1966 — Page 186

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Page 186 of 279

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practical appraisal on its direct or indirect benefit; or dis-benefit, in respect of both the promotion of sports and of social economy of Hong Kong. When these have been amply expressed we may then be in a position to submit our proposal to Government,

Although it is still eight years ahead of 1974, if we really want to have Asian Games successfully held here, it is not too early for us to start planning for it now. At the first onset, such proposal has to be supported by facts and figures on various requirements such as con- struction of stadia and other attached facilities, schedules of training of personnel, official judges and organizers and an estimate of financial implication. All such relevant information may take quite a while to collect. I am sure, at least, our Financial Secretary and Director of Public Works will certainly want such information before Govern- ment is in a position to consider the matter. Even when the green light is given, a lot of work has to be done, a lot of blue prints have to be drawn to accompany our application to the Asian Games Federa- tion and such an application has to be sent in well before 1970.

We have our friend, Mr. SALES, a sports organizer internationally renowned, and a number of other persons here, who are experienced officials in Olympic and Asian Games. Under their leadership and instigation, there is no reason to doubt that Hong Kong is capable of organizing such Games. I claim no authority in the complexed subject of national economy and I do not attempt to present a balance sheet on the profit and loss accounts on public funds in the colony as a whole nor its effect on our tourist trade and business prospect, but I can say, beyond any doubt, that it will offer a tremendous incentive to our youths in their interest in sports as it is a worthy investment of our public fund to hold big games such as the Asian Games in Hong Kong.

I would like again to make some mention on the administrative structure of this Department this year. This must be the fourth time that I dwell on this subject at a debate. I offer no apology for my repetition, particularly because this time I shall have more comment to offer than criticism.

I would like, first of all, to express a feeling of satisfaction that, at last, our Chairman has an able assistant of a Deputy Director in his Department. From now on, I believe, at least, we can look for- ward to our future meetings in which our Chairman will be less worried and will be less impatient and will exercise more tolerance in admit- ting more questions and supplementary questions, particularly from my friend, Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN. (Laughter).

I have always advocated that the General Service Group should be divorced from the Amenities Division and it should be headed by another Assistant Director so that the Assistant Director in charge of

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Amenities Division will be able to concentrate on his work in a specialized field. I congratulate the Department for having succeeded in this re-organization.

I would like particularly to offer my most hearty congratulation to Mr. LAI Kee-leung for being one of the first Non-expatriate Assistant Directors in this Department and the same congratulation is due to the Department also for being able to promote a man to fill such a post from its own local staff instead of the traditional custom of recruiting from the expatriates. I take it that this is an expression of Government's confidence not only in the most excellent performance of Mr. LAI himself with his 35 years of distinguished service in the Department, but also in the ability of the local staff in general. However, it seems to me that 35 years is a long period of service to earn such a promotion and I rather fear that Mr. LAI will not have very much time left before his retirement to demonstrate his ability in this post.

Government has in fact established a policy to fill all government posts from local recruits whenever appropriate qualified personnel are available. To follow up this policy, first of all, govern- ment, as a good employer, must attempt to instill such confidence in its employees as well as prospective employees that there is no dis- crimination in a prospect of promotion. It should also carry out a comprehensive scheme in the assessment of the general working efficiency, ability, and more important still, the potentiality of each employee. It should also institute ample opportunities for technical training, refresher courses, and scholarships for further studies to employees showing good potentiality, so that they will be better qualified for promotion to posts of higher responsibility. Fundamentally a good prospect of promotion is the most effective incentive to all young men of high calibre to offer their service to government employment, and to those already in the employment to show more loyalty in their work.

Now, I must speak again on the post of Assistant Director in charge of Cultural Services. When I made this suggestion last year, our Chairman expressed his surprise in his reply for the reason that, in fact, the Manager of the City Hall was posted in the same grade as an assistant director. I have been aware of this, but what I have been trying to advocate is that a man should be given the right title for the job he is doing. To an outsider a manager's title may be mis- taken for a House-keeper of the City Hall and his work does not extend outside of its own boundary. Our Library Service, for instance, has founded a new branch in Kowloon and there are a number of other branch libraries in the planning. Our Art Gallery and Museum call for bigger premises outside the City Hall boundary. In fact, we are planning to make use of the Rodney Building when it is available in 1969. Whether the change of the name will or will not effect a pro- motion in a post is another matter. For what the Manager of the