"Join Force for a Better Tomorrow"
Summary Report of Opinion Poll on
Major Social Issues of Macau
1. Introduction Macau Development Strategy Research Centre has recently conducted an opinion poll entitled "Join Force for a Better Tomorrow" on major social issues of Macau. The objective of this campaign is to promote the involvement of citizens of Macau in studying the social issues during the post-transitional period and participating in the implementation of "Macau People to Govern Macau" and "One Country, Two Systems". We wish to reach out to people of all sectors to understand the public view on major social issues as well as to collect suggestions and recommendations, with a view to encourage different opinions and active participation in the future development of Macau. At the same time, we wish to promote the study of development strategies in a more diversified, visionary,broad-minded and practical direction, that can gradually resolve the social issues and allow Macau to grow in a healthy manner.
We sent out a total of 10,000 copies of suggestion papers in this campaign, and have received a feedback of 3,096. The response rate is 30.96%. Most respondents have made more than one suggestion in their feedback, which led to a total of 12,334 suggestions.Of all the feedback, some were put forward byindividuals, while others by organizations or schools, which reflected opinions of collective discussion among several or many people. In view of contents,some respondents simply raised issues for discussion, while others made concrete and detailed recommendations or resolutions. In addition, we also received recommendations in the form of articles and reports.
2. Statistics of Results
(1) Classification
There are a total of 12,334 suggestions which can be summarized in different categories as follow:
A. Social issues -
A1. Crime: 3,030 suggestions, or 24.57% of the total.
A2. Environment: 1,702 suggestions, or 13.80% of the total.
A3. Education: 1,258 suggestions, or 10.20% of the total.
A4. Juvenility: 662 suggestions, or 5.37% of the total.
A5. Social welfare: 518 suggestions, or 4.20% of the total.
B. Economic issues -
B1. Economy: 2,753 suggestions, or 22.32% of the total.
B2. Public facilities and utilities: 586 suggestions, or 4.75% of the total.
B3. Development: 29 suggestions, or 0.24% of the total.
C. Political issues -
C1. Public administration: 1,142 suggestions, or 9.26% of the total.
C2. "Localization of government officials, Officialization of Chinese Language,and Localization of law and regulations": 163 suggestions, or 1.32% of the total.
C3. Post-transitional period: 142 suggestions, or 1.15% of the total.
D. Others: 349 suggestions, or 2.83% of the total.
(2) Urgent issues
In the 3,096 suggestion papers received, respondents have set priority for the major social issues. What they considered as the most critical issues that require immediate resolution will be set as their top priority, which can be summarized as follows:
A. Social issues -
A1. Crime: 1,855 set as the top priority, or 59.92% of the total.
A2. Environment: 123 set as the top priority, or 3.97% of the total.
A3. Education: 134 set as the top priority, or 4.33% of the total.
A4. Juvenility: 117 set as the top priority, or 3.78% of the total.
A5. Social welfare: 31 set as the top priority, or 1% of the total.
B. Economic issues -
B1. Economy: 543 set as the top priority, or 17.54% of the total.
B2. Public facilities and utilities: 31 set as the top priority, or 1% of the total.
B3. Development: 7 set as the top priority, or 0.23% of the total.
C. Political issues -
C1. Public administration: 152 set as the top priority, or 4.91% of the total.
C2. "Localization of government officials, Officialization of Chinese Language, and Localization of law and regulations": 40 set as the top priority, or 1.29% of the total.
C3. Post-transitional period: 39 set as the top priority, or 1.26% of the total.
D. Others: 24 set as the top priority, or 0.77% of the total.
3. Summary and Preliminary Analysis
The analysis of the above statistics indicates the five major social issues that require immediate resolutions, which are: crime, economy, environment, education,and public administration. In the 3,096 suggestion papers received, there are respectively 3,030 and 2,753 copies discussed about crime and economic issues. It reflected that these two topics are considered by most people that require immediate resolution. In many of the suggestion papers, positive and constructive ideas and measures have been put forward. They can be summarized as follows:
1) Crime:
(i) Serious crime rate has been on the rise in recent years which jeopardizes the safety within the community. The social disorder has a serious impact on the investment environment, as it deters tourists and merchants from visiting and investing in Macau. Under such circumstances, Macau's economic development is seriously affected. It also poses a threat to the safety and properties of ordinary citizens. In the face of repeated occurrence of serious criminal activities, it seems that the Government has not been able to formulate an effective plan to deal with it.
(ii) In order to combat crime and reinstate the social order, most people commented that there shall be a restructuring within the police force. There is a need to improve the quality and efficiency of police personnel. The actual functioning of Alto Comissariado Contra a Corrup'c~ao e a Ilegalidade Administrativa should be enforced. Moreover, a good relationship between police and citizens should be forged to enhance a better cooperation for securing the good order and safety within the community, which will in turn lead the growth of economy.
2) Economy:
(i) The performance of economy will have a direct impact on the living standard of ordinary citizens. During the economic recession, living quality will no doubt become worse off which in turn will lead to a high rate of social problems that are difficult to deal with.From mid-1993 till now, the economy of Macau has been slowing down and worsening off. The weak economy can be attributable to both internal and external factors.
(a) External factors:The macro economic control imposed by China has deterred the influx of capital from the mainland. The bubble economy developed in early 1990s has thus collapsed, with the drawbacks still affecting the economic development. Coupled with that is the general economic downturn in the region and the recent financial turmoil in Asia, which further aggravates the poor performance of Macau's economy.
(b) Internal factors:There is a lack of short-, medium-, or long-term planning for economic development, and there is no clear standing point either. The over-reliance on revenue from gambling and tourism has created an unbalanced economic development. Other internal factors such as high crime rate, inefficiency of government administration, complacency of current situation and weak competitiveness, can all be attributable to the stagnant economy.
(ii) Most people commented that the corresponding policy is to promptly formulate a strategy for economic development and clearly establish our position and direction. A competition mechanism should be introduced to strengthen our competitiveness. Restructuring of our industries should be accelerated, by promoting value-added industries to stimulate economic growth. We need to ensure the social order of our society by effectively combating criminal activities. In addition, it is necessary to improve efficiency of government administration and create a better investing environment for luring capital from investors. The prompt implementation of these measures will be of a great help to pull our weak economy out of the valley.
3) City environment:
(i) The lack of an overall city planning has created traffic chaos, hygiene problems, and serious pollution. It has resulted in a poor city environment that undermines tourist attraction, which in turn has a direct effect on Macau's economy. Specific problems are listed below:
(a) In respect of city planning, there is still a lot to be done for plantation in the city. The lack of planning in road construction and the increase in number of vehicles, particularly motorcycles which the Government is unable to provide sufficient parking spaces, have created chaos in traffic.
(b) Several cleaning campaigns and traffic regulation promotional activities have been organized. However, due to the low public awareness and civic education as well as weak enforcement of regulations by the Government, no satisfactory effects have been achieved.
(c) The lax in supervision and control of emission of smoke and disposal of pollutants has worsened the pollution problem.
(ii) Most people commented that the corresponding policy is to formulate a well-organized plan for city development and a coordinated procedure for road construction. The corresponding infrastructure to support the rapid development of the city is also needed. We should also promote civic education and resolutely enforce those established measures. In addition, we should tighten control over the emission of smoke and disposal of pollutants in the industrial region, by eliminating loophole in our regulations and enforcing its implementation.
4) Education:
(i) There is a need of improvement in our education system. Existing problems include limited provision of free education, uneven distribution in number of students, and unqualified teachers. In addition, training of professional personnel and generally low civic education require prompt attention.
(ii) In respect of corresponding policy, most people commented:
(a) Coverage of free and compulsory education should be expanded promptly. Improvement in the qualification of teachers, quality of education, and education system is needed to promote a higher standard of education within the community.
(b) Civic education and adult education should be strengthened. More resources should be allocated for the training of professional and management personnel, with an objective to promote a higher cultural quality among Macau people.
5) Public administration:
(i) Existing problems include serious corruption, bureaucracy, overlapping structure in government departments, and inefficiency and relatively low quality of government officials. All these require the serious attention of the Government.
(ii) In respect of corresponding policy, most people commented that anti-corruption should be enforced. It is recommended to streamline the government departments for improvement of work efficiency. The quality problem among government officials should be seriously dealt with by providing proper training. It is also imperative to prevent the further deterioration of bureaucracy.
4. Review of the campaign
1) The response to this opinion poll was overwhelming, and much beyond our expectation. We received more than three thousand suggestion papers. Thisshows that citizens of Macau are not indifferent to the future development and social issues of this city. As the sample size is relatively large, the results of this survey should be highly accurate. This is of great help in making further recommendations of practicable resolutions.
2) In view of the opinions collected, we should take note of two points:
(i) The handover of Macau in the political aspect should not have too much of a problem since Portugal and China are in very good relationship.
(ii) However, Macau is in a rigorous test in terms of public order and economic development. There is a high expectation on resolutions to these problems by the Macau government and the authorities concerned.
3) We have a better understanding of the concerns of our citizens with their valuable opinions through this survey. Due to time constraint, only preliminary recommendations for resolution of problems can be provided in this report. Further comprehensive analysis will be proceeded. Furthermore, we will follow up on the results of this survey, with the same objective as all Macau citizens to find out resolutions to eliminate the abovementioned problems for a better city of Macau.
The overwhelming success of this campaign is a concerted effort and support of many people. We wish to express our gratitude towards all individuals,organizations, firms and schools who have participated in this function. It is also our wish to have continuous support to our work from the public by providing valuable opinions and advice to us.
Prepared by Macau Development Strategy Research Centre
