‘Kuwait humanitarian role boosted’

‘We must follow HH Amir policies’

“ON Sept 9, 2014, the United Nations honored His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, we pray to Almighty Allah to protect him, with the title of ‘The Humanitarian Action Leader’ and bestowed on Kuwait the title of the ‘Humanitarian Center’,” columnist Fahd Dawoud Al-Sabah wrote for Annahar daily.

“This initiative was actually the first of its kind in the history of the international organization which bestowed such an honor on the head of a state.

“This development has not come from a vacuum, rather reflects the appreciation of the international community to the humanitarian role HH the Amir has played at the global level as well as the values extended by Kuwait through its societies and institutions at the sublime humanitarian level to ease the torment of the needy, in addition to the efforts exerted by the State of Kuwait to ingrain peace and security in the world through mediation at the regional, Arab and international levels.

“Today, and on the occasion of the advent of the fifth anniversary of honoring His Highness the Amir, we see the humanitarian role has been augmented while the role of the State of Kuwait in this connection looks big.

“In this context, we cite the Kuwaiti initiative to settle the problem between the four countries – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of Egypt on one hand and the State of Qatar on the other.

“However, it is expected that this crisis will be one of the issues to be discussed during the summit between the Amir and the US President Donald Trump in Washington, particularly since we know there are some positive signs which call for finding a solution for the crisis.

“Apart from the above, a lot of efforts have been exerted by the State of Kuwait over the past five years to ingrain humanitarian values and this will make the responsibility to be shouldered by all Kuwaitis very big and this can be realized through a true expression of the sublime values that had resulted in bestowing his honor.

“We would like to point out here that the popular role to be played in this connection is extremely big. In other words, this role should not be confined only to holding celebrations to mark the occasion, but should constitute an occasion for look at what has been gained by the people through this honoring and how the Kuwaitis are involved in transforming Kuwait into a ‘Humanitarian Centre’.

“We would like to point here that it is very important to see what has occurred in the past five years in terms of real humanitarian expression on internal and external levels by virtue of what has been bestowed on Kuwait since Kuwait is the first country in the world to be chosen as the ‘Center of Humanitarian Action’.

“In this connection, we are in a dire need for personal reviews and realize the meaning of the humanitarian action and this means all individuals must follow the example of their leader HH the Amir in his capacity as a ‘Humanitarian Leader’.

“In other words, we have to work sincerely to make the State of Kuwait as people, government and institutions a right example to be followed in real humanitarian action and this means that we have to get rid of the differences which have surfaced in the recent past and refrain from agitating sectarian and tribal discords.

“Meanwhile, the people must give up their personal narrow interests while dealing with others and this means all the sources of differences must be wiped out from our mind to be proud owners of this commendable title which HH the Amir has earned through sincere work over the years to become the leader of the Humanitarian Action and portray Kuwait as Humanitarian Centre.

“It is needless to say this significant and great honor bestowed on HH the Amir, is a historical testimony of the greatness of this man and the soundness of his policies which represents a big responsibility to be shouldered by all Kuwaitis to follow the example of their Amir in his capacity as the Leader of Humanitarian Action.”

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Al-Sabah

“On Sept 9, 2014, the then secretary-general of the United Nations, honored His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad for his efforts, sublime contributions and persistent support to the humanitarian operations of the United Nations in easing the sufferings of the people of the world by granting His Highness the title of ‘Leader of Humanitarian Action’ and the State of Kuwait as a the ‘Humanitarian Center’,” columnist Abdurrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“This honor has been bestowed by the biggest international organization on our planet and of course such a precedent has not come from a vacuum, rather dictated by convictions that His Highness deserves the title.

“In this context, we suggest anyone who goes through the humanitarian works of the State of Kuwait will certainly observe that the entire world was in agreement about these actions because Kuwait and HH the Amir are always ready to respond positively to any relief calls.

“In other words, Kuwait which has never differentiated among the people on the basis of their generic, belonging, ethnicity, religion or color has dealt with all on equal footing as humans; as such we deserve the universal title.

“Given the above, history shall always make a mention of this small country area as being wise and grea in terms of works and actions, particularly in terms of its support to the entire world.

“In this connection, we say Kuwait which has stretched the hand of support and assistance to the world, has not forgotten the sisterly countries including Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen or Sudan and other sisterly and friendly countries.

“Such being the case, history shall mention and record the name of our Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad as the Leader of Humanitarian Action whose heart is full of love and giving.”

“It seems that all the issues of Kuwait have ended and the problems have been solved, and there are only a few fake accounts on social networking sites to mobilize parliamentary blocs and ministers in order to enact a law to combat these accounts which do not exceed a few,” Sattam Ahmed Al-Jarallah wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“It is true that these accounts provoke discord, publish false information and are not real, but are they the problem? Are not the laws related to publishing, ranging from the law of publications and publishing, and through the law of audiovisual, electronic publishing, and ending with the penal code enough to hold them accountable, or it means more restrictions to hold everyone accountable for the crime of some?

