KUWAIT CITY, June 12: The Popular Labor Bloc has agreed, in principle, to submit a grilling request against HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah over the sports issue on Monday, reports Al-Rai daily quoting MP Saleh Al-Mulla.
Affirming the bloc wants to submit a comprehensive interpellation request to include all violations in the sports sector, Al-Mulla revealed he, along with MPs Marzouq Al-Ghanim and Adel Al-Saraawi, will present the request. He asserted, “We have no intention to withdraw the request as we remain committed to our promise to serve in the best interest of the country.” He added Al-Ghanim and Al-Saraawi fully understand the grilling points; hence, there is no need to hold discussions in this regard.
Al-Mulla disclosed the Youth and Sports Committee at the Parliament has forwarded a letter to the speaker, complaining that the Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS) director was invited to the panel meetings twice but he did not respond to these invitations.
On the other hand, parliamentary sources expect the request will be submitted on Thursday as its proponents need more time to study some information related to the grilling points.
Grill
Meanwhile, MP Adnan Al-Mutawwa confirmed the lawmakers who want to grill Minister of Commerce and Industry Ahmad Al-Haroun have been busy preparing the request, particularly the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) law, but he has no intention to participate in this grilling.
Al-Mutawwa revealed he received information from a reliable source that the Salafi Bloc will hold a meeting some time this week to tackle a number of political issues and come with an official stand on these concerns.
Defending the Popular Labor Bloc’s decision to walk out of the session slated for deliberations on the grilling of HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah last week, MP Ali Al-Deqbasi pointed out, “Some people compared the request to a play, so why did they deprive the people of their right to watch the ‘play’?” He then accused some parties of attacking the bloc to satisfy certain officials.
During an interview with Al-Rai TV, Al-Deqbasi warned against unemployment, drug addiction, and disunity among families in the country because these problems may have a negative impact on the social, security and economic sectors. He threatened to use his constitutional tools to punish the government for its failure to address these perennial issues.
Al-Deqbasi also stressed the need to come with government policies to allow the nationals to obtain jobs in the local market, particularly the fish and gold markets.
He also lauded the women for their great contributions to national development, adding he supports a proposal on granting Kuwaiti women, who want to retire, half or three-fourths of their salary as pension so they can lead a comfortable life after retirement.
Meanwhile, there is need for the public to mount pressure on HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, in order to release him of all leadership roles, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting former MP Abdullah Al-Nafisi.
Al-Nafisi made the declaration at a forum organized by the National Unity Diwaniya, circulated by the electronic “Al-Aan” newspaper. He based his call on perception that the prime minister’s occupation of office has adversely affected the country at all levels, within and outside the country.
He cited the recent action against lawyer and journalist Mohammad Al-Jassem, and alleged preparation to deal with other individuals in a similar manner. He claimed the National Assembly was performing as expected, until it was suddenly turned into a game for the ruling family and the populace, and went on to accused the ruling family of bringing some people from outside and granting them citizenship, whereas they have refused to grant the citizenship to deserving citizens.
Suffer
He lamented over the situation of the government, which he stressed has no value, after it has taken over every aspect of governance. He noted the situation is prevalent in the other Arab nations, which suffer from three different things, including political tyranny, wherein a few cliques are in charge of everything. These individuals have foreign backing in case any situation arises.
The Arab world also suffers from imbalanced wealth distribution, wherein some people earn up to KD 50 million, while many others have nothing to feed their families. He reminded the attendance that some Kuwaitis are still living in rented apartments at a time the government has declared revenue surplus, enough to provide free power supply.
“Being a member of the parliament, I have realized the National Assembly chamber is a desert institution, with marble fittings and green seats, and I wish I were never a member”, he lamented. He brought his detention during a Monday diwaniya in retrospect, where nobody sought his whereabouts. He added the incident has become a major setback to his agitation for people.
He categorized Kuwait into four different segments, wherein he described the first group as those who love to remain in government without rotation. The second group involves those with vested interest in the power, ready to serve the government for relevance sake, and described the third group as those concerned about the plight of writers and journalists, whom the public depend on.
He reiterated the fourth group includes those who are indifferent to the actions of the government, and are ready to sacrifice themselves. It is pathetic the government has always referred Kuwait to a democratic nation, since the 1960s. Moreover, inculcating this notion is dangerous to the nation’s political activities,” he posited.