“IF WE go through the history of Kuwait’s political opposition from the beginning when Kuwait embraced the democratic practices and pursuant to the Constitution of 1962 we will observe that this opposition has always been in the minority in the consecutive parliaments and this fact can be attributed to certain facts such as the nature of the election process in the country, the population structure and the government ability to interfere in the elections by virtue of its potentials,” columnist and former MP Ahmad Al-Mulaifi wrote for Annahar daily Tuesday.

“But needless to say there is a great difference between the current political opposition and those of the past in terms of influence on the country’s political arena either inside or outside the National Assembly.
“In other words, the opposition in the past in spite of its weak financial and informational potentials compared to that of the government which also dominated the state-run media sector, the influence of this opposition among the Kuwaitis was big enough to such an extent it was capable of stirring the sentiments of the citizens for the sake of maintaining their constitutional rights and defending patriotic issues.

“In this context, we say in the past the Kuwaiti opposition played an effective role to mobilize the citizens even during the suspension of the parliamentary life in the country to restore the democratic life in the state.
“But the opposition now, although the number of its members are much more than  the past and in spite of the strong informational potentials, it is unfortunate it has failed to get the support of the Kuwaitis on issues of importance. Not just that, sometimes we feel the behavior of the opposition runs contrary to democratic values.
“However, I believe this difference between the opposition of the past and the present in spite of the latter’s great potentials, can be attributed to the nature and the behavior of the opposition members.

“In other words, in the past the opposition enjoyed the respect of everybody in the country, even their opponents because the proposals and projects propounded by them did not look for personal gains. They also managed to successfully reconcile between their daily practices and their demands for reforms.
“Such being the case, the opposition in the past, was able to reconcile between its demands and actual practices and knew how to translate these demands into a reality away from contradictions or bias to any party.

Hence this opposition was able to realize a lot in terms of credibility. Moreover, it was able to establish a strong front which no power in the country could penetrate.
“Speaking of the current opposition, we have to say its influence on the citizens has been steadily decreasing and this can be attributed to the attitudes of opposition members and their personal motives in addition to lack of harmony between themselves which has negatively affected the credibility of this opposition and exposed their fragility and false teeth.”

Also:
“One of my friends who belongs to the group of G26, recently told me about the minutes of the meeting which the Group held about a fortnight ago with some of MPs,” columnist and former Secretary-General of Kuwait Democratic Forum Ahmed Al-Dyain wrote for Alam-Alyawm daily Tuesday.
“However, according to my friend, one of the most dangerous issues which was discussed during the meeting — propounded by one of the MPs — was his desire to coordinate with other MPs to revise some articles of the Constitution including Article 66 which provides ‘Reference of a bill for reconsideration shall be by a decree stating the ground therefore. If the National Assembly confirms the bill with a two-thirds majority vote of its members, the Amir shall sanction and promulgate the bill within thirty days from its submission to him. If the bill doesn’t receive the said majority, it shall not be reconsidered during the same session. If the National Assembly, in another session, confirms the same bill by a majority vote of its members, the Amir shall sanction and promulgate the bill as law within thirty days from its submission to him’.

“Meanwhile, my friend added the relevant MP in an apparent attempt to promote his idea referred to how the parliamentary majority endorsed a bill to write off the accrued interest on consumer loans of the citizens, but the government sent back the bill to the National Assembly.
“He added the said bill will be endorsed again during a parliamentary session during the next parliamentary round. He hinted the same parliamentary majority which voted in favor of the earlier bill will vote for it again.
“In spite of the above and according to my friend the idea of this MP to revise the Constitution has been turned down by other members of the G26.”

