Kuwait needs mutual understanding, fraternal, serious ‘national dialogue’
“ONE of the sons of the country who is also one of the well known writers, honored us by an article that was published by Al-Qabas daily, in which he explained how one of the national political groups in Kuwait, had strived to establish a militant political base (as he described it),” columnist Mohammad Salem Al-Balhan wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“There are some people who see the struggle from all its aspects, directions, shapes and meanings and consider the same as something legitimate, supported and sanctified by both the divine and the positive laws in support as well as in guarantee of the humanity and the people’s rights such as the oppressed Palestinians whose rights and lands are currently usurped by a wicked and unjust denomination.
“Such being the case, the armed struggle or the political struggle in general, represents a national duty dictated on the Palestinian people to guarantee the pride and the dignity of their country, given the fact that this right is open also to all of the peoples whose rights are being violated, despotism and individual tyranny in this life by corrupt government regimes which are not taking into consideration the rights of the people nor maintain the humanity and its position.
“Here as many Kuwaitis believe that they are in need only of mutual understanding as well as serious, fraternal and national dialogue among the brothers who totally constitute one family saturated since the very beginning of their history to love each other as citizens of one homeland where the relationship between the ruler and the subjects was always governed by cooperation and solidarity in terms of going ahead in the march of the country’s progress and flourish, because this is the social and political situation in Kuwait – this honest and safe country.
“However, if we go through the reality of the political action which is currently implemented in Kuwait, we shall find that the country is governed by a constitution whose provisions are still visible based on a complete study and scrutiny that made it as one of the most powerful constitutions and laws of the civilized countries in terms of applying the principle of political democracy topped by the constitution and the laws.
“As a matter of fact, the items of the Kuwaiti constitution and related laws in the country are applied on effective and just basis on all without any discrimination, given the fact that this is something known and this was evident through the practices of the Kuwaiti judiciary where all the constitutional items and laws are applied to all equally and without any discrimination nor any consideration to the social position and this is by the virtue of Almighty Allah and his grace given to the Kuwaiti people who are known for tolerance and generosity.
“In other words, the Kuwaiti laws gave the citizens the freedom of expression, property, worship and the freedom of transport in addition to all other freedoms in accordance with the binding laws defined by the constitution.”
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“The domestic labor crisis persists but for how long and who is responsible for it, and is the scenario fabricated? There are the questions that concern many citizens and need a quick answer from the competent authorities,” Khaled Al-Arafa wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“The Al-Durra Company was established, and a board of directors was formed in order to solve this crisis, but we did not see any solutions mentioned throughout those years. What we are witnessing in the area of recruitment of labor is nothing but exploitation and clear greed that hurt the pockets of citizens created by crisis makers without any intervention from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry or this company that is supposed to have authority over recruitment offices operating in the country.
“The Ministry of Commerce has set the prices for the recruitment of servants at 890 dinars, and confirms in its statements that the prices are under control and any violating office will be closed, and this statement is incorrect. First of all, does the Ministry of Commerce know that the price of a domestic worker in recruitment agencies has reached 1,400 Kuwaiti dinars, and the client is obliged to pay to the office in two installments, and that this is open manipulation and circumvention of the law?
“The recruitment offices initially ask the client with an official contract to pay 890 dinars in addition to handing over 400 dinars by hand, and it is stipulated that it be in cash, and these, as they say, additional costs such as a ticket and others, and this in itself is contrary to the decisions of the Ministry, and therefore if the ministry does not know about this then the matter is a calamity, and if you know the calamity is greater. Therefore, it has become necessary to move and intensify the supervision of these offices, and to get acquainted closely with the mechanism used in those offices to recruit servants, and to know the legal basis for collecting these amounts over the amount specified by the ministry.
“The amount collected currently from the citizen far exceeds the ticket price, as it exceeds 400 dinars. It is quite clear that the authority of recruitment agencies is stronger than the decisions of the Ministry of Commerce, whose actions do not exceed only permits.
“The ministry calls on the people to report any increase, and the question that arises is: ‘How does a citizen, who basically does not have any legal basis, report the amount of 400 dinars, and pay it as a prerequisite for the recruitment of a female worker, and in the event of objection, the contract is canceled as if it was never signed. So the Ministry must move and find out the truth.”
“Whenever we talk about the media, we are not necessarily talking about government media. Rather, we talk about the media as a practice on the part of all partners in the media system,” columnist Dr Hind AlChoumar wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“Did the columnists fulfill their responsibilities during the Corona pandemic? Did they work transparently, professionally and freely? Did they edit or report news regarding the pandemic without underestimating or exaggerating? Did the media programs play educational and awareness roles?
“Then, what is the role of the spokespersons who appeared on the scene with the pandemic? What about carrying out their responsibilities?
“All these questions are being raised to me now that normal life has begun to return. Extracting the lessons learned is a starting point for better performance in the future and in upcoming situations. This is important since Corona coincided with another epidemic that is no less dangerous than it – the epidemic of psychological warfare by using unreliable sites to broadcast false news and rumours.
“I think all these concerns deserve scientific studies from partners who occupy academic and research positions in the media system.”
“No two people in Kuwait disagree about poor government services. No dealer, follower or government official disagrees that the fees for very bad services are very high,” columnist Dr Anwar Al-Shuraian wrote for Al-Shahid daily.
“There is not a single government project that has been implemented with an acceptable efficiency. Everyone, in the true sense of the word, is grumbling and not accepting the status quo. They talk for hours about the reasons for rejection of this bad reality.
“On the other hand, a person may come and talk about the luxury of life that most of those who live on Earth do not have.
“This talk is accurate and irrefutable if the comparison is with poor countries in the Third World. I will not go into comparisons with countries close to our economic situation.
“The logical comparison is that of Kuwait’s capabilities as a State, as well as its natural, human and geographical wealth, in order to reach a conclusion that we must be at least three times better than our current reality.”
“Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its newspapers are still far from the concerns of the country. They devote their attention to personal interests and put pressure on the government which, unfortunately, has always been terrified of the chamber, such that it quickly serves the interests of the ‘golden’ group, sons, grandsons and uncles -- not the interests of the entire commercial community, but the interests of the elite,” columnist Saoud Al-Samaka wrote AlSeyassah daily.
“From here, we noticed that the chamber, its officials and newspapers do not address major issues, even though they occupy the country, pose a threat to the chamber’s existence and continuity as an entity, including the issue of counterfeiters, Bedouns and an attempt to cover up some of the sheikhs who were part of the problem.
“The observer of the activities of this chamber finds nothing but outbidding for God’s creation with patriotism. The chamber expresses concern for the country’s interests on paper only -- through its statements and the editorials of its newspapers. As for urgent issues that would pose a threat to the country, the group is silent about them. Why?
“Resolving these issues could harm their interests. For them, 400,000 counterfeiters are an economic power that influences their commercial activities in terms of consumption power. This consumer purchasing power is not easy to give up for money collectors.”