‘Opposition must work jointly, on one platform for nation’s betterment’
“EVERYONE realizes that the country has reached a bad stage. The political horizon looks gloomy and the path of development remains unpaved,” columnist Dr Hamad Muhammad Al-Matar wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“The incidents of corruption and the number of corrupt people are increasing coupled with dominance of the culture of private interest over the public, and that – without a doubt – due to the government performance and its practices through multiple and effective tools found in the political arena.
“This is what Kuwait is witnessing today as the country rides the wave of unprecedented political crisis, which has paralyzed the supervisory role of the National Assembly by disrupting the interrogations submitted against the Prime Minister, taking shelter of the Constitution, and the political maneuvers that have preceded with no intention to get out of the crisis, but to deepen it and marginalize the options and weakening the democracy that characterized Kuwait during the previous stages.
“Kuwait now needs another voice to pull the country out of this situation and put in on the track of real reform. This voice can only be the voice of the combined national opposition, and this is the real idea of the opposition associated with democratic regimes throughout history.
“What we see now is popular anger which is imperative for the national opposition to take upon itself to adopt a comprehensive rescue project, especially since what we see among the young generation – the frustration, which will have dire consequences for the country.
“So far, the oil prices are still working in the interest of the government, covering up its shortcomings, and enabling it to deliver the pension to every family.
“However, the economic situation is not reassuring, and it may lead us to the unknown tunnel, especially with the absence of statesmen in the government who can guide the country to a safe shore.
“All of this necessitates that the opposition meet on one idea and on an explicit project to save the country, not to achieve some electoral gains, a project that secures national reconciliation, lays the foundations for real political reform, and takes on the responsibility of saving the country.
“We are optimistic, and we realize that political battles are part of the democratic practice and we need to take a deep breath, if in the end people have to be victorious.”
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“In response to a parliamentary question, Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali announced the deportation of expatriates who were caught filming and selling judicial files, and that the measure was taken to ensure that expatriates do not exploit their jobs or evade legal measures through administrative or legal loopholes,” columnist Muhammad Al-Jalahmah wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“Some may argue that the Ministry of Interior should have referred the ‘document thieves’ to the judiciary so they get punished commensurate to the offense they committed and not deportation, but in my opinion, these people have the financial ability to hire lawyers and stay in the country, so the faster and more costly punishment for them is deportation, especially in light of what we are suffering from due to the spread of the Corona virus.
“Administrative deportation is often right, especially when dealing with such employees for betraying the trust given to them and the same can be said of the drugs pushers, but what I am calling for is for the formation of assistant undersecretaries at the Ministry of Interior to compile reasons for deportation.
“In most cases there are incidents when expatriates are blackmailed by citizens through some sort of relationships and this can be used as a tool to oppress and deport expatriates administratively when it comes to financial or commercial disputes, and this is what the Ministry of Interior or we as citizens cannot accept, as I suggest the formation of the committee to look into such issues so that no one is wronged or abused before he is deported from the country.
“I largely agree with those who see that the administrative deportation is entrusted to the Undersecretary of the Ministry, Lieutenant General Issam
Al-Naham, who examines the circumstances of the deportation and has the authority to approve or reject, but the formation of a committee for this purpose, from my point of view, will prevent exploitation by a specific segment, especially since there are expatriates who are partners with citizens in multiple commercial projects.”
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“Let us move away from the flatteries, and ask openly - For whom is Kuwait? Is it for all of us or is it for a particular category? If it is for all of us, then why do we still adhere to the concepts of discrimination or partisanship for this group without the other?” columnist Dr. Ali Al-Zuabi wrote for Al-Shahid daily.
“If Kuwait is meant for a certain group only, then why insist that all Kuwaitis are first-class citizens? Why isn’t the nationality distributed to each group with its own color, and discriminate between groups by imposing concrete barriers, as it happens in Brazil, for example?
“For someone who describes himself as a historian, he is supposed to remember the events of certain families, and denounce the events of the rest of society. In a book that is being incubated by the state, this is not only a catastrophe in itself but also a disaster for the official political discourse to insist that Kuwait is for all.
“Those who describe themselves as political analysts are supposed to remember the names of some union members in the 1960s and 1970s, and deliberately forget the trade unionists from the Shiite tribes and sects. This is also another indication that Kuwait is not for all.
“To say with conclusive evidence to a former minister that a person is not fit to lead the government sector he is responsible for because he is not qualified administratively, and the minister replies by saying, “Yes, but he is son of Kuwait”, as though others are the children of Tanzania or Tora Bora ... we wonder - Is Kuwait for all of us, or us alone or them alone?”