‘Self-censorship a tool which can help to sort out good from bad’
“BEFORE I entered the Kuwait airport gate, I found two Gulf nationals standing outside and smoking, and one of them threw an empty packet of cigarettes after he had finished, on the ground,” columnist Iqbal Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“I looked at him, then bent down and picked up the packet from almost under his feet and when I did that one of them almost took it from my hands and apologized, but I smiled and went to the nearest dustbin and threw it in.
“I imagined that the scene would be different if as soon as I saw him throw the empty packet of cigarettes on the ground, I raised my voice at him, accused him of such and such.
“If I went through the first scenario myself, how would the effect and return be?
“Personally, I think I would be ashamed of myself and wish the earth would open up and swallow me up, if someone picked up something I threw and threw it in the trash bin himself with a smile, more than if he scolded me and raised his voice at me and persisted in his impoliteness with me even if I was wrong.
“The meaning is that whenever you deal with the mistakes and lapses of others and their transgression against you, even verbally, with sophistication and a bit of rationality, stay cool.
“These two Gulf citizens learned a lesson (according to my opinion) after their arrival or before their departure from Kuwait and I am sure that if they did not talk about what happened between them, they would tell others about it and they might think more than once before throwing something on the ground again.
“This is how it seems to me but I may be wrong or overly optimistic, God knows best.
“The issue of respecting and adhering to the law is a culture, especially if there is no censorship and violations.
“Self-censorship is usually a tool through which you can sort out the good from the bad in every society and every work because it is brought up with a person according to the environment in which he lives.
“In our case, everyone knows that throwing anything on the ground is against the law. In the absence of law enforcement, the role of the environment, the home, and education emerge.
“That is why we often emphasize the necessity of applying the law and the presence of this application in every place and time, in order to fill the vacuum of the impact of the environment and the home on people’s behavior. As it is always said, when the pocket is hit people learn the hard way.
“In the end, we are all sentries and we are all responsible. And if he does not learn the lesson the first time then he will certainly learn it a second, third, or tenth time. Believe me.”
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“Isn’t it required of those holding public positions to work sincerely according to a plan, visions, and predetermined goals for the public interest of the country and the citizens?” columnist Musa Behbehani wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Yes, there are those whom we find productive. As soon as he gets the executive position, we see him working to present achievements and achieve success for the sector that he heads, and when his term of service ends, we find that he left a good impact and did not fail to perform his job duties and was not one of those who profited and spread corruption.
“Rather, we find him better than according to the well-known saying (work is an assignment, not an honor), and on the other hand, there is a different kind of this successful model, an official (careless) who seizes opportunities unjustly, so he takes the position for prestige and benefit and to ensure the interests of his relatives and friends, that is, he exploits those privileges for narrow personal interests, and is afflicted with love, appearances and gaining prestige and praise, they view the government job as an honor, not an assignment.
“A few days ago, one of the officials in charge of one of the important departments stated, when speaking about the level of educational performance, and stating that the level of a high school graduate is equivalent to the level of the seventh educational stage during the corona pandemic!
“And now the gap has increased by 7 years and is equivalent to the level of the fifth stage?
“Certainly, this statement is dangerous and in the first place it is a direct accusation against the educational institution, and therefore a condemnation of the sector to which this official belongs, meaning that if he had reached this shocking conclusion (the existence of a gap) and after all these years that he mentioned, why did not firm and urgent decisions be taken and introduce a plan to correct the educational path to stop this decline?
“Let us ask here: What is the standard used to reach this result? Was a general exam taken for high school graduates in the public and private sectors?
“Know that the measure is (the test) and it is the final decision and the only measure that exists and is approved globally.
“For information, any high school graduate who wishes to complete his academic achievement by scholarship abroad, one of the admission conditions is to obtain a score of 5.5 in the test, whether in the IELS, if the scholarship is for Europe, and the TOEFL if the scholarship is for America, which includes English and 4 basic subjects, and this is what determines the student level, not to mention the ability test organized by the Kuwait University for new students as a condition for admission and enrollment in the university.
“The Ministry of Planning is considered one of the most important sectors in the state, as it determines the needs and work policies of the various ministries, and therefore it must be effective and include the competencies of our youth, and the most important thing is that it be under the microscope over the days, and whoever has no active role is immediately relieved of his position.”
“In line with the Paris Conference Agreement of 2015, the European Union countries launched a ‘somewhat harsh’ and ambitious 20/20/20 plan, which aims primarily to reduce their countries’ emissions of greenhouse gases, as the first goal is 20 percent reduction of emissions compared to the 1990 rates,” columnist Dr Sultan Al-Salem wrote for AlJarida daily.
“Second is 20 percent increase in dependence on renewable energy, and last but not the least, 20 percent increase in dependence on conventional sources of energy. At this point, sources said the European Union has achieved the first two goals as part of its plan for the year 2020. It constitutes a ‘point in the sea’ of the Union’s road map for the year 2050 to reach complete carbon neutrality.
“By the way, the latest McKinsey report indicates that reaching carbon neutrality will not affect the pockets of the middle class, but the costs and returns of investments will be part of the normal burdens of the average European citizen, and only the ‘velvet’ and high earners will be affected.
“The energy sectors emit the most greenhouse gases, mainly fuel burning, which accounts for 80 percent. Therefore, the ‘announced’ and transparent plans of the European Union have been focusing on clean energy, carbon capture, and so on.
“Here, we must reflect on the statement of the foreign affairs minister last July, after the last climate conference (COP 27). He said the State of Kuwait reached carbon neutrality in the oil and gas sector.”