Priority set for identity, reform

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 16: The National Assembly continued deliberations on the items in its agenda during the ordinary session slated for Wednesday.

At the beginning of the session, Assembly Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun expressed condolences on the passing of former Minister of Information and prominent media figure Muhammad Nasser Al-Sanousi, praying that Allah Almighty show mercy to Al-Sabousi and comfort his family.

Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs, Housing Welfare and Urban Development Ammar Al-Ajmi expressed condolences on behalf of the government. He praised Al-Sanousi, highlighting the latter’s contribution to the establishment of Kuwait TV in 1960 and his dedication as information minister.

The Assembly then proceeded to the continuation of the MPs’ response to the Amiri speech. MP Muhammad Hayef Al-Mutairi said the reform process has two bases – protecting the identity of Kuwaiti society whose backbone is Islam, and adopting a pro-reform attitude in all fields including the upgrading of services.

He hopes the new era begins with the amnesty, pointing out there are many individuals who are behind bars for expressing their opinions or donating to charities; while other criminals have been released. He called for punishing those involved in corruption and stressed the need to find a solution to the problems of Bedouns. He compared the case of Bedons to a snowball, asserting that deserving Bedouns must be granted Kuwaiti citizenship and others should be granted their civil rights. He attributed the fake nationality documents issue to the misadministration of previous governments and emphasized the need to address the health issue. He pointed out that some countries used to send their patients to undergo treatment in Kuwait; but now, they are receiving Kuwaiti patients.

On the other hand, the Assembly elected MPs Ahmed Lari and Hamdan Al-Azmi as members of the Arab Parliament. The government did not participate in this election. Three MPs contested the elections as follows: Al-Azmi who got 35 votes, Lari who got 27 votes and MP Jenan Bu Shehri who got 17 votes. This increases the number of Kuwaiti members of the Arab Parliament -- Khalid Al Otaibi, Muhammad Al-Hewaila, Al-Azmi and Lari.

KUNA photo The National Assembly, during its follow-up session on Wednesday, elected two MPs, Hamdan Al-Azmi and Ahmad Lari, as representatives at the Arab Parliament. They will join their peers, Khaled AlOtaibi and Dr. Mohammad AlHuwailah, as members in the Arab Parliament.