‘Stand up to foe’s atrocities’

Kuwait rejects ties with Israel

“DURING the extraordinary summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which was held in Istanbul, Turkey on May 18, 2018, the State of Kuwait represented by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, we pray to Almighty Allah to protect him, requested the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to protect the Palestinian civilians, during which it also saw the inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem as a provocative and aggressive act directed against the nation of Islam,” columnist and former minister of state for cabinet affairs Dr Abdulhadi Al-Saleh wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“On June 3, 2018, Kuwait submitted a proposal to the UNSC calling for the protection of the Palestinians, but as usual the proposal was ‘defeated’ by the US veto, as if the latter wanted to say Israel is above international law and accountability.

“However, HH the Amir in his speech to mark the last ten days of Ramadan, said ‘we are painfully following up the current events and the developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and as such we along with our brothers and friends strive to urge the UNSC and the international community to shoulder their responsibility to ease the torment of the Palestinians and help them achieve their legitimate objectives as stipulated in the international legitimacy.

“As a matter of fact, the strength of such a sagacious attitude, actually reflects the honorable position of the State of Kuwait under the current Arab, regional and Islamic circumstances which at the moment unfortunately see a kind of convergence with the Zionist entity behind closed doors, but this convergence is scandalized by a language of leniency and humiliation and forbidden love that has been shown towards this entity.

“However, in spite of its limited potentials which are known to everybody, Kuwait still tops other countries in terms of its moves and rejects any type of normalization of ties with Israel.

“However, to enhance the state of enmity and for the sake of consecrating the religious and national attitudes against Israel, we would like to mention here the following demands.

“The consecration of educational curriculums and the media programs based on genuine Islamic method which says that Israel is an occupation force of Islamic lands and violator of the holy Muslim places and as such Muslims must religiously hasten to confront the aggression against these places.

“Two, must design popular projects and the media podiums to serve this purpose such as the ‘Al-Quds International Day’.

“Three, the return of the overt instigative policy against Israel in addition to giving financial and logistic support to the resistance powers against Israel inside and outside Palestine and deal with this support as a right against an usurper of land which doesn’t belong to it.

“Four, shun the narrow denominational, sectarian and ethnical descriptions in a bid to consecrate the projects that have been engineered to encounter Zionism.

“Five, re-recruit the religious fatwas (edicts) and urge the scholars to direct the nation towards practical and effective projects to resist unlimited support to Israel, particularly since we know this experiment has been tested and realized significant success in Iran in 1891 under the historical ‘Tobacco Fatwa’ that was issued by the then well-known Al-Shirazi Imam of Iran against the British interests.

“In this context, we refer to the present fatwa that was issued by Al-Sistani (the cleric in Al-Najaf city of Iraq) calling for popular mobilization against the Islamic State (IS) or the so-called ‘DAESH’. This fatwa was called ‘Enough Duty’.

“Six, the incrimination of any normalization with the Israeli enemy and working to reconfirm the sanctity of the resistance against the Israeli occupier and nullifying the baseless charge of ‘terrorism’ against honest fighters who are resisting the painful operations of the usurping Israeli authorities.

“However, without the above, anything else will be deemed as an insult to the people and a compromise towards the humiliating American attitude.”

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Al-Saleh

“It is high time our Arab states and peoples wake up from their slumber and pay attention to the schemes which were woven years ago against the region whose salient features are crystal clear today,” columnist Abdurrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“This unknown scheme currently managed by powers of darkness, powerfully strives to bring down the coherent state and encourages the people to disdain their governments and rebel against it in a bid to place the entire region on a hot plate as if the architect of this malicious scheme wants to tell the people ‘let your fire eat your wood’.

“Of course, these authorities or the ‘the powers of darkness’ which supported the so-called Arab Spring revolutions, are the same powers which are striving today for the downfall of Jordan and trap it in devastation and destruction in the name of economic crisis as in any country which suffers from such crisis and then wait for the people to revolt against the ruler and reduce the country to rubble.

“All of us, have seen and still see the volume of torment in Syria over the years and until now represented by destruction and devastation that have crossed all limits to such an extent people are being killed every day and the country is witnessing sectarian wars among dirty militias who show no mercy either in dealing with children or the old people.

“Not just that, these militias have not spared the youth, rather used them as fuel for their war which is on the verge of completing its eighth year without showing any signs of retreating and continues to kill people in our wounded Arab world.

“The talk is not about tickling the emotions but not to fear the people of unsound reality, rather this is a warning and a strong letter not to turn Jordan into a new Syria.”

“The government, represented by Ministry of Finance and the Public Institution for Social Security, strongly opposed the decision issued by National Assembly to refer to retirement employees who completed 30 years in service regardless of their age. The objection came under the pretext that the decision will cost the state KD 100 million per year, which will in turn badly affect the public budget,” Uwaid Al-Sulaili wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“At the same time, we read stories about embezzlement of KD 500 million at the Kuwait Ports Authority. This crime indicates the slackness of the government in preserving public funds.

“According to local newspapers, the highest number of petitions concerning public funds referred to the Prosecution in 2018 was against Kuwait Ports Authority. Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) referred a number of employees of Kuwait Ports Authority to the Public Prosecution based on the request of State Audit Bureau.

“Such incidents indicate that the government does not work as one team and that each minister works separately from others. We do not see the solidarity and coordination between the Cabinet and ministers except when confronting interpellations during parliamentary sessions.

“We wonder why some state bodies confront and oppose draft laws that are in the favor of the citizens, while other state bodies refrain from defending public money when the accused are influential senior officials.

“The scandal involving Kuwait Ports Authority will not be the last episode of the corruption series. The reason behind the spread of corruption that costs the state billions of dinars per year is the prevalence of influence (wasta) and domination of influential employees in senior positions.

“We urge our government to stop obstructing the issuance of laws and decisions that will help citizens and focus on confronting corruption that represents the main reason for the squandering of money and increased pressure on the public budget.”

“No one imagined or can imagine the extent of deterioration that has hit the drama sector in Kuwait. Kuwait has introduced great stars who were considered as examples for those seeking meaningful and sophisticated art such as the late Abdul Hussein Abdul Redha, Abdulaziz Al-Namash, Ghanim Al-Saleh, Ali Al-Mufidi,” Dr Emad Bu Khamseen wrote for Al-Nahar daily.

“Kuwait also introduced great stars such as Saad AlFaraj, Suad Abdullah, Hayat Al-Fahd and others who still offer high-end art. They presented the Arab world with excellent works of art in the field of theater, television and cinema.

“However, unfortunately during the current month of Ramadan, we have witnessed a decline in art which tarnishes the image and reputation of Kuwait. Some works have been presented to ridicule families, sects, heritage, history and dialect.

“Such works do not represent the art that reflects the culture of people and civilizations of nations as well as the close relations shared among the Arab people. On the contrary, they contributed to provoking crises, as what happened with the brothers in Sudan who felt humiliated over some unrealistic scenes.

“Here we must highlight the depth of the relationship between the people of Kuwait and the Arabs, and the love and mutual respect for the customs and traditions that reflect our heritage. We also emphasize our respect for the Sudanese Muslim people as well as for the people of Ihsaa in Saudi Arabia.

“All we wish for is a review of all the works of art, drama and programs, and ensure they are evaluated to make sure they do not prejudice any cultures, customs and traditions of people.”

“The General Traffic Department is unable to control the street, deter reckless drivers who violate the traffic rules and regulations, or find appropriate solutions to ease the traffic congestion on the streets,” Talal AlSaeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“Due to its failure, it seems the General Traffic Department is taking revenge and imposing sanctions on us. We have become victims of children who are carrying weapons and miscalculating situations. We are always victims of abuse of power. They only know the language of threat and intimidation. They show utmost leniency towards violators but utmost toughness towards us.

“A simple law-abiding citizen might mistakenly commit a traffic offense and will end up paying more and more as a result of unjustified increase in fines for traffic violations.

“The failure in making motorists wear seatbelts led to their cars being seized based on the belief that this is the right solution. Failure after failure, but the citizens pay the price.”

“Is 2035 the turning point for the dream of Kuwait to become like Singapore or South Korea or Norway to come true?” Dr Ali Abdulrahman Al-Huwaila wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“Singapore is one of biggest tigers of Asia. It is the third international crude oil refining hub after Texas and Amsterdam, and the biggest market of it after London and New York.

“South Korea is one among the G20 member countries and is one of the strongest economies in the world. It is characterized by various industries most notably smart phones, electronic devices, cars, construction of smart cities and gigantic bridges, manufacturing of war planes and various heavy industries.

“It is worth mentioning that there are no natural resources in both these countries – Singapore or South Korea. They both obtained their independence along with Kuwait in the 1960s. The per capita income has reached $98,000 in Singapore and $60,000 in South Korea.

“Singapore and Korea reached top positions internationally in terms of the standard of education. They along with Norway share low corruption levels, highest per capita performance levels, and high production quality.

“Kuwait on the other hand, is the owner of vast oil wealth and has been slow in achieving growth in line with its potential. Manufacturing and finding alternative sources to sell crude oil are still out of reach. Services are falling behind the level they were supposed to be. What is blocking them is that there is no clear plan on development by the state, which is constantly exposed to political pressure.

“Our hope of matching any of the abovementioned three countries will remain a dream that depends on the will of radical change of the nation, an ambitious democratic development and a serious governmental action that begins with eradication of corruption.”

“It is unreasonable to prevent a Kuwaiti from traveling due to failure to pay loan amounting to KD 2,000.600. We are against the enforcement procedures, not the court rulings. We are against not informing the person who was convicted or banned from traveling because of such a small amount,” columnist Dr Mohammad Al-Duwaihis wrote for AlShahed daily.

“The amount must be reasonable for imposing a travel ban. It should be based on the level of income and standard of living in Kuwait. Some wonder, ‘Have we reached an accurate stage in the prosecution of those convicted for such small amounts?’

“An ordinary person said: ‘Poor are those with millions of deposits. Sure, they and their families are banned from traveling for life.’

“A villain replied: ‘There is no legislation to condemn those with millions of deposits and attempts to find a lost law to convict them continue. Even if this law is found and approved by the National Assembly, those with millions of deposits and their families will find a way to lift the ban.’”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb