‘Brothers’ able to find leader in Barrak
Group striving for win in Kuwait
“I HAVE carefully gone through the statements which have been issued by some politicians belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood Group in support of the former MP Musallam Al-Barrak following a verdict issued by a lower court sentencing the latter to five years imprisonment,” columnist and the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Arabic daily Al-Watan, Walid Jassem Al-Jassem wrote on Tuesday.
“As a matter of fact, this verdict is only the first one to be issued by the court and as declared by the attorney Abdurrahman Al-Barrak who is defending the former MP, the case will go to the Court of Appeal and then to the Court of Cassation.
“However, in the wake of this verdict and related reactions, I recall in depth what had occurred in the past and link it to the present. I can see a clear scenario but it is too ugly.
“All of us currently realize that the fountain of so-called ‘The Promised Arab Spring’ flows from the Muslim Brotherhood Group, particularly since we see this group becoming victorious in Egypt and is now trying to achieve victory in Syria, and from there carry the victory torch through to Libya.
“Apart from the above, the members of this group are currently striving to achieve victory in Kuwait in a bid to translate their old dream into a reality — the dream of the Arab world witnessing consecutive revolutions in a prelude to unify the Arab nation under the umbrella of the Muslim Brotherhood Group.
“Hence, we wonder if members of the Muslim Brotherhood Group are really striving to support Musallam Al-Barrak as they claim, say and blog. Or are they just striving to use this event to achieve their objectives?
“All of us know that the Muslim Brotherhood Group was historically involved in nominating some people of no repute in senior positions and for parliamentary seats in the country, given the fact these practices were part of commitment of their politicians to pragmatism.
“In spite of the above, we have observed that the Muslim Brotherhood Group have in their ranks some clean people who have devoted themselves to promote Islam away from ‘dirty politics’.
“Such being the case, we found most politicians who are affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood Group have lost the respect of the people, to such an extent at the moment it is rare to see one charismatic politician from the group who is capable of making a real impact on the people.
“Not just that, we have observed how the people have started casting doubts on their behavior to such an extent we expect that as long as they lack this charisma they will not be in a position to lead the Kuwaiti street or bring anarchy to the State which is the need of the hour for them to dominate politics in the country.
“Consequently, what solution will this group be looking forward to since its members lack charisma to lead the country? As a matter of fact the response is in former MP Musallam Al-Barrak because in him they have found a charismatic person who has gained vast experience in public life over the years as a unionist, politician, social figure and a legislator.
“Not just that, Al-Barrak over the past years has gained the confidence and respect of the people because he knows how to tickle their emotions. Hence, the Muslim Brotherhood Group was seemingly attaching hopes to him to achieve their dreams of founding the targeted Muslim Brotherhood emirate.
“This happens although Musallam Al-Barrak was until recently a foe of the Muslim Brotherhood Group and this was evidenced through his attitude to ‘Al-Dow’ deal, but for the time being the members of this group are attaching hopes on him to achieve their missing objective.”
Also: “I hope HH the Prime Minister and his government will realize that the crowds of citizens who supported the ruling regime and the government against the turmoil, riots and instigators who wanted to destabilize the country and its pillars in a prelude to bring down the country’s democratic regime which is based on the Constitution, were actually doing so not for the sake of His Highness nor for the sake his government, but rather for the sake of their homeland and their ruling regime which is based on the written Constitution,” columnist and the candidate to the last parliamentary elections Saud Al-Samaka wrote for AlQabas daily Tuesday.
“We say the above, because the HH the Prime Minister and his government should not believe that we will throw our absolute support behind him if he is right or wrong, rather he must realize that we and many citizens who have defeated the aggression of the anarchists to defend the country and its political regime for the sake of protecting the future of our children are always ready to defend their homeland and their constitutional gains even if they are reluctant to get involved in a battle on two fronts.
“In other words, the Kuwaitis for the sake of protecting the constitutional gains will be ready to fight against those who are striving to bring down the country’s democratic regime and/or against any government that attempts to negatively affect their gains in question including the incumbent government which currently adopts the so-called notorious ‘The Unified Media Law’.
“In the meantime, HH the Prime Minister must realize that defense, allegiance or even opposition is always for the sake of protecting the constitutional legitimacy, but our attitude towards the governments will depend on their performance. In other words, if their performance was positive, then we shall support them, otherwise we shall stand against them.”
“Due to two main factors it has become hard to talk about a meeting to bring together the Sunnis and the Shiites in the best interest of enhancing national unity in Kuwait,” columnist Dr Sami Nasser Khalifa wrote for Al-Kuwaitiah daily.
“The first factor is the current complexity of internal politics, where the Sunnis — in most cases — have resorted to the opposition in an extreme manner to gain their obvious distinctions brought about by the ‘Arab Spring’ in Kuwait. On the other hand, the Shiites — in most cases — have resorted to the warmth of the authority in an extreme manner for fear of unilateral dominance of people who do not believe in politics but diversity.
“The second factor is the regional situation whereby the great forces – America and its allies – are striving to invest their political interaction towards division of this region; one side is intended to be for Sunnis and the other for Shiites. This could be done by the revival of either the Arab and Persian identities, or the Muslims and Zoroastrians.
“Whatever the case may be, this conspiracy has backfired on the conspirators. The commended differences have transformed to the abhorred bloody conflicts; and the extremists are the ones calling the shots in the region. Their decisions are being interpreted through suicide bombing operations in market places and holy sites. When things completely run out of control, the great forces will have the opportunity to interpret their agendas and gain initial success.
“Therefore, it is imperative as never before for wise men and intellectuals from both sides to meet to rectify some concepts and pick up what has been scattered all over the place. They should work to rescue whatever they can so that our children and future generations do not pay the huge price. Remorse will be of no use.”
“We do not need to read reports and analyze statistics to know about the incidents that occur in the Egypt these days. The current issues of the country is the result of the thefts that were committed over the past ten years, which depleted the national savings”, columnist Abdulaziz AlKandari wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“However, it is not logical to hold the new president responsible for the consequences of the past issues. It is crucial to stabilize the situation of Egypt post revolution because Egypt leads all the Arab countries. It is the gateway and bridge to enter the African countries. The former regime unfortunately caused Egypt to lose this pioneering role but the new president is trying to restore the status of Egypt among the Arab and African countries.
“Egypt’s normal position in the Arab region is on the top as a leader. If Egypt weakens, the Arab World will split and collapse. Therefore, the new president is sparing no efforts in changing the current inappropriate status of Egypt in order to restore her leading role among the Arab countries.”
“When we say that we abide by the Constitution and the laws of the land, we should translate this saying into a reality instead of paying it lip services, otherwise what we say will not go hand in hand with what we do,” columnist Abdulrahman AlAwwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“Yesterday’s was a real test to the extent of our commitment to the law and the provisions of the judiciary, following the issuance of a verdict which sent former MP to five-year jail term. Many of us failed the test of time because we not only attempted to distort and abuse our judges but offended the judiciary.
“It was strange indeed that some tweeters on the social networking website alleged that the country was on the verge of collapse. While in actual fact it is the application of the law on all without discrimination that will protect the State from collapse.”
“There is no doubt the officials at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor are involved in several violations and excesses, and it is left to be seen when Minister Zikhra Al-Rashidi will take legal action against such officials,” columnist Mohammad Hassan wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“I want to remind Al-Rashidi that before becoming the minister she is a Member of Parliament and a representative of the people and is supposed to do her supervisory work in this sensitive ministry. So, I dare ask, ‘Where are the amendments?’ Have you ever paid surprise visits to the labor departments in all the governorates? Have you witnessed the mess in these departments?
“I put my trust in the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor because she represents the nation before representing the government. So I call upon her to pay surprise visits to the labor departments to get first hand information on follies and loopholes and rid the ministry of violations.”
“Some people have predicted a terrifying future for the so-called Arab Spring movements,” columnist Salah Al-Sayer wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“In Egypt, for example, after the mainstream religious political current got the taste of power it became very easy for this power to push anyone up the ladder and offer him responsible position.
“However, whoever was responsible for voting (deliberately) this political current into ‘power’ was aware that the current authoritarian regime is undemocratic and therefore will not entertain ‘positive’ laws. The largest Arab country will continue to bleed for a long time.
“In Syria also, the scenario is no different. Damascus is expected to witness horrendous incidents, that will breed jihadists and the flames of sectarian fire will reach Lebanon before heading for Iraq because the Iraqi government has already prepared grounds for such fire. In one year’s time the black fumes are expected to cover the horizons over Arab capitals including Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad and Beirut.
“I hope whoever has drawn this scenario is wrong in his analysis and expectations.”
“I often wonder about the person who conceptualized the unified media bill, because whoever did it is either a non-Kuwaiti or he may have failed to look into the Constitution,” Za’ar AlRashidi wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“If we go through the articles of the bill, we will find that a channel which receives a person found to have violated any of the articles will be punished severely; including the host, owner and the interviewer. This clause clearly contravenes Article Three of the Constitution.
“The strangest aspect of the bill, including Article 93, is the stipulation that allows the minister to appoint people who will be given the authority to take legal procedures against anyone deemed to have violated the law and refer them to the concerned authorities. Apparently, these people will have the right to enter institutions and check each document there.
“I am against the bill because it is not in line with the Constitution. It violates the constitutional articles and if the bill is passed, I will submit a petition against it to the Constitutional Court.”
“No one can seize the right of a Member of Parliament to grill and impeach ministers. An MP can impeach the ministers and even the Prime Minister in addition to playing his/her role of monitoring any abuses or irregularities in the performance of their businesses. This right has been guaranteed by the Constitution,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“However, a parliamentarian must first be in agreement and harmony with himself and consult and coordinate his/her efforts with his/her colleagues in the National Assembly to arrange the priorities in the best interests of the citizens.
“However, in light of current events in the political arena and the process of continuous parliamentary control we pay tribute to the parliamentarians and also the ministers for the hard work done by them.
“For the first time, we see a ray of hope in the government/Parliament cooperation which is a sign of healthy atmosphere. It is but logical that the MPs give the government an opportunity to put its house in order until the deadline that has been given to it without using their tool to grill anyone and by doing so avoid the mistakes that were committed by their predecessors.”
“It is a fact that the freedom of opinion in Kuwait was not restricted even when the censorship was imposed on the press because the censorship on the press was severe, but there was a misunderstanding when certain texts or expressions were deleted because they were considered a violation of the print and publication law,” columnist Hassan Ali Karam wrote for Al-Watan Arabic daily.
“What we need first is to educate the officials in the area of media management in government agencies, the officials who are given with the responsibility of monitor and following up the printed, visual and e-media and video because the problem lies in the misinterpretation given by these officials.
“It is necessary to standardize the rules and regulations to control the media with all new and regular classifications, because no one can be allowed to drown the country in a sea of chaos under the pretext of the freedom of expression, because there are certain things which the media must abide by.”
“I wish not to watch the Al-Arabiya channel at the moment because of the interview conducted two days ago with senior Kuwaiti official of the ‘planning department’ Al-Sayed Al-Faraj and an Iraqi official and the channel talked about the sudden ‘quiet’ at the Kuwait-Iraq border,” columnist Dr Hmoud Al-Hatab wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“The Kuwaiti official said Kuwait had pumped into Iraq KD 132 billion. He repeated this statement again and again and how I wished he had said ‘million’ and not ‘billion’.
“During the interview the anchor said there was a surprising calm at the border between the two countries, a statement termed ‘pure fabrication’ by the Iraqi side.
“As evidence, the Iraqi official cited the homes along the border which are termed ‘illegal’. He also reminded these people are offered compensation and another shelter. The issues are there. The situation remains complicated.”
“The Ministry of Commerce has warned anyone who will manipulate the prices of goods, including those who dominate the trade and owners of companies, that necessary action will be taken against them once proven they have violated the regulations on fair competition in the market,” Ali Dakheel Al-Enezi wrote for Alam AlYawm daily.
“If we take livestock trading as an example, we have to point out that after the Iraqi Invasion, many companies competed in bringing livestock into the country and it was beneficial to the consumers. This competition greatly contributed in regulating the prices of livestock at the time. However, a livestock company worked on the elimination of its competitors until only one is left – the Kuwaiti-Saudi company which stayed for just a year.
“This opened the door for the livestock company to control the market and it took advantage of the situation to set the prices according to its whims without the control of any authority. The problem is that nobody heeds the warnings of the government against such acts, because every time a salary increment is announced, the traders raise the prices of goods. Therefore, the executive authority does not protect the citizens from the greedy traders who usually increase prices in an unjustified manner.”
“Once again, Kuwait Airways Corporation is embroiled in a scandal. Speculations are rife that the corporation will not be able to pay the salaries of its employees after March because the government and the National Assembly have not approved the final statements since 2004,” Ali Dashti wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“It seems the corporation is always associated with losses, so it is no longer surprising if the time comes that it can no longer pay the salaries of workers. Obviously, one of the main causes of the problem is the lack of control – an indication of the prevalence of corruption. Despite the deteriorating situation, the corporation makes lots of money which are spent in an unknown place.
“The government must be firm in dealing with the issue. If not, even the privatization of the corporation will lead to more chaos and it will not be enough to solve the problem.”
— Compiled by Zaki Taleb