Members of Macao's Legislative Assembly have decided to put off the vote on a government-drafted bill proposing to extend the jurisdiction of the SAR's Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) to the private sector due to the intense disputes over the matter, the Macao Post Daily reported on Wednesday.

The legislature was scheduled to discuss and vote on the general framework of the bill in its first reading on Tuesday, when Assistant Commissioner Against Corruption Tou Wai Fong presented the bill to the lawmakers, according to the daily.

The daily quoted lawmaker-cum-businessman Fong Chi Keong as saying that he had several doubts about the CCAC's investigative powers as he could not see any improvement in its work over the past decade. He added that he preferred the CCAC to "complete its job in the public sector" before extending its powers to the private sector.

Lawmaker-cum-lawyer Leonel Alves also said he was dissatisfied with the bill as it contained many misunderstandings and was "too simple".

However, another lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong voiced his support to the bill, saying the people of Macao had been waiting for the CCACto extend its jurisdiction to the private sector for some two decades, according to the daily.

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2009)