“It looks like the National Assembly will start discussing the Privatization Draft Law after two weeks, given the fact the said bill should have been endorsed by the MPs 10 years ago. However, if this had happened then the performance of the so-called services MPs in the country would have been significantly ameliorated,” columnist Haitham Al-Shayea wrote for Al-Qabas daily Tuesday.
“The privatization bill although some people still oppose it, I am positive shall constitute the new introduction to change the public culture in our community in favor of the job. In this context, we elucidate many Kuwaitis feel they are paid for their work just because they are citizens or because of their Kuwaiti identity and belonging, ignoring the fact that they are entitled for stipends for the work they do.
“However, between the rampancy of the first theory, the theory which says that Kuwaitis are drawing salaries just because they are citizens and holding the Kuwaiti nationality and the theory saying that the salaries given to them against the job done by them in the ministries and government institutions, we found most government institutions in general and those that offer services in particular are currently suffering from the so-called ‘veiled unemployment factor’.
“I had personally called on the Ministry of Health not to waste time in privatizing the Ministry’s polyclinics provided the government tightens surveillance on the services. I am sure if the above was realized, the services at our clinics would have been significantly better.”

“The statistical report which was issued recently by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) over the population structure in Kuwait up to the end of 2009, shows there are approximately 3.5 million people in the country,” columnist and economic researcher Amer Al-Tameemi wrote for Awan daily Tuesday.
“Meanwhile, the report says out of the above figure, there are 1,118,911 Kuwaitis, 32 percent of the total population in the country, while the non-Kuwaitis make 2,365,970 or 68 percent of the total population.
“In light of the above, we infer the structure of the population in Kuwait has not changed for many decades but the number of non-Kuwaitis has more than doubled and this can be attributed to the country’s dependence on foreign manpower and the setback for the role of national manpower in the local labor market as well.
“Besides, we have observed that the social behavior and the consumption patterns which currently prevails among the citizens has resulted in increasing the number of foreign menial workforce in the country such as the domestic workers, housemaids and the cleaning workers, given the fact this menial foreign workforce, at the moment accounts for 70 percent of the total foreign manpower in the country.
“Apart from the above, a report issued by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) confirms that the Kuwaiti manpower accounts for 351,452 employees or 31.4 percent of the citizens, adding this percentage is less than the traditional international percentage which hovers around 37 percent. Not just that, the report says 77 percent of the Kuwaitis work for the government.”

“Arabs should start working together immediately after the most recent Arab summit in Libya to save Jerusalem from the unclean Zionists who have disregarded the dignity of religious sites there, and with the slogan “Supporting the Endurance of Jerusalem”, it is obligatory for every Arab nation and the Muslim world to stand firm against atrocities being committed by the Zionists,” Engineer Ahmad Al-Abdulhadi wrote for Arrouiah daily.
“There should be no opposing views among the Arab nations and Muslim communities in this regard. Jerusalem harbors the holy sites in Islam, so we must cooperate to liberate her by every possible means.”

“During a televised interview with Arrouiah channel, MP Musallam Al-Barrak touched on the Minister of Oil and Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah’s issue. He stressed that every grilling and question has a price, and there are MPs who are receiving money from outside the party to destabilize the country’s democratic process,” Dr Bader Al-Daihani wrote for Al-Jareeda daily.
“Al-Barrak asked why Sheikh Abdullah did not go to the Public Prosecution over the reported corrupt MPs. The question was logical and suitable, in addition to accusations about the MPs involvement in corruption in the foreign circle.
“The statement was serious, considering it came from a member of the Cabinet, while others suggest it was time Sheikh Abdullah is excused from the government.”

“The problem in our country is that we don’t support people who take righteous stand and uncover corrupt practices. In fact, these people are often called thieves. We ignore those who actually sold their conscience and take orders of few wicked individuals. These people are officials in the day time and thieves at night,” columnist Mohammad Al-Mulla wrote for Al-Shahid daily.
“There are some people who go on with their wicked plans and continue to spread corruption thinking they are immortal. And some officials who have been given blank cheques have become slaves of these wicked people and help them steal public funds.
“I feel all those opposing corruption will find themselves at the receiving end of these wicked people’s wrath.”

