Lost wisdom of a few

It finally backfired. The abusive use of public hearings by some local authorities has infuriated too many citizens that it is no longer considered credible any more.

Instead of putting blind trust in such shows of "democracy", we hear angry calls for probes into those responsible for such bureaucratic posturing.

In a political culture like ours, when the government is determined to do something, it hardly ends up not being done. Hence, whenever a local government held a public hearing on its plans, the public would more or less not be preoccupied with the outcome the authorities had aspired for. A nave few would only believe dissenting voices in a public hearing could ultimately kill a government initiative.