‘In the throes of blackmail’

‘Weak govt invites trouble’

“WHAT happens between a large number of National Assembly members on one hand, and the government on the other hand, can be described in common political language as a kind of blackmail. Some have been bargaining and raising their voices at the face of the government. Once they get what they want, they swallow their tongues, keep their mouths zipped and withdraw their threats,” Dr Ebraheem Behbehani wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“The problem is that the hesitation and weakness of our government encouraged them to continue to impose their agendas. If their demands are not realized, we see them rushing toward interrogations and no-confidence and non-cooperation votes.

“They frequently request for naturalization of others, reinstatement of revoked citizenship, and special amnesty for parliamentarians sentenced through final judicial rulings. This package of requests is being negotiated which means they choose the timing that serves them, questioning the Prime Minister and the government that do not want the non-cooperation motion.

“A group of MPs escalates the political situation and sends a message to those who are concerned – to succumb to their demands, or else, they will request for non-cooperation vote, and they have 10 parliamentarians who are ready to approve the request. As long as our government does not want questioning which might result in no-confidence vote, it will negotiate with these parliamentarians and approve requests, albeit gradually.

“Political escalation, or in clearer words, political blackmail, is becoming common and open. It is translated on the ground through the electoral constituencies. They threaten to resort to non-cooperation vote which the government does not want, thus, the latter finds itself in an awkward situation as it has to approve their demands gradually to avoid questioning.

“I am not happy to describe these parliamentarians as the minority. The phenomenon has become part of parliamentary work. It has become a ‘fashionable’ way to say that if one wants to win and satisfy the voters, it is enough to follow this method to get what he wants and serve his personal interests.

“In my opinion, the government bears the responsibility for such problems as it adopted policies based on bargains and satisfaction in parliamentary gatherings. These are weak and tolerant policies in front of any parliamentary bloc covered by the color of the opposition. We have reached a state of retreat and bleeding that we can no longer hold. We do not really know where concession after concession will lead us to.

“We do not want confrontations and conflicts, but the relationship between the two authorities must not remain this way, as if we are in the market where auctions and bargains are conducted without any limit or control to prevent some parliamentarians from resorting to blackmail whenever the government is cohesive, keeps its solid positions and has the ability to engage in confrontation.

“A government that bows down to any parliamentary threat may produce sectarian decisions at the expense of the majority in society. The National Assembly of some who live on screams, reactions and special agenda is not in the interest of democracy or political stability in an environment awaiting our steps to deal with difficult or thorny issues.”

Dr Behbehani

“In the past three months, the government has proven that it completely changed its approach in dealing with outstanding issues in a manner which tends to amend and without saying reform. However, this change in the government’s approach is going toward the same reform as manifested in its recent decisions and how it handled a number of political issues,” columnist Tha’ar Al-Rashidi wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“The problem is that the government was a clear target for the opposition in every matter. After taking a moderate approach in dealing with the issues, standing by everyone at the same distance has become the target of the former government camp or more accurately what we call the ‘loyalists’ (pro-government) who started criticizing the government for making concessions and they considered such act as betrayal against them.

“Those who defended the government’s action against the opponents or the so-called trouble and crises makers feel they are lawyers for the government which stabbed them in the back. In fact, this is what happened.

“Today’s loyalists are those who attack and criticize the government’s ‘moderate’ decisions against the opposition. To be honest, they are not to be blamed politically, but they must be aware that the compass of the political scene, along with the recent governmental decisions to reinstate revoked citizenship and others, are gearing towards easing and cooling down the political situation in general.

“Making political deals in such a way led to the transformation of the government’s approach to favorable and desirable moderation that must not be missed. It is normal and inevitable, especially after the state of political congestion reached a state of democratic paralysis.

“I believe the loyalists should deal with governmental moderation as ‘fait accompli’. The government has taken steps which we are supposed to support. The government’s recent talk about fighting corruption is no longer a political slogan for domestic consumption, but it is a way of combating corruption despite the fact that it is a modest step compared to the size of corruption. We can say it is a step in the right direction and will be followed by other steps.

“The most important fact is that the fight against corruption started slowly, but it is in the right direction and will include accountability at all levels.

“The application of the law and resorting to the judiciary should not anger anyone or provoke the ire of some who are either the opponents or pro-government. The government, within a short period, has shown that there is a new approach to reform which starts at all levels. Now, political deals are being concluded or are in the process of being implemented with the opposition political forces or the opponents.

“It is a correct governmental step and it is part of the political reform we have been aspiring for. Voices rejecting such deals will remain respected even if we think they are wrong.

“Clearly, the government is now pursuing a moderate reform approach with the same reconciliation which we hope will usher in a political era to end all unwarranted conflict situations, especially since most of them are personal.”

“The relation between rain and corruption in Kuwait is unique,” Dr Hayla Hamad Al-Mukaimi wrote for AlNahar daily.

“In recent years, Kuwait has been witnessing shortage of rain. Some say this is happening because of the spread of corruption. When Kuwait recently witnessed heavy rains, a large extent of corruption was revealed, as a number of state buildings and private houses especially those located in newly constructed areas was submerged in rainwater, and the roads and streets were transformed into rivers and lakes.

“The responsibility is not just with the Ministry of Public Works but also other ministries and Public Authority for Housing Welfare. The rain fell just a few days after the interpellation against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak was withdrawn following the restoration of revoked citizenships, and the meeting between His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak and a number of senior officials during which he urged them to fight corruption.

“The scene of frustration and confusion is common especially at the start of the season of each ministry. Prior to this scandal of Ministry of Public Works, the country was busy with the scandals of Ministry of Education including fake certificates and lack of readiness for the new academic year.

“The Cabinet took some actions against the senior officials of Ministry of Public Works such as referring some of them to retirement and others to investigations as well as suspending the work of some officials.

“What is required is beyond just dealing with the results of scandals, but the reasons also have to be investigated. We need to know the truth about the design of the roads and streets that causes them to become flooded every time it rains in the country. These questions need to be answered especially since Kuwait is witnessing the construction of a number of bridges, streets and houses.”

“Pictures of the flags of all GCC countries except Kuwait beside the Israeli flag were circulated recently, which indicate the looseness of the relations between the two parties,” Abdulredha Qumbur wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“The ongoing secret visits to Tel Aviv by Gulf political and military leaders are no longer secret. On the other hand, the popular demands against such closeness are growing. Some Gulf countries have declared their official trade relations with Israel, while others maintain secret relations. Gulf-Israeli preparations are also ongoing with the aim of confronting the ‘Iranian attack’.

“Analyzers had previously enquired about the reasons behind the sanctions imposed on Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. They enquired about the reason why Turkish and Jordanian economies are being targeted, as well as the aim of the war in Yemen. Now they are enquiring about the reason behind the sanctions imposed on Iran.

“It seems the answers have started becoming clearer especially after the participation of the Israeli army in the war in Yemen following Israel’s declaration about the murder of an Israeli pilot after an attack on his jet there.

“This scandal prompts us to question about the kind of relations between Israel and Gulf countries. We need answers about the fate of the Palestinian issue in light of such a closeness.

“In case the aforementioned information is confirmed (even though we are sure they are confirmed), the Israelis are asked to prove that Arab people support such closeness. They are asked to inform Arab people about the way the Palestinians will restore their stolen rights. Otherwise, the closeness will only confirm the rights of Palestinians. We said it previously and we stress it now. It is the people who decide the destiny of their countries, not the leaders as stated by the recent Arab revolutions.”

“The country’s reputation, and interests of the nation and citizens is the red line, due to which the incidents that occurred on Tuesday should not be swept under the carpet,” Dr Ali Al-Za’abi wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“The flood that resulted from the rainstorm, through which many citizens became victims and lost property one way or the other, wouldn’t have happened if not for the failure of emergency teams to maintain the sewage lines properly and regularly. This could have been done either by the Public Authority for Roads and Transportation, or Kuwait Municipality or Ministry of Public Works. Despite the huge budgets allocated for such cases, it is evident that the money was spent on other things rather than the same maintenance activities.

“Kuwait, being a generous nation, is now like one of the very poor and backward Third-World countries. Things are so bad that one person said in a blog, ‘We can accept Kuwait to be like Mali, but it can never become a financial hub’.

“In fact, I do not blame him, considering the fact that roads have been transformed into buckets of water, vehicles and buildings were submerged in the rainwater, and most of the companies of the public and private sectors were paralyzed.”

“This is the second decision taken against detection of scandals affecting human beings directly within two months. The first scandal was about the air conditioners that exploded at the beginning of the new academic year leading to sacking of some officials at the Ministry of Education,” Ali Mahmoud Khajah wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“We are now living in the second decision in the form of immediate punitive action after the rainstorm last Tuesday. Personally, I do not know whether the decisions are right since I am not sure if those forced to retire or sacked were responsible for the incident or just scape goats. This issue is in itself multi-dimensional which requires a long discussion.

“However, the basic issue that is more important for me is this: Will the decisions taken yesterday prevent another flood in the future? By the grace of God, rain will continue to fall and the inability of the drainage system to contain it means the scenario will still happen. This is the problem we are facing this season, so what steps have been taken to prevent flood and multimillion losses incurred by the State in a single rainstorm?”

“How wonderful it is when officials, who failed to perform their duties, resign due to their sense of responsibility before Almighty Allah and the nation. This is better than flattery, appeasement and hypocrisy,” columnist Saud Abdul-Aziz Al-Attar wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“It is wonderful also if an official resigns voluntarily as a result of feeling responsible for the mistake and the sense of self-accountability as well. Honestly, a mistake is not shameful in and of itself. What is shameful is not acknowledging the mistake, ignoring and continuing it as such an act is a manifestation of disgrace and backwardness.

“This is how the development of nations is appraised due to the fact that it is the mirror reflecting the essence of a nation’s culture, traditions and values which safeguard the community and ensure its continuity.

“We praise HH the Prime Minister’s move to refer for retirement the undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works and director of the Public Authority for Roads and Transportation. This is the first reformative step towards the best.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb