【明報專訊】IN AN ATTEMPT TO SECURE in October the Legislative Council Finance Committee's approval of its funding application for the Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) scheme, the government played the card of fiscal discipline, agreeing that payments to qualified senior citizens could be backdated to October 1. It was unfortunate that, with several political parties resorting to all sorts of delaying tactics to prevent a vote being taken, the application was left on the table. How the OALA issue is going to be decided hangs on the interplay between the government and the Legislative Council, but we must say we are glad to see the government's insistence on fiscal discipline in this case.