“HH the Amir’s speech in the recent Arab summit held in Sirte, Libya conveyed a frank message to his Arab brothers and the international community as well,” columnist Abu Khalid wrote for Al-Hurriya daily.
“His statement ‘Nations want us to convert decisions into reality’ struck a chord as all Arab citizens, especially those in our region, are fed up of countless summits where tens of decisions are taken, but the position of citizens doesn’t change in anyway.
“Also, there is no improvement in relations among Arab nations and these nations inability to confront the Zionist entity has become clearer.
“HH the Amir addressed several other issues in his speech, but it will be enough if Arab leaders act on the Amir’s appeal to strengthen Arab position.”

“Don’t we have intellectuals and experts in all fields, including social, economic, education and other fields?” columnist Abdullah Ismael Al-Kandari wrote for Arrouiah daily.
“I can say very confidently that there are distinguished professionals in every specialization and in all scientific and technical fields in Kuwait. I can also vouch that Kuwait is a more distinguished state compared to all our neighbors. I am not boasting, just stating an indisputable fact.
“What prompted me to write about this is the informational campaign going on regarding former British prime minister Tony Blair’s report on converting Kuwait into a financial and economic hub by 2035. The government has promised to publish the full report later, but has released excerpts of the report. I read the excerpts, especially those on educational field and have realized that he did not say anything new. His report just emphasized on what all is already mentioned in reports prepared locally, namely the Educational Index 2005-2007 prepared by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the World Bank, Kuwaiti Competitive Committee 2008 and Strategy for Developing Education 2005-2025.”

“After every grilling, we think we overcame a big hurdle which was dominating the thoughts of officials in most sectors of the country, as well as those following political and economic matters in the country,” columnist Abdulaziz Abdulkareem Al-Hindal wrote for Al-Dar daily.
“The media keeps exaggerating the issue until it becomes the main topic of discussion even among laymen. Once the news about a grilling is out, each person starts giving his or her opinion on the issue. Yet, we all agree that grilling has become a tool to achieve political gains, and is no longer part of development process.
“Just a few days ago, the Information Minister was subjected to a no-confidence motion, but he managed to regain confidence. Although he won by a very thin margin, it was a democratic experience. After every grilling, efforts should be made to amend and rectify mistakes that were revealed during the session.”

“Since the Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah successfully overcame the no-confidence motion, he should settle all the pending problems in the ministry, which was in chaos due to several reasons,” columnist Sami Nasser Khaleefa wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“The performance of the minister will be closely monitored in the coming period. The most important step for the minister will be to absorb all the consequences and the negative outcomes of the grilling which might affect his position as the head of official media in the country.
“He cannot afford to handle ministry issues in his old way any longer. In fact, after the grilling, the minister has no choice but to allocate enough time to make a series of decisive plans. He should chalk out new policies for media, if he wants to keep his position.”

“Any naïve political observer will realize that the conflicts and disputes between political blocs and Islamic currents have nothing to do with the interests of citizens and the homeland. Those closely observing the series of interpellations and accusations hurled against ministers and the altercations among MPs themselves will also come to the same conclusion,” columnist Abdullaziz Al-Hasam wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“The most important question, however, is to find out why these blocs, currents and MPs want to blackmail each other, shout at each other and drag the country from one crisis to another. Are they doing it for votes? Or is there any other ulterior motive?”

“The fact that general elections could be held successfully in Iraq is enough to justify the freeing of the country from the tyrant and his cohorts forever,” columnist Mikhled Al-Shimmari wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“Personally, I never dreamt of witnessing real and transparent democratic elections in Iraq when the tyrant was calling the shots. This is the feeling of numerous other people who experienced the black and dark era in the history of Iraq.
“I am convinced that contemporary Iraq is better off with the democratic practice, regardless of the past complaints, present reactions and possible complaints in future as regards observations of malpractices and manipulations in the electoral process. The elections will pave way for providing basic infrastructures and general services that are basic amenities of life and which are as important as water, air and food.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb