‘Differences beauty of democracy’

‘Corruption destroys nations’

“THERE is no democracy without democrats, nor democracy without a culture of dialogue. This is one of the axioms of contemporary political thought. And the dialogue can only be between two or more parties, different and opposing. So, the culture of difference is one of the most important foundations of a democratic life,” columnist Dr Hamad Muhammad Al-Matar wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“Consequently, the difference and dialogue are among the most important tools that liberate man from isolation and isolationism, and it is the only way to build true collective thinking that leads societies to more freedom, and leads the homelands to more democracy and prosperity.

“Yes, we may disagree on many matters, and we disagree on ways and mechanisms to solve general problems and crises, but we necessarily agree on our national interests, and on all of us seeking to work for Kuwait.

“Therefore, it is ethical for the political difference to understand and excuse each other, and to strive to achieve its goals and of those who disagree with it, in accordance with its principles and national vision.

“Meanwhile, we would like to point out here that the priorities of the political and parliamentary practice in the democratic states, entails the consecration and the expansion of the public freedoms, let alone that this means defending the country’s constitution and its sound application.

“In this context, we would like to elucidate that one of these priorities is represented by the task of the parliamentary and legislative control in all of the democratic states.

“Consequently, any attempt that might be exerted for restricting these freedoms through abuse of the constitutional provisions as well as through the enactment of some laws to limit the freedom of expression and impede the formation of the public opinion on an intact basis such as the notorious Electronic Media Law, shall represent a vain attempt and democratic deviation, as such the relevant attempt, will not be listed within the basic democratic tasks of any parliament.

“The State of Kuwait is a democratic country, and its democratic experience is considered a beacon in the region. It is the outcome of a continuous national dialogue since 1938 that led to the drafting of a Constitution that we are proud of, and the dialogue has continued since then in political and parliamentary life.

“In this connection, we say the political difference is a great advantage and not a deficiency, as it is the most important mechanisms for collective thinking and taking the right national decisions, and it is certainly not the reason for the destruction of Kuwait, as some are trying to portray it, but rather the reason for its strength, distinctiveness and uniqueness, which protected it in the darkest of circumstances and tribulations.

“As a matter of fact, the reason for the destruction of the homelands is corruption, not political difference because the corrupt sacrifices the interest of the country for narrow personal interests.

“As for those who differ with you politically, it opens a door for deeper discussion for a better future for his country and from here the morals of difference and the importance of respecting the opinion of other are come to the fore.”

Catalyst : Freedom + the Constitution of 1962 = a national dialogue

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Dr Al-Matar

“I think anyone who follows the news reports and events will find that there are almost constant, continuous and incessant news reports about Israeli violations committed against the Palestinian brothers and against our Islamic holy places,” columnist Abdulrahman Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“The strange aspect in this connection is that the series of Israeli violations takes place in full view of the international community and no one seems to move a finger but just occasional timid condemnation just for the sake of protecting their own prestige.

“It is needless to say that the Israeli Zionist occupation had started recently practicing all violations and aggression shamelessly. In other words, this occupation is unfortunately accustomed to practice its violations against international laws, because this entity knows well that it will neither be punished nor subjected to international penalties.

“As a matter of fact, persistent Israeli aggression on the holy places and the Palestinians and defiling the land and the properties by the illegitimate occupants of Palestinian lands is a stigma in the forehead of humanity.

“In this connection, we would like to point out that the racist Israelis burnt a mosque in south Jerusalem and to add insult to injury wrote graffiti on the AlAqsa Mosque and attacked the worshippers.

“The question we ask again and again is, when will this brutal occupation stop and its violations of international laws? And when will the international community wake up to put an end to these violations?”

“Our main problem in Kuwait is that the government does not identify with any bloc or ideology, as it is always a mixture of personalities that have been chosen for various reasons, most of which are causes related to creating political balances that support the government and prevent its collapse. This by the way is a wrong saying, as these causes are what lead to the collapse of governments”, Daham Al Qahtani wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“The realistic solution that fits the current Kuwaiti situation is that the government should be formed by a strong and seasoned Prime Minister who has an enormous ability to manage the political scene. This can be done in alliance with the reformist forces or by forming new forces that are able to assist the government in implementing its plans and projects away from the dominance of political blocs and traditional economic, tribal and family powers.

“This Prime Minister is not only a person, but an institution in itself consisting of a seasoned, professional and impartial team that is not affiliated with any political, social or sectarian trend. This team is the one that manages the Council of Ministers and provides the Prime Minister with a clear view of all matters. This team also oversees the implementation of key government projects related to the state’s general policy and government policy, which are the main tasks of the Cabinet.

“In Turkey, which is a successful experience regarding the supportive teams of presidents, we find a high level of professionalism in the teams that support the Turkish president. Due to this, we find this president to have an extraordinary strength. There is no room for mistakes and he closely follows many local and international social and economic issues at the same time, not because he has super power but because there are work teams that carry out preparations and research and develop perceptions for him, and he remains as the chief executive over them.

“The Prime Minister is not an individual but rather an institution in itself, and if Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled does not succeed in preparing a strong, professional and high-level team of management, he will inevitably face difficulties and possibly several crises. This may not allow him to continue for long irrespective of how sincere and honest he is in his intentions.”

“We are experiencing a sense of confusion caused by the government meddling in all sectors and aspects, up to a point that meddling has become the main characteristic of governmental work in our country”, columnist Zayed Al-Zaid wrote for Al-Nahar daily.

“The government’s work in our country is characterized by lack of coordination between governmental bodies and various sectors in the State. It operates separately and in discord which has become casual and ordinary for both the citizens and expatriates to see. However, when it comes to the level of lack of coordination within the same sector – the education sector – this is unfortunate, sad and funny at the same time.

“It is unfortunate how the government’s mid-year break differs from one educational level to another. For instance, Kuwait University students go back to school on the same day the high school students start their break and primary students start their break almost a month earlier. This unnecessary discord makes families with children in all educational levels confused on how to plan their holidays.

“According to experts, the number of holidays the primary students enjoy is about 50, excluding the national day celebrations which usually last a week and other holidays such Eid which also last a week, among other holidays during the academic year and the three months summer holiday. This makes us wonder when our children study.

“This is not a simple issue, it is a clear indication of the government’s failure in managing education, let alone the fact that our nation is on the deathbed in terms of education. If they cannot manage the break schedules of different educational levels, how can we entrust them with the future of our children in terms of education, curriculum setting and class management?”

“I was unable to personally watch all the episodes of the show “The Black Box” presented by media figure Ammar Taqqi with Dr Abdullah Al-Nafeesi, despite the repeated requests of my daughter Noor to discuss the issues posed by Al-Nafeesi even though she doesn’t know anything about these issues but is interested due to the novelty of her age and lack of knowledge about the issues as well as his attractive way of narrating these events”, Prof Faisal Al-Shuraifi wrote for Aljarida daily.

“Since I saw only a few episodes of this program, I am not going to judge it. However, one word caught my attention - “racism”. He repeated this word a few times, especially when he said, “The policies are based on the idea of racism. There is a lot of racism in the Kuwaiti society. The rights and privileges of a Kuwaiti vary based on their affiliations”. He then discussed the reasons behind the lack of solution to the Bedoun issue because of the same reason.

“This point deserves to be discussed and refuted because racism constitutes a real danger upon the society and is not less dangerous than sectarianism.

“Racism is not new; it has existed since eternity. No society is free from racism but it is less severe in societies that criminalize it and has active laws. Kuwait is not exempted from “racism” which has existed in Kuwait’s social dictionary since a long time.”

“Whoever sees what is happening in neighboring countries will realize the wave of anger enveloping these countries, while the wave of demonstrations is serious as citizens demand for improvement in services and infrastructure,” Mishref Eqab wrote for AlShahed daily.

“There is increasing rate of unemployment, marginalization and poverty, such that more than half of the citizens live below the poverty line. This explains the rate of deterioration, as well as financial and administrative corruption affecting these countries and their citizens. According to experts, things are so bad that citizens hardly believe they are in their own countries.

“Third world countries face series of problems, mainly unemployment and marginalization. It is surprising that some of these problems are found in many oil producing countries. Problems of unemployment, poverty and ignorance are similar in some countries where people suffer due to lack of job opportunities for the youths and services are not guaranteed.

“Citizens of Third World and Arab countries are talking about rising prices of oil and unemployment as if they are saying our demands are job opportunities, water desalination and pumping, building power generation plants, fight poverty for befitting living standard and counter corruption. The high rate of unemployment in the Arab and Third World countries is a confirmation that the work of governments is defective and there is no planning, even though some countries are rich in oil.”

“In the parliaments of some countries, we may see the governments becoming exhausted by interpellations. This is understandable. But only in Kuwait, we see some MPs facing anger when grilling the government although they are supposed to practice their duties including monitoring and questioning the government”, Mishref Aqab wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“In Kuwait, most MPs resort to grilling when they lose hope of receiving answers to their questions they submit to the ministers about some shortcomings in their ministries. Once the questions turn into grilling, we witness huge dispute between the supporters and opposition.

“Regarding to the developmental plans, we see the successive governments have not presented any serious plans, either short-term or long-term. It is true that we hear statements about five-year plans but the years pass and we see no achievements.

“Talking about the parliament, we see sessions being cancelled due to the absence of MPs despite the fact that it is their duty to attend in order to discuss the plan submitted by the government. Actually, Kuwait has witnessed decline in most services including education, health and developmental projects.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb