The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met the President of the Legislative Assembly, Mr Ho Iat Seng, this afternoon at the Government Headquarters to discuss the bill on the Welfare Package for Designated, Incumbent and Former Chief Executives and Principal Officials.

Public opinion and recent responses to this bill are of great concern to the Government and the Legislative Assembly.

The Chief Executive acknowledged that the bill still has room for improvement and therefore he would instruct the departments concerned to communicate with the Legislative Assembly on amendment of the bill for future resubmission.

At the meeting, Mr Chui Sai On handed in person a letter to Mr Ho Iat Seng asking for deletion of the first item from the agenda for the plenary session of the Legislative Assembly on 27 May 2014.

Mr Ho said he respected the decision of, and accepted the request from, the Chief Executive. In accordance with the provision of Clause 1 of Article 57 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Assembly, the request will be submitted for the plenary session’s resolution to terminate the second reading and voting on the bill.

The Chief Executive said that he was very aware of public concern about the bill from media coverage and the opinions and suggestions from different sectors of the community through various approaches and channels.

The Chief Executive reiterated that the Government would persist in its governance philosophy of “putting people first”, aiming to join hands with the public to build a better Macao. The Government always listens to the voices of citizens, attaching great importance to public opinion, studying and carefully analysing the feasibility of suggestions from all quarters of society.