Dong, an NA deputy from Quang Tri, said that alongside notable achievements, there are still many issues that have been "discussed repeatedly many times". He cited the real estate market as a prime example. 

“Housing prices have skyrocketed. According to the Economic and Financial Committee’s report, real estate in Hanoi and HCMC ranks among the top 8 of 220 major cities worldwide in terms of price-to-income ratio. A person with an average income would need more than 30 years to buy a mid-priced house in these two cities,” he said.

He noted that during its current term, the NA has revised several key laws, including the Real Estate Business Law, the Housing Law, and especially the Land Law, which took four sessions of discussions to finally be passed.

A similar story occurs in the gold market. “The NA has repeatedly discussed this matter for two or three terms, yet developments remain complicated, posing risks to financial and monetary stability. The State Bank has struggled to manage the situation, but the more it intervenes, the further away its goals seem to be.”

He also shared a surprising story he witnessed in Hanoi. In some areas, residents were required to submit copies of their land-use certificates and ID cards, and some local authorities even warned that “failure to submit on time would result in unresolved benefits.”

“To be honest, I found this quite puzzling. Both ID cards and land certificates are state-issued documents, already stored in the system. Yet officials still go door-to-door collecting data. Citizens had to comply with the regulation, but they wasted time and worried about personal data security.”

According to Dong, cleansing data is necessary, but the method and explanation to citizens need reconsideration.

Dong also addressed another issue concerning local officials’ livelihoods. He agreed with Deputy Tran Quoc Tuan’s remark: “Officials can only serve with peace of mind if they earn enough to live; civil servants free from financial burdens can better dedicate themselves to their work.”

“From my own experience, I deeply understand the hardships at the commune level, especially in remote areas like Quang Tri,” he shared.

He suggested that rather than waiting for the salary increase next year, the government should, right in this session, present a detailed report on the actual staffing situation, whether there is redundancy or shortage, and identify policy bottlenecks so the NA can issue timely solutions.

Removing hidden barriers in society

Deputy Tran Huu Hau from Tay Ninh commented: “We are living and working in a very special moment, when the entire political system is undergoing a great revolution within itself.”

However, he noted that both visible and invisible obstacles remain. “Small, everyday incidents often reveal deep-rooted problems in mindset and methods of action, the real barriers to progress.”

He shared a story from a primary school in a major city. A young teacher asked parents for permission to keep three struggling students after class for extra help, free of charge. The effort lasted only a week before she had to stop.

“The principal asked: Why are you keeping students after class? Are you collecting fees? Although she explained clearly, she still sensed suspicion from her colleagues. What shocked her even more was realizing that no one else in the school dared to do the same,” Hau recounted.

He said that although the teacher’s actions were right, negative perceptions from those around her discouraged a good initiative that benefited students and the school.

Ten years ago, he served as chair of the former Tay Ninh Town. During an inspection tour to an agency, he noticed many completed documents on an officer’s desk that hadn’t been signed or passed to the next stage.

“I asked why, and the officer replied: ‘It’s not time to send them yet.’ He explained that when he first started, he processed and delivered documents immediately, but colleagues looked at him strangely. Later he learned they suspected he had ulterior motives for working so quickly and enthusiastically,” Hau said.

He emphasized: “When good people no longer dare to do good things, when an organization cannot distinguish between those who work well and those who don’t, that organization makes a grave mistake, and it will inevitably fall into stagnation.”

Tran Thuong