A Legislative Council (LegCo) subcommittee that is preparing for the formation of a select committee to probe the post-civil-service employment of former housing chief Leung Chin-man worked out its preliminary terms of reference and scope of work yesterday.

After discussion by the House Committee on Friday, the proposal will be debated at a LegCo meeting on Nov 26.

If the motion is carried, the select committee will be set up and given investigative powers to probe the employment matter.

The subcommittee met yesterday for the first time to discuss the related preparation work. Leung was permanent secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands from July 2002 until he left the government in January 2006. The group will look into the role he played in all major housing and lands decisions during his tenure, as well as the approval process of his new employment.

It was also agreed that the select committee comprise 12 members, including the chairman; but the chairman won't have voting power. Nomination of the committee members will take place at the House Committee meeting the following Friday.

When Leung was in office, he played a big part in the controversial selling back of Hunghom Peninsula - a subsidized housing development with private sector participation - below the market rate, to developer New World Holdings in 2004.

After leaving the government for two years, Leung announced in August that he had accepted an executive director position with New World China Land, a subsidiary of New World Holdings.

Reacting to public outcry, Chief Executive Donald Tsang asked the Civil Service Bureau to review the government decision that endorsed Leung's new employment.

On Aug 15, the government released a report saying the approval process was proper, although a few top civil servants at the permanent secretary level had said, internally, that Leung's service with New World could create public conceptions of a conflict of interest.

To many people's surprise, Leung announced, just 10 hours after the government statement, that he had terminated his contract with New World.

(HK Edition 11/05/2008 page1)