08/11/2021
22328 times read
08/11/2021
22328 times read
THE progress of a nation does not occur out of the blue. It happens as a result of a sense of cohesion among living organisms that interact with their own nature, and are organized into a political and social unit, which is a necessary ingredient for things to work effectively. This is based on the theory established by the Arab sociologist Abdul Rahman bin Khaldun about seven centuries ago.
No country can walk on the path of civilization unless it has solid will power, can anticipate the future, and draft the best ways to it. It must focus on the planning aspect, and watch over its implementation without leaving matters to chance and reactions.
Based on this conviction, many nations have witnessed various levels of advancement, as well as setbacks caused by exceptional situations experienced throughout their history.
However, they were able to shake off the dust when they were facilitated by leading figures who employed all national capabilities for the benefit of the future of their people, achieved miracles, and addressed the causes of crises and problems in order to avoid repetitions and setbacks that would render great achievements to be lost.
Information on the role played by the political leadership indicates that it is determined to wipe off all the dust caused by ministerial and parliamentary practices that have pushed the country into a predicament. Both His Highness the Amir and His Highness the Crown Prince, who have been remarkably following up everything that is taking place, seek to treat the political and economic diseases quietly and away from the media hype.
They are seeking to consolidate the principle of assigning matters to specialists, and burying tribal, family and sectarian quotas and the interests of the influential that greatly harmed the country and its people.
Everyone who meets the leadership gets the sense of conviction that increases reassurance of the fact that a new mentality is running the affairs of the country, which has been battered enough when matters were assigned to wrong people in ministerial and administrative positions as a result of settlements that led to the relegation of unknown individuals to executive positions and caused successive crises.
To get out of this impasse, the political leadership is working on creating conditions to utilize and invest all available opportunities for