KUWAIT CITY, Feb 22: Al-Adala (Justice) Bloc, an Islamic parliamentary group, was formed recently with MPs Mohammed Hayef Al-Mutairi, Bader Al-Dahoum, Mohammed Al-Hatlani and Osama Al-Munawer as members.
The bloc intends to demand amendment of the Constitution and some laws to make the Islamic Sharia as the main source of legislation, preserve the identity of the society and its Islamic values, work according to the principles of equality by enacting laws, push for the implementation of the development plan, present more Islamic-related draft bills, combat corruption, protect public money, strengthen national unity, refrain from anything that might cause unrest in the country, and cooperate with all the blocs and MPs to serve the interests of the nation and its people.
Meanwhile, MP Marzouq Al-Ghanem believes working alone is not a hindrance to his legislative and supervisory duties, disclosing that he has presented four draft bills on strengthening national unity, reviewing the current salaries and allowances of Kuwaiti employees, easing procedures for the completion of transactions of citizens, and establishing a fund to finance and develop small enterprises and sports authorities.
It can be recalled that among the candidates of the National Action Bloc (NAB), including former MPs Saleh Al-Mulla and Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi, only Al-Ghanem won in the 2012 parliamentary elections, while former MP Adel Al-Saraawi did not contest the elections.
Al-Ghanem explained the draft bill on reviewing salaries and allowances gives the government a chance to assess the salaries and allowances of employees in ministries and other public institutions to narrow the gap between them. He said this will ensure execution of a general policy on the salaries to guarantee equality among all Kuwaiti employees in the public sector.
Prohibits
Concerning the bill on transactions of citizens, Al-Ghanem disclosed the proposal prohibits employees in all authorities or institutions under the supervision of the State Audit Bureau to receive any transactions without legal mandate in order to prevent the use of ‘wasta’ (influence).
On the bill for funding small and medium enterprises, Al-Ghanem said he adopted this proposal, which was presented by a group of former MPs, including Al-Saraawi, to address flaws in the demographic structure of Kuwait. He added he will present other draft bills later, such as the formation of an investigative panel to look into the multimillion deposit scandal and other corruption-related cases.
Meanwhile, independent MP Mohammed Al-Juwaihel has unveiled the plan of some lawmakers to submit a complaint to Parliament Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun on the withdrawal of the parliament-storming case from the Public Prosecution.
Al-Juwaihel said these MPs are against the decision “as the incident was a crime that should not be forgiven.” The controversial MP had previously warned the speaker that there will be another election once the case is dropped.
On another issue, Al-Juwaihel asked Al-Saadoun to explain the employment of some Bedouns at the Assembly. He disclosed he will submit a proposal on the hiring of only Kuwaitis to work at the legislature, which belongs to the citizens.
In the meantime, Deputy Speaker Khaled Al-Sultan clarified the National Assembly Secretariat has not instructed him to withdraw the parliament building break-in case. He said he has been tasked only to look into the legality of the procedures taken by the previous Assembly.
Furthermore, Shiite MP Adnan Al-Mutawa has forwarded questions to Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on the closure of Al-Dar daily, claiming the ministry is biased in dealing with complaints against some mass media outfits. He wants to know the measures taken to determine the nature of the complaint and the department responsible for this. He also demanded a report on the number of complaints and the cases filed by the ministry against Kuwaiti newspapers and magazines from Sept 1, 2011 till date.
Also, Shiite MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan has presented a draft bill on criminalizing the act of inciting hatred.
Article One of the bill states that incitement of hatred based on religion, race or ethnicity is a crime.
Article Two does not regard as incitement of hatred the studies on religion, provided they are done in a scientific and objective manner for the sole purpose of acquiring knowledge.
Article Three considers the Internet, blogs, social network sites and other technologies as means of expression.
 Article Four states that inciting of hatred is a crime punishable by imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than three, as well as fine of not less than KD 5,000 and not more than KD 20,000 or any one of these penalties.
For repeat offenders, the prison sentence should not be more than seven years with fine of not less than KD 5,000 if proven the act led to violence.