New PM needs to steer clear of bumpy road & potholes ahead
“FIRST of all, we congratulate Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah for winning the confidence of His Highness the Amir, may God protect him, by assuming the presidency of the Council of Ministers. This great responsibility falls on Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah in light of very sensitive internal and external circumstances,” columnist Dr Muhammad Hussein Al-Dalal wrote for AlQabas daily. “Far from pleasantries and images of political theorizing, and closer to the existing reality, and in light of the difficult road ahead of the new Prime Minister, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah, we point out a number of aspects of the difficulty and obstacles in the road, which require special attention from the Prime Minister and the team working with him, to avoid the dangers of the road, and the difficulties facing the team to sail to the shore safely.
“Within the past 3 years, Kuwait has seen 4 governments and 4 parliaments, and this wrong situation reflects the state of instability that the country is experiencing. There are no ongoing government programs, no productive parliamentary work, and no stable executive work for many reasons, including the absence of vision and work to address the situation.
“The large void in leadership appointments, the situation which requires the new government to seriously evaluate and build a strategic vision that leads to enhancing stability in the performance of constitutional authorities.
“The obstacle of overlapping powers of members of the executive authority is what I consider most apparent, in light of the recent historical experience. It is the most difficult path facing the new prime minister. Many governments in recent years have failed, confused their roles, and lost their compass due to the absence of a unified administration, and the presence of more than one head, leadership, and opinion in the executive authority, and therefore it requires success.
“The new government’s path is to take a pause in evaluation and frankness among the members of the executive authority, with the aim of resolving the forms of overlap and entanglement in the performance of the executive authority in order to achieve the proper and required institutional performance.
“The Prime Minister faces the mentalities of some leaders of the executive authority who are hostile and opposed to the political path, and the relationship between the two authorities and the constitutional system in general, and that mentality places obstacles in front of any government that seeks to make the political path successful, or to enhance cooperation between the government and the National Assembly, and requires the new ministry to curb the behavior of those who belong to it. This mentality is out of concern for the constitutional system, which, after God, is a safety valve for Kuwait and its people.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlAbdullah has previous experience in ministerial and executive work, and that experience carries within it positive and negative aspects, especially in the relationship with the National Assembly. It is important for the Prime Minister to realize, in light of his new duties, that we are all children of today, and that his greatest responsibilities as Prime Minister, he needs to wear a new dress, the basis of which is opening new pages of positive relations with everyone, and serious institutional work to advance the roles of the Council of Ministers.
“The famous rule says, ‘Whoever has a sound beginning will have a sound end’, and the first impression the people will have of Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah is his formation of the new ministry.
“If the new ministerial formation is of a high degree of competence, strength, and honesty, then it is truly a good beginning that foretells a promising future for the government and its prime minister.
“If the beginning is bad due to poor formation, the impression will be bad, and the end of the government will be bad. The recent formations of successive governments have caused the general performance of the ministry to be weak, due to the incorrect selection methodology in the ministerial formation, which was primarily based on selecting personalities according to the method of appeasements and quotas, and relying on technocratic figures.
“All of this is at the expense of selecting individuals with political and administrative skill to manage the affairs of the state. It also requires in order to overcome the obstacle of the weakness of the Council of Ministers institution, that the Prime Minister attaches the Council of Ministers to a high-level team that provides forms of advisory and technical support in an institutional manner.
“Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah has his own experience with the National Assembly, and it is not necessarily positive. The ministry comes after new elections in which the people returned the majority of the members of the previous Assembly, in light of their apprehension about the directions of the executive authority.
“It is a message from the people that must be read seriously, and all of this is accompanied by a campaign from a group in society, which I consider in my own opinion to not represent the majority of the Kuwaiti people, is inciting the executive authority against the National Assembly and its members, and all these obstacles, whether personal or general, must not deviate the Council of Ministers from the path stipulated by the Constitution, with cooperation between the two authorities.
“Rather, this obstacle must be an incentive to support the discourse of reason and wisdom through joint action and positive consensus, and to sit at one table to agree and reject disagreement, and to deny the opportunity to those who want to distort and tamper with our constitutional system.
“Dear Prime Minister brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, everything mentioned is an internal work that can be achieved, God willing, if the intentions are sincere and it there is will and determination. But on the other hand, how do you work with external circumstances?
“Is it actually more influential and important, given the seriousness of regional and international developments? Accordingly, one of the most important duties of your new government is to give issues of external affairs and security a top priority in the list of your concerns, your agenda, and your next program.
“One of the forms of strategic interest in this aspect is institutional dealing with crises and dangers, which is a long-awaited project, and is required at this sensitive stage, so it is proposed to establish a specialized body to manage crises and risks in accordance with global experience, and some members of the National Assembly have previously presented proposals for a law in this regard that can be benefited from. Let this be the first achievement of your new government.
“In conclusion, we ask God to grant success to the new Prime Minister and those working with him for the good of the country and the people, and to guide their visions and steps, and that God grants Kuwait and its people all the best, security, stability and prosperity.”
Also:
“In educational circles, the month of Ramadan is a golden opportunity to instill religious and spiritual values in the hearts of children. However, the greatest challenge lies in how to continue these obedience and deeds after this holy month has ended,” columnist
Nada Muhalhal Al-Mudhaf, wrote for
Al-Qabas daily.
“In this article, I would like to provide a set of tips that help educators keep the flame of spirituality burning in the hearts of children throughout the year:
“Promoting the correct understanding of worship -- It is very important to teach children that worship is not limited to Ramadan only, but rather it is an essential part of a Muslim’s life at all times. Their understanding of the concept of worship in its broad sense should be strengthened, which includes every action that brings them closer to God, whether it is prayer, charity, honoring one’s parents, or even smiling at others.
“Setting spiritual goals -- Encourage children to set spiritual goals that can be achieved after Ramadan. These goals can be as diverse as choosing to hold one of the prayers in the mosque in a group, reading part of the Qur’an daily, or even doing a simple good deed once a week. This will help them feel accomplished and keep them motivated.
“A good role model -- Be a good role model for your children to follow. Nothing affects children more than seeing their parents living the values they preach. Continue practicing worship and good deeds with the same enthusiasm that you had in Ramadan.
“Exploiting technology positively -In our time, technology can be exploited to encourage children to continue on the path of obedience and worship. There are many applications that provide prayer times reminders, Qur’an recitations, and religious lessons that enhance young people’s spiritual awareness.
“These are some recommendations that I ask God Almighty to help you and us to continue obedience to our children after Ramadan. There is no doubt that Islamic values are among the most important values that develop and refine the personality, especially in the educational context.”
“Focusing on the future of Kuwait… The eras that passed in the homelands witnessed failures, decline, corruption and the corrupt. Their economies collapsed and centers of influence were strengthened, causing their societies to disintegrate. There are many examples in this era, the most prominent of which are Malaysia and Singapore, as they benefited from the bitter experience, worked hard to develop themselves, and emerged from a state of collapse to one of the largest economies in the world within some years,” Major General M. Faisal Al-Jazzaf wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“Today, under the leadership of His Highness the Amir -- may Allah protect him -- who stressed more than once the necessity of putting dots on the letters through a road map for future Kuwait in his lofty speeches, there is no doubt that the course in Kuwait will change into a path that enhances stability. It will be based on the application of laws on everyone and to stop the hand of anyone who violates the laws to advance the State after collapse, laxity, noise and absurd political conflicts continued for a long time. All are these are aimed at protecting the society from tampering, as well as from those who tamper with its capabilities.”