‘Oppressive states target world’

‘Global bodies must probe corona’

“I HAVE never believed the figures and information that the People’s Republic of China was announcing about the developments regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), especially with regard to the number of infected and deceased people, given that the country’s population exceeded 1.4 billion, and is the cradle of the birth of the virus,” columnist Abdulmohsen Jumah wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“We say the above, because the country, which dealt with the doctor who discovered the virus by sending the police and military intelligence to him to silence him until he died as a result of the same disease, this means the closed dictatorial regime cannot be concerned in presenting any facts about what is happening as a result in that country, or warn the world of an epidemic that has claimed until today the lives of over 50,000 people and caused total economic devastation around the world.

“The most regretful aspect is the position taken by international organizations towards China, especially the World Health Organization, which is afraid to confront a large country like China and a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has many allies, so the officials of that organization sought to play it safe and protect their positions, rather than defending humanity and encountering the negative role of Beijing and the China’s responsibility towards humanity at large.

“As a matter of fact, the entire world is currently courteous to China and seeking Beijing’s satisfaction in view of its economic and human potentials and as such we how the world closed its eyes to the dictatorial practices of this closed regime.

“We are currently paying the price of such a policy. In other words, if China is a free and open state, then the Doctor Li Wen Liang would have appeared to warn the entire world against the virus in question, but the threats leveled against him by the Chinese oppressive powers silenced him.

“The problems of the oppressive states, however, are no longer directed against their peoples and religion only, rather threatens the entire world.

“In this context, we cite what was reported by various intelligence agencies indicating that the number of those who died as a result of the coronavirus in China and Iran and in some other states which are ruled by oppressive regimes exceed many fold than what has been declared by their governments.

“This requires the international organizations to use mechanisms to obtain the data issued by the oppressive and closed states.

“In the meantime, we suggest that the world must guarantee the independence of these organizations and show courage to take additional actions that may be required to ensure the soundness of the statements issued related to the epidemics and maladies.

“The world should unify its ranks in dealing with the states in question, because it is absurd to place the fate of humanity in the hands of the Central Committee of a despotic party or dictator or an extremist theocratic regime.”

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Jumah

“As an economist, I was quite pleased with the statement issued recently by the government which I believe was balanced, particularly in terms of the government’s role towards stimulating the national economy through general instructions for dealing with various economic sectors,” columnist Dr. Anwar Al-Shuraian wrote for AlShahed daily.

“This statement was void of any open intention to compensate any merchant for any real or fabricated losses at the expense of the public funds in order to enhance the profits of unimportant sectors or to compensate for some losses that incurred as a result of some deals with those who have nothing to do for the good of the national economy.

“His Highness the Prime Minister is working permanently to follow-up and direct the ministers for the sake of implementing the instructions of His Highness the Amir perfectly and in accordance with the available potentials and abilities of the government under the current crisis which actually led the whole world to tremble.

“However, His Highness the Prime Minister Abu Khaled should place the distinguished work of the government within the necessary framework in order to avert any mistake that occurred in the government’s management of the economic dossier, particularly if the government of His Highness Sabah Al-Khalid had followed the policies of the previous governments in empowering some persons who directly or indirectly are benefiting from the government’s economic and financial policies to manage any economic dossier.

“It would be illogical and unacceptable that some of the people who are involved in making the country’s economic decisions or participating in them are working for the commercial and industrial institutions or directly or indirectly own them. This is because these people intentionally or unintentionally strive to direct the relevant economic policies for serving their own personal interests before the interests of the state.

“The authority empowered to deal with the economic dossier should enjoy the necessary neutrality and technical abilities that will qualify it to deal efficiently with the relevant package in a way that will achieve the targeted return for the state’s economy entirely, stop it from freezing, and curb economic recession caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.

“O HH the Prime Minister, there are two authorities affiliated to your government that have full knowledge concerning Kuwait’s national economy and its various sectors. These authorities are led by distinguished persons and have a clear-cut vision concerning the current and future economic directions. Such being the case, these persons are capable of managing the economic package efficiently and in a way that will benefit the economy of Kuwait presently and in the future.

“Bu Khaled, you have the Supreme Planning Council chaired by Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad and the Direct Investment Encouraging Authority chaired by Sheikh Dr. Meshal Jaber Al-Ahmad. These two authorities will be capable of achieving the targeted objective without facing pressures from the influential persons and attempts of the opportunists.”

“There is no doubt that the world is faced with a stubborn virus that is eating away the bodies of countries and societies. The government, in its effort to counter the rapid spread of the emerging virus in Kuwait and work on containing it, announced a set of precautionary measures including suspending work in the government and private sectors”, Ali Al-Refaie wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“The consequences of the deadly epidemic are not only limited to health problems but also extend to the rights of workers in the private sector in particular as a result of the wrong actions and practices of some employers, such as depriving the workers their wages or reducing them, or suspending the work contracts due to the presence of a temporary obstacle that prevent the implementation of the contract.

“Wage is the basic and fundamental obligation in a work relationship; it is of great importance to the workers. In most cases, it represents the sole source of livelihood for the workers. There is no doubt that depriving workers of their rights or reducing them is more dangerous than coronavirus or any other pandemic in the world.

