‘Bill detrimental to future’

‘New recruits face salary cuts’

“THE National Assembly passed the ‘Early Retirement Law’ in its new form and sharp contrast of the positions of the deputies raised many questions, including the danger it poses to the country,” columnist, former MP and former Minister of Justice Mishari Jassem Al-Anjari wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“The effects of reducing the retirement age are no less than the effects of decisions and laws that have drained public funds disastrously over the past years.

“Here, we look at the age of separation for pension benefits in the pension systems of the developed countries, which are 65 or 67 years old, and in the Gulf countries, just below this age. This is the best evidence to be relied upon and one of the best standards for measuring the right way in this important matter.

“The following are some of the disadvantages, defects and reasons for opposition to Early Retirement Law.

“With regard to the financial cost of the law, we would like hereby to elucidate the following:

“Each new pensioner holds the Public Institution For Social Security (PIFSS) money equivalent to almost retirement deductions for 8 newly appointed employees to pay the retirement pension.

“Take for example, if ten thousand employees retired and applied to the Public Institution For Social Security to disburse their monthly salaries, then the institution will need monthly deductions from 80,000 newly appointed employees who are presumed to have been appointed upon the retirement of their colleagues and this will be required to cover the pensions of those who would like to retire … and so on.

“How PIFSS will financially deal with the deduction process from employees who have worked for a period of 25 years and would like to retire at an age of 45 or 55, for instance, where this employee will pay to every authority he had worked for as well as to the Treasury of PIFSS less than 30 percent from his salary and for a period of 25 years and then retire where he he/she will be entitled for a pension of as much as 75 percent of his/her salary if he/she was drawing upon his/her retirement age and for a period of 30 or 25 years (as per the age average in the State of Kuwait) let alone that the disbursement of his/her salary will continue post his/her death to the heirs.

“Given the above, we wonder, which yield and which investment, shall cover this big difference between what had been deducted from the salary of the employee between his/her retirement pension? However, if we presume that this new system will be applied on 200,000 employees, for instance, then we wonder what about the volume of the total financial cost?

“Certainly, PIFSS will incur a financial burden as a result of reduction in the retirement age and this means that PIFSS will be reluctant to increase the percentage of deduction from the salaries of the employees who are covered by this system to handle the deficit that has resulted from the application of the law in question.

“Such being the case, the employees who are working for both the public and private sector and all of the other employees who are subjected to the Chapter five of the budget, shall pay for such a decision or the socalled ‘Early Retirement Law’ by increasing the deduction from their monthly salaries.”

Also:

Al-Anjari

“May 1981 saw the holding of the First Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This session was held in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was attended by the founding leaders of the six member states,” columnist Mubarak Mezyed AlMoasharji wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“It was a successful summit indeed in terms of cooperation among the founding states in many economic, commercial, scientific, cultural and even the military fields. This summit founded The Peninsula Shield Forces topped by the armies who participated in the liberation of the State of Kuwait from the heathenish Iraqi invasion.

“The Gulf Cooperation Council actually competed with the United Nations Security Council and the Arab League was jealous of it.

“Speaking of the last GCC summit that was held recently in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Dec 9, 2018 this summit represented the kiss of life for this Council, because the only objective of this summit was to protect it from dismantling or collapsing. This summit called for stopping media campaigns which blow the trumpets of sedition and extremism.

“Today, the GCC member states are in need of unity, solidarity and the unification of their opinion and keep in mind that the oil prices, have fluctuated too much, given the fact oil represents the nerve of the economic life of the states.

“In the meantime, we would like to say that the drums of war are beating. These wars are likely to begin from the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, given the fact we are neighboring countries and the prospective war will bring us on the brink of disaster, particularly since we know America is requesting us to finance this war in the name of defending us.

“As a matter of fact, the efforts exerted by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, we pray to Almighty Allah to protect him, represent the shield of life and the bridge of reconciliation among different states.

“In this context, we cite the speech that was delivered by His Highness the Amir during the inaugural session of the recent GCC summit warning of the differences among member states. He called on them to return to the safety road, amid his keenness to keep the Qatar flag afloat in the GCC and this lauded and appreciated by all.

“In this connection, we cite the statement that was issued by the representative of the Sultanate of Oman who said the speech of our Amir, we pray to Almighty Allah to protect him, is the best of its kind, hoping that this shall constitute the outset for achieving the targeted reconciliation among the relevant GCC states.

“Consequently, we wonder, will the Gulf Cooperation Council come out of the Intensive Care Unit?”

“The struggle for freedom has been and remains the fundamental issue for which many human beings have fought since the dawn of creation and to this day,” columnist Ewaid Al-Salili wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“This is because of the brutal violations imposed by kings and leaders towards their subjects. The societies were divided into a higher class possessing land and they included masters, nobles and supervisors who failed to do their basic duty to serve the upper class, slaves, servants and the rest of the poor people.

“In all stages of the conflict over the concept of philosophical freedom for the supporters and opponents, the debate was about the human rights and the waiver of power to the authoritarian to try to convince the public and the demons to satisfy the bitter reality they suffer from it.

“First came the theories which claimed that the king derives legitimacy from God and no earthly power has the right to dispute it in its divine right from heaven through tyranny.

“That conflict lasted for centuries, especially in Europe, and eventually led to the victory of the theory of social contract to point out that tyrants are not an element superior to human beings, that they rule according to rules agreed upon, and that they must comply with the conditions.

“Many thinkers and philosophers in the modern era including Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and JeanJacques Rousseau, and the result of the success of the French Revolution and the spread of the concept of freedom as an inherent right to humans were uncontested.

“The concept of freedom has been and remains the main subject of the right of the people to participate politically and express their opinion freely and not the subject of chaos and disintegration of any social and religious values as portrayed by some of the claimants among liberal Arabs. The freedom stops when it interferes with others because it is responsible freedom that is controlled by restrictions.

“Since the dawn of independence, rulers of Kuwait have guaranteed the right of the people to participate politically. The Constitution and the National Assembly have translated the principles and concepts of freedom and democracy.

“The country has distinguished itself from the rest of the Arab countries with a climate of democracy and freedom of opinion. But many have not understood that climate, so they plan to use it as a [platform to spread rumors, challenge through opposition, seize an opportunity to write books that challenge the divine self and religious tenets, settling scores by attacking the ruling families in the Arab sister countries, attempted coup against the state and the regime, and sabotage under the pretext of freedom.

“There is a difference between those who believe in freedom in the constructive sense of growth and development of peoples and countries and those who believe in a destructive freedom that wants to destroy values, ethics and principles.”

“The GCC summit that was held this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had its distinctive character. It was held in the host country in the midst of the continuation of the Gulf crisis and the inability to reach a solution that satisfies everyone,” columnist Abdulmohsen Yousef Jamal wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“The summit was the focus of attention of all Gulf people who feared the dismantling of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

“It was necessary to conduct the meeting in an unusual manner that requires a strategic vision and accuracy of knowledge of the regional and international public scene.

“Therefore, it was very important that the meeting was to be attended by all six members, whatever the representation, using words with a precise diplomatic dimension, to create a platform for mutual dialogue and to return the Gulf cohesion to what it was, or at least maintain the minimum understanding.

“From here, the speech of His Highness the Amir has the good effect of creating a common GCC and regional ground in highlighting the positive understanding of GCC cooperation with neighboring countries, not the escalation scenario demanded by some foreign countries, but through the Gulf interest, taking into account the ‘cool’ atmosphere.

“It was lack of concern that saw some Gulf States escalating the media war pitting a Gulf state against a Gulf state to keep them preoccupied with ongoing difficulties.

“It was remarkable that the Omani side, through the speech of Fahad Al Said, representative of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, adopted the wisdom of Kuwait by comparing to a political role model for those who want to redraw the Gulf policy map.

“Therefore, it was not surprising that the final statement of the summit was not to escalate, but to refrain from mentioning regional and Arab differences, in order to make way for the delving towards peace and to remove the specter of war and tension from the Gulf region by shunning international pressures that were looming from all sides.

“In the months to come, we may witness the success of the adoption of Kuwaiti diplomacy by its sane wisdom and tranquility.”

“One day, a religious man wanted to test the intelligence and acumen of his students. He gave four boys an apple each and asked them to eat it in a place where no one can see them. After a while, the four boys came back so he asked them if they ate the apple and they said ‘yes’,” columnist Abdurrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“The clergyman asked them where they ate the apples. The first boy said in his room, the second boy in the desert, the third boy on a boat in the sea but the fourth boy came with the apple in his hand saying he did not find a place where no one sees him as God sees him everywhere.

“If any person does not believe God sees him when he disobeys Him everywhere, he will accept sins without fear ... because those who fear God will not fear people or punishment.

“From time to time, the Anti-Corruption Authority announces referral of those who embezzled public funds to the Public Prosecution, revealing betrayal of trust cases. Definitely, these cases began to unfold following the strict instruction of HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak to eliminate corruption and ensure transparency and accountability of those who misappropriated public money, abused their power and obtained money illegally.”

“With the conclusion of the 39th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last week, it has become imperative to review the achievements and setbacks this organization have gone through to determine where the challenge lies considering its objectives,” columnist Dr Nasser Khamees Al-Mutairi wrote for Al-Nahar daily.

“It is worth mentioning that this year’s summit is the second to be held in a sensitive political atmosphere marked with disagreements between some members. In the past, this organization overcame major challenges to its unity. At the same time, it worked toward strengthening cooperation and relations among members.

“Undoubtedly, the organization worked hard to strengthen unity among members, such as the unified customs tariffs. Nevertheless, it also failed in its attempts to have a single currency and solve border issues, up to the extent that some cases were referred to the international court.

“The official media platforms in the GCC portray this unity as always in better shape, especially when annual meetings are being held. It is unfortunate to see media campaigns being waged against some member States. This entails underlying conflicts and disputes which surface from time to time, irrespective of the efforts exerted to find solutions.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb