On the morning of February 12, the National Assembly discussed the Amended Law on Organization of the National Assembly. At the meeting between national legislators from Ho Chi Minh City, State President Luong Cuong affirmed “The new apparatus must be better than the old one when it is streamlined.”
According to observers, State President Cuong’s statement showed that the streamlining of the state apparatus must pay attention to the issue of efficiency and effectiveness, avoiding the “hasty, ineffective” working style.
President Luong Cuong
This is considered one of the mistakes of General Secretary To Lam, who has continuously made it since becoming the chief of the Communist Party of Vietnam, of which Decree 168 is a typical example.
After the Lunar New Year of At Ty, in 2025, on social networks and international media, many articles have appeared again mentioning the “no way out” traffic congestion in Hanoi and Saigon.
Accordingly, the “unprecedented” traffic congestion is not due to the reason that before Tet, many people went out to shop.
According to experts, traffic congestion in the two major cities mentioned above is not a new problem but has existed for a long time. The level of traffic congestion increases year after year because the traffic infrastructure is overloaded and has not been invested in and expanded.
However, since the beginning of 2025, when Decree 168 was applied, the excessively high fines have made traffic congestion even worse. For the reason, people are aware that violating traffic laws will cost them a large amount of money in fines.
It is true that people strictly follow the rules, it is more orderly, more tidy, but it has made the already congested situation even more congested, and even more severe.
This is the consequence of the haste of the government agencies. In particular, the Ministry of Public Security needs to seriously reconsider. Why not apply the pilot implementation of Decree 168 in a narrow scope, to be able to adjust any inadequacies that may occur? Why is the regulation on the 45-day notice period when a decree is applied not respected?
Traffic congestion after Tet has not decreased at all
According to analysts, Lam and the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security are not aware of the importance of the issue. If Decree 168 fails as seen, how will it affect the political position of General Secretary To Lam?
Decree 168 has encountered negative reactions from the public, leading to social discontent that could cause serious consequences. Professor Carl Thayer commented that if the chaos and public anger continue to increase, Lam may have to intervene and suspend this decree.
For this reason, this issue could affect the reputation of General Secretary To Lam, especially when the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam is approaching.
Furthermore, legal experts believe that Decree 168 may violate Clause 2, Article 14 of the 2013 Constitution, related to human rights issues. Specifically, human rights can only be restricted according to the provisions of laws, while Decree 168 is not a law, and it is only a sub-law document, only valid for guiding the implementation of the law.
General Secretary To Lam
Decree 168 was proposed by the Ministry of Public Security and submitted to the government for approval. The issuance of this Decree is considered a move to strengthen the power of the Ministry of Public Security, previously led by To Lam.
More importantly, State President Cuong’s statement has shown the public the political responsibility of General Secretary To Lam to the Party and the people.
Therefore, public opinion believes that To Lam and the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security need to make timely adjustments to the implementation of Decree 168 – a policy considered to be “harmful to the people.”
Tra My – Thoibao.de
