KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: MP Askar Al-Enezi has vehemently denied rumors that he was outside Abdullah Al-Salem Hall when the special parliamentary session slated for the discussion of a proposal to grant Bedouns their civil rights was adjourned last month, reports Al-Seyassah daily.
Confirming he was inside the hall since he is the secretary of the Bedoun Affairs Committee at the Parliament, Al-Enezi slammed those who raised doubts on his commitment to address the problems of Bedouns.
He enumerated three points to prove his dedicated service to this segment — his conviction on the need to grant the rights of Bedouns, his position as representative from the Fourth Constituency which has been negatively affected by the issue, and his post as secretary of the parliamentary Bedoun Affairs Committee.
Al-Enezi hopes for the success of the legislative and executive authorities in the upcoming session in approving the proposal. He also refuted allegations that the proposal aims to grant more privileges to Bedouns than Kuwaitis. He asserted the bill strictly adheres to the stipulations of international treaties which protect human rights.
MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri also confirmed his presence when the session was adjourned. He appealed to the media to verify reports prior to publication to avoid tarnishing people’s reputation.
Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers is expected to finalize its decision on the loans purchase draft bill, which was approved by the Parliament last week, and forward it to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah soon, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources.

Sources said acting Prime Minister, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah will preside over the Cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss the proposal, as well as the amendments to the Audio-Visual Law. Sources revealed the Cabinet will discuss the amendments to this law to have more control on the media.
Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali had earlier been quoted as saying that “the government will not endorse the bill as it is impractical.” He affirmed the government will refer the bill back to the Parliament due to various reasons, while hoping for the full cooperation of the MPs in this regard. He also urged the lawmakers to prioritize public interests over personal goals.
On the other hand, some MPs have allegedly started taking measures to seek assistance from the top leadership to convince the government to accept the bill.
MP Hussein Mizyed called on the government to approve the bill to end the suffering of citizens who cannot pay their debts due to exorbitant interest rates.

Invitations
Moreover, sources disclosed invitations have been sent to all MPs, who signed a memo on the grilling of Information and Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah, to deliberate on the schedule of the inquest.
In a related development, Al-Rai daily has reported that MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan will participate in the grilling of the minister, if asked to do so. He also affirmed his willingness to support a request to quiz the minister on the alleged violations at the Ministry of Information.
Al-Duwaisan explained the interpellators intend to focus on the violations of two television channels — Scope and Al-Sour, but there are many other administrative and financial irregularities in the ministry. He stressed the need to refer the suspected files to the Public Prosecution.
Claiming that the ministry spent millions of dinars to build a wall in Kabad, Al-Duwaisan asserted this is just one of many violations committed by the institution. He added a large sum of money has been allocated for the renovation of a mosque affiliated to the ministry.

In the meantime, the executive authority should fulfill its duties efficiently and respect the opinion of a majority, which defended the rights of citizens who have been suffering due to their inability to pay their debts, reports Al-Seyassah daily quoting political activist Fayez Al-Jomhour.
Affirming the recently concluded parliamentary discussion on the loans purchase proposal reflected the citizens’ desire to drop the loans, Al-Jomhour pointed out the fact that 35 MPs voted in favor of the bill means 70 percent of the Kuwaitis have agreed on the need to finalize this issue. He attributed the problem to the Central Bank of Kuwait’s failure to play its monitoring role in this regard.
Urging the government to endorse the bill, Al-Jomhour asserted many citizens have been suffering the dire consequences of the Central Bank’s lackadaisical attitude towards the actions of local banks, which took advantage of the people’s ignorance of the law. He also asked the citizens to always remember the stand of their representatives at the National Assembly during deliberations on the proposal to determine who among the lawmakers are keen on protecting their interests and who have been playing with their emotions.