No co-op of govt with Parliament in handling files of citizens: Otaibi
‘MPs should rectify flaws’
KUWAIT CITY, Sept 30: MP Khaled Al-Otaibi said there is a major flaw in dealing with the government and there are pending issues; affirming the MPs, as legislators, should rectify flaws by using constitutional tools, reports Al-Rai daily.
He indicated that the maturity and sagacity of citizens qualify them to fully evaluate the performance of a lawmaker. This is not done based on a single political position taken by the MP; but on his performance throughout the parliamentary terms, not just the last term.
In his interview with the daily, Al-Otaibi claimed the government is not cooperating with the Parliament in handling files in the interest of citizens. In fact, the government is concerned whenever such issues are raised and uses its parliamentary majority to impede files concerning the public during voting on these files in the Parliament, and there are many testimonies on this in the current and previous legislature, he asserted.
He added several ministers must be subjected to grilling, indicating the government should realize that grilling a Cabinet member does not mean lack of cooperation with the government. “Grilling is meant to clarify and rectify flaws. Generally, MPs extended their cooperative hands to the government in the past three parliamentary terms. It is now time for the government to listen to us and cooperate with us to address issues which have been left pending for a very long time.
“I reject any attempt to instigate sedition and settle scores between what is controversial and what is not, especially since the government has a Penal Law such that it managed to arrest a cell behind fake Twitter accounts. This achievement was in coordination with local and foreign institutions, and this means we do not need a new law in this regard”, he elaborated.
Al-Otaibi added that there are laws the government could use to pursue bloggers, affirming that the cost of shutting such accounts is big, and makes one wonder why the fierce fabricated attacks against these accounts.
“Kuwait is known for its freedom of speech. We do not want this reputation to be shaken in any way, and there is another cost which is represented in dividing the society and killing the future of the youths. We could differ in interpreting the meaning of patriotic zeal of youths, but we firmly reject their incarceration and destroying their future”, he lamented.
The MP wonders about the rising rate of rulings issued against the citizen in cases concerning freedom of speech, and as per the response given by the Ministry of Justice to inquiries on this matter, the rulings issued concerning the bloggers have reached 589.