Congress; Ip Sio Kai, a Legislative Assembly member and the deputy general manager of the Bank of China’s Macao branch; Samuel Tong Kai Chung, president of the Macau Institute of Management; Legislative Assembly member Song Pek Kei; Leong Wai Fong, the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute’s executive director; and U Seng Pan, a science and technology professor at the University of Macau.
The five members who will be reappointed, meanwhile, are: Leonel Alberto Alves, a senior lawyer and former legislator; André Cheong Weng Chon, the secretary for administration and justice; Chan Chak Mo, lawmaker and business figure; Frederico Ma Chi Ngai, a businessman and head of the government’s Science and Technology Development Fund; and Chan Ka Leong, director general of the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau.
[See more: Sam Hou Fai introduces his new cabinet to the public]
The appointees will be sworn in on 20 December, the same day Sam takes over from current Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng.
According to a statement released by the Government Information Bureau, Sam has expressed his hope that each Executive Council member will “uphold and implement the Basic Law of the MSAR; pledge allegiance to the MSAR of the People’s Republic of China; commit to serving with dedication and integrity; safeguard the country’s sovereignty, security, and development interests; accurately implement the ‘One country, two systems’ principle; and ensure the steady and long-term success of ‘One country, two systems’ principle in Macao.”
One the same day the appointees were announced, Ho extended his congratulations to each incoming member. He thanked his own Executive Council members for their “dedication and wisdom” during his tenure.
