Bus seat belt fiasco proves good governance requires more than efficiency

To err is human. But when an error funnels through a system that has safeguards, the error is supposed to be caught and rectified. Checks and balances are written into the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini constitution.Hong Kong has an executive-led system, which means it is the executive branch’s job to formulate and implement policies, as well as “draft and introduce bills, motions and subordinate legislation”. The Legislature’s job is “to enact, amend or repeal laws”.Therefore, lawmakers are the gatekeepers when it comes to ensuring the laws they enact are good, not only in spirit but in the letter of the law. Regardless of intentions, legislation must be worded correctly, at the very least.So what has transpired over something as simple as requiring people to wear seat belts on buses proves that neither the Government nor the Legislature have performed their jobs. The interlocking wheels that are supposed to be the built-in system of checks and balances failed.Some bring up the not-so-good old days when obstructionists prevented the wheels from moving with their disruptive and stalling antics. As a result, the city suffered, unable to move forward, straight-jacketed by confrontational politics as long-standing and deep-seated problems remained unresolved.Former Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen – the first to take the helm of the “improved” Legislature and who was also there through the Legislature’s transition from dysfunctional to what is hoped is a better system – expressed pride in what the seventh Legislative Council achieved, measured by its output – productivity and efficiency.