“The general rule is remuneration for work, so if the worker does not perform the work, then he does not deserve the remuneration. Then there is no remuneration from a non-worker because of a casual relationship between the remuneration and the work. The aforementioned rule applies in every case in which a worker does not perform the work for any reason attributable to him. But if the failure of the worker to perform the work is for a reason that is not attributed to him as he may be willing and able to perform the work, then a temporary ban is prohibited, as the reasons are not his fault.

“In these cases, consideration must be given to applying the remuneration rule for work. This rule should not be linked to the actual performance of the work, but it is sufficient for the worker to be willing to work with his ability to his performance even if he did not perform it already.

“The Court of Cassation ruled in labor judgment No. 56/86 during the session on November 24, 1986 in application of this. As per the ruling, “While the basic principle is related to performing the agreed work as a condition for eligibility for the wage except when the worker is ready to perform the work required of him and places himself at the disposal of the employer, he deserves remuneration, even if he did not actually do the work.”

“The government boldly took strict decision to impose partial curfew in the country between the hours of five in the evening and four in the morning as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus that began to spread through coming into contact with those returning from overseas. Earlier, the virus was reported among people entering the country from infected countries only,” columnist Zayed Al-Zaid wrote for Al-Jaridah daily.

“With this, Kuwait was the first Gulf country to take the bold step, and before that, it had taken bolder steps such as suspending air traffic and schools. This is good reason enough to salute strict government’s efforts in fighting the disease, which comes after its initial reluctance approach. The government courageously admitted and corrected the error without overlooking the statements made by some MPs, which were at the expense of the country and the health of its people.

“The difficult decision was to impose a curfew, but the most difficult decision is in the hands of the police and the people as well. The people are required to adhere to the curfew at the stated times and to commit to social distancing at other times, and the police are required to firmly apply the law against any one who tries to break the curfew orders and endangers his life, that of his family, the community and the country as a whole.

“Committing to the curfew is a form of national resistance. Yes, he who is obliged to stay at home will accelerate the process of defeating the deadly disease in the country and also help in the resumption of the economy wheel; thus save Public funds, which is money for the nation and the people, while relieving mankind of the trouble of the dreaded virus that has deadly repercussions.

“Nonetheless, if the act of resistance in the brutal Iraqi invasion was in terms of carrying guns and weapons in the face of the invading legions, exposing themselves to the danger of torture, death and disappearance from the prisons of the defunct Iraqi regime, the resistance today is very much easier under the ‘air-condition’. It is about staying home and spending time with the family or even reading or watching series and movies, while other interactions can be done via the Internet.

“Rather, the major international companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter have asked their employees to work from home via the Internet. If working via the Internet in major international companies with sophisticated software technologies is possible, then it’s not impossible to communicate with friends easily via WhatsApp. We will compel the government to push for total curfew if we continue to engage in contact outside the hours of the ban.”

“I hope with all my heart and would be ready to put all efforts into dedicating all my writings in the future to you if any representative of the elite could come out to us, under this difficult economic situation to just explain what prompted the elite to claim from the state a sum of KD 20 billion, equivalent to USD 60 billion,” columnist Saud Al-Samaka wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“Do you pay taxes, do you pay rents to the state in exchange for the utilities you use, do you have productive factories that you export from and with part of the benefit returning to the state or you do have a 100 percent national workforce in your establishment working for you. Do you make contribution to the state or the community in times of difficulty, for instance, during invasion, and have you participated with the government in repairing some of the things that were destroyed by the invaders?

“If the answer is yes, then I am called Saud Al-Samaka, and I promise to dedicate my articles at your service for as long as I write. However, if they answer is ‘NO’, on what basis are you demanding the state a sum of KD 20 billion? Is it because you have nine siblings and the people have only seven, or is it because your blood is blue?

“The state, through the government must embark on stopping the culture of loyalties at the end of COVID-19 crisis, as it is neither compatible with the justice system legally nor morally, in order to administer the country according to the world economic system.

“For those who want to work in trade, they must bear the consequences of such ventures and take responsibility for it, in terms of profit and loss. They should be kind enough to pay taxes from their profits to the state and stop importing cheap labor from abroad and rely entirely on the national labor force if they want the state to share their losses.

“Once the aforementioned becomes the case, we will stand up to you in respect and offer you a salutation. Otherwise, any government that moves with you according to the current situation, is not a just government. It is rather a government for ‘greedy’ few businesses and we are not generalizing.”

“Muslim philosopher Ibn Sina says the people in the time of serenity and quietness are equal, and are different when distress, tribulation and distaste come,” columnist Abdurrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“It seems that the tribulation we are experiencing these days make us see this saying being applied on real ground and before our eyes.

“The Kuwaiti government deals with this tribulation by following the directives of HH the Amir of Humanity Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This distress has shown us the origin of Kuwaiti people.

“The practical situation is reflected in the number of volunteers and participants in fighting coronavirus, in addition to the donors, thereby, proving what I said above.

“Despite all the efforts exerted by the Kuwaiti government and the great Kuwaiti people, some are still exploiting the social media platform to exchange insults, spread rumors and incite fear.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb