KUWAIT, Oct 24, (KUNA): Minister of Interior Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid Al-Sabah issued a statement on Saturday in response to the barrage of rhetoric lobbed at him by MP Musallam Al-Barrak regarding some of the minister’s actions in the capacity of his holding one of the nation’s most visible ministries. He indicated in his statement that he wished he could have responded to his detractors within the confines of the National Assembly, but that the strident rhetoric against him in many quarters has compelled him to speak through a press statement at this time in order to put everything in its correct perspective. His response to his detractors today, he underlined, comes in the line of duty as minister and as a commitment that the public has the right to know the truth about vital issues that are bandied about in public circles.

With regard to the response of MP Musallam Al-Barrak on an answer to a question given by the minister of Justice, Sheikh Jaber said the answer had been included in a response by the minister of Justice to questions posed to him by MPs Maasouma Al-Mubarak, Aseel Al-Awadhi, Dhaifalla Bouramia, and Muhammad Al-Huwaila. Moreover the minister of Justice’s response was also sent to the National Assembly House Speaker last September 28. The information that MP Al-Barrak made out that it had arrived at the National Assembly for the first time was in fact old information that Sheikh Jaber had sent as responses to questions by more than one MP 20 days prior to the response by the minister of Justice to MP Al-Barrak.

Furthermore Sheikh Jaber noted in his press statement that Al-Barrak misrepresented some facts in the course of his recent grilling of the Minister of Interior. For instance Al-Barrak said in the grilling that he had not attained a response to his queries from the office of the public prosecutor. Sheikh Khalid said MP Al-Barrak would have received a response from the public prosecutor had Al-Barrak made the request before the onset of the grilling session at the National Assembly. Sheikh Jaber explained that a committee has been formed to look into the grilling procedures, noting that the ministry of Interior had communication with the public prosecutor about the response Al-Barrak was expecting from him (i.e. the prosecutor). Al-Barrak had sent a letter filed under no. 1162, dated last June 17, which was before the date set for the grilling and which the ministry of Interior did not receive up until the present time, said Sheikh Jaber.

The minister of Interior said that his responses to MPs will be sent to the office of the House Speaker, bemoaning the fact that matters have gotten beyond the sacrosanct walls of the National Assembly to the pages of newspapers.
Sheikh Jaber said he hoped that this whole matter would be put to rest if it is discussed publicly in front of the media in a faceoff between himself and MP Al-Barrak. He affirmed that he was holding the right for taking legal action against some MPs and detractors who used crude language to accuse him of being a liar and prevaricator.