According to lawmaker and chief member of the New Macau Association, Au Kam San, the latest government announcement of distributing a one-time 5,000 pataca or 3,000 pataca subsidy to every permanent and non-permanent resident in July did “cool down the May 1 rally sentiment”.

Mr Au said there were about two or three workers’ associations that had already submitted a May 1 protest notification to the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) some time ago and planned to march to the government headquarters from Iao Hon Park and the Triangle Park in Areia Preta respectively.

But due to the unexpected relief measures of the government, the lawmaker said whether the rallies would still stick to the original plan had now become uncertain.

As the past protests in Macau had mainly been organised by construction workers, the result would depend on how much they were satisfied with the government aid, Mr Au said.

“The underemployment workers may rather want to have more working hours than to receive 5,000 patacas which is a completely short-term assistance,” he added.

The New Macau Association held a press conference yesterday to give out opinions about the series of new government measures to relieve residents’ livelihood.

Another lawmaker and association’s chief member, Ng Kuok Cheong, said inflation was to some extent “inevitable in an economic hot spot”, but the primary issues were how to boost people’s income and to restrain inflation from growing excessively.

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