“In fact, it is enough to activate any of these laws in order to rectify things, and do not enter into a new cycle of laws that will undoubtedly have adverse effects on society. What is required is to devote more to modern laws at the economic and social levels which serve the development of Kuwait and get rid of the obstacles. As a result of the economic downturn, we need legislation that will help usher in the fourth industrial revolution sweeping the world. It will move economies of countries that do not have the potential of Kuwait to global players and make them home to the knowledge industry that is now the world’s oil.

“Without a doubt, the MPs affected by these delusional accounts have their own electoral accounts, and therefore these are likely not to be members of the next assemblies. In the midst of their battle, they will have their indirect tools to use to defend their points of view. For this, they have to think deep about those who preceded them. Those who enacted laws to serve their interests and when they left the Parliament, they found themselves victims of the laws, so it is only necessary to activate existing laws and to search for laws that are more beneficial to the society.

“What Kuwait needs is far greater than distracting these details, and there should be a real legislative workshop to serve the great Kuwaiti ambitions, maintain national unity, in addition to social cohesion and return to the cultural springs on which Kuwait was founded and made it at one stage the most advanced State in the region. That was when it was determining the direction of social development in the Gulf, not a copier of the experiences of others, which are unfortunately distorted versions that are not commensurate with reality.

“For all this, there must be awakening and a realistic view of things. Personal desires of some people should not control enthusiasm of Kuwait towards the future that could see its transformation to a global trade and financial hub. The North Economic Zone project should be the pillar in that aspect. Therefore, devote yourselves to the adoption of these laws, not searching for ways to settle scores through laws such as fake accounts.”

“Thirty five lawmakers were absent during the special session on employment held on June 23, 2019 while people waited for the government to respond to the request for a special session and its participation in addressing this important issue. We were surprised that the absence was not only on the part of the government, but also the pro-government lawmakers, hence, their indifference to the demands of the people,” columnist Waleed Al-Ghanim wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“The phenomenon of the absence of lawmakers in the meetings of parliamentary committees and disruption of the study on laws and proposals for many months made the National Assembly lose its right to play the legislative role. This disrupts the rights of citizens for no reason. At the same time, we find these deceptive lawmakers busy with tourism through foreign missions or posting false tweets or defending ministers in interrogations, rightly and wrongly, all at a special price. Isn’t your Assembly worthy of being called ‘Council of Harm for the People’?

“The 2013 Assembly was tragic in the strict sense of the word, and people in the 2016 elections liquidated it with distinction. Voters excluded a large group of lawmakers of interest and deception who benefited from their parliamentary membership at the expense of the people. Unfortunately, we found today that the change was just a formality as we see the ugly practices repeated by some lawmakers, and the victims are the homeland and citizen.

“When shall we learn the lesson and improve the selection and control of lawmakers and the Assembly?”

“Some time ago, the alarm sounded for the Drug Control Department about the promotion of some medical products through some pharmacies without control or supervision. At the time, I mentioned that some pharmacies turned into groceries for gaining profits without taking into account the health or body of the patient,” columnist Khaled Al-Arafa wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“The Ministry of Health, which is responsible for supervising pharmacies, finally moved after a celebrity introduced and promoted a medical product. Assistant Undersecretary for Drugs and Food Control Affairs Dr Abdullah Al-Bader revealed in a press statement that a group of social media celebrities and others were referred to the Public Prosecution for advertising unauthorized health products.

“The action taken by the Drug Control Department is appreciated, but what about the pharmacies which publicly promote such products on a daily basis, and through WhatsaApp messages? What has the Ministry of Health done for them while we know there are penalties like imprisonment and fines which should be imposed on those proven to have violated regulations?

“Some have become more influential than the ministry, disregarding regulations and systems governing the mechanism of action in this area.

“In other countries, a pharmacist is not authorized to prescribe any treatment for the patient, but we have a completely different situation here.

“The concerned authorities should act before a disaster takes place and intensify the work of inspection teams in all pharmacies to ensure strict compliance with regulations and method of selling medicines, as well as validate the qualifications and number of employees assigned to the facility.”

“Last year, we witnessed heavy rainfall which awoke and exposed corruption and its masters, especially those working in the government and involved in blackmail contracts for kickbacks and rental of their heavy equipment and earning through monthly rent while they turn a blind eye to violations and slackness of the contracting company in charge of the project,” columnist Abdullah Ali Al-Qabandi wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“The outcome of this scandal scattered pebbles on the streets everywhere as if we are in a mine. Motorists and the vehicles they are driving suffered. I believe the Ministry of Public Works should bear most of the responsibilities in terms of the quality of our roads. The question is: Are you ready for the next downpour? Personally, I doubt it.

“In my opinion, the Ministry of Public Works should sit with the contractors to determine if there is someone blackmailing them. This could be determined also by identifying the owners of the heavy equipment that such contractors rent to do their work.

“Today, the State is spending a lot of money in rehabilitating the roads to the standard level. If the roads sink after all this, it will be a grand disappointment.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb