No justification for delaying formation of new Cabinet: MP
No room for courtesy in forming new govt: Al-Tabtabaei
By Abubakar A. Ibrahim
Arab Times Staff
KUWAIT CITY, Nov 14: MP Mohammed Al-Dalal said there is no justification for delaying formation of the new Cabinet, even the supposed need for tranquility in the country.
On his Twitter account, Al-Dalal pointed out that crises in the Gulf and the entire region are likely to continue for a long period. He believes there will be tranquility and understanding in the presence of a rational, efficient and transparent government with the ability to face challenges at home and abroad; in addition to extending a hand of sincere and realistic cooperation with the Parliament.
Meanwhile, MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei called for the formation of the new government in accordance with a reform plan to ensure that the incoming ministers are technocrats. He said there is no room for courtesy in forming the new government.
He hopes that most of the former ministers will not return to the government in order to avoid tension and confrontation with the Parliament.
He affirmed support for calls to postpone interpellation motions, indicating “we do not have any problem with ministers from the ruling family.”
He also congratulated HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on his reappointment for the seventh time. He said he supports technocrat ministers from the ruling family and rejects favoritism because it does not serve the interests of the country and its people. He stressed the need to choose a minister at the right place, “because the ministry is not a cake distributed to ruling family members.”
On the other hand, acting Minister of Justice Faleh Al-Azeb said the relationship between the two authorities is in shambles. He thinks the other authority must stop exercising mutual supervision to enforce the constitutional rule. “We are not in a wrestling arena. We are in the Parliament where all constitutional rules must be respected.”
He argued the government has its own tools in the same manner that the MPs have their own tools, asserting absolute power is corrupt and people will be in the hands of tyrants if there is no oversight on the part of lawmakers.
Talking about the message that Parliament Speaker Marzouq AlGhanim conveyed to the lawmakers on behalf of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah; Al-Azeb stressed that according to the Constitution, HH the Amir is the fulcrum of the nation, and symbol of unity. Every time the leader calls, the people will gather around him. Everyone should know this is democracy and the leader of this course has the final say, he clarified.
Asked about plans to promote religious moderation, Al-Azeb pointed out the religion of the State is Islam as stipulated in the Constitution. Under the auspices of Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Fawaz Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Capable Leader Initiative in collaboration with Kuwait Oil Company and Sabah Al-Ahmad Cooperative Society recently organized a voluntary tree planting campaign in Sabah Al-Ahmad City dubbed ‘Green Sabah Al-Ahmad City’, and targeted the planting
of 1,000 palm trees and 60,000 seedlings.
This is the religion in the conscience of Kuwaitis who know only one religion — Islam, he added.
Moreover, the parliamentary Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee agreed to lift the immunity of MP Saleh Ashour in a case filed by the Ministry of Social Affairs accusing him of violating rules on putting up advertisements for collecting donations.
However, the committee rejected the request to lift the immunity of MP Ahmad Nabil Al-Fadel in a defamation case filed by an advertising representative.
Committee Chairman MP Al-Humaidi Al-Subaie disclosed that they discussed the parliamentary amendments to the Family Court Law.
He said the committee approved nine amendments to the Public Authority for Handicapped Affairs Law including the appointment of at least 10 medical personnel specialized in each type of disability like motor and hearing, establishment of a special hospital for diagnostic purposes and special centers in natural and developmental medicine, and recruitment of 20 envoys for each type of disability.
He added they also approved the proposal to include ‘educational disability’ in the definition of slow learning, as well as granting pension equivalent to 125 percent of the calculated period of retirement — 10 years for males and five years for females — to those taking care
of people suffering from cerebral hemorrhage, loss of the sense of movement, complete and permanent quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, paralysis of muscles and complete disability due to spinal cord damage.
The committee endorsed as well the proposed KD 400 allowance for nurses taking care of people with the abovementioned disabilities and deletion of the phrase ‘disabled people’ which will be replaced with the phrase ‘inspired people’, the lawmaker revealed.
He added the people with minor disabilities will be exempted from paying fees for public and compensatory services, while their working hours will be reduced by two hours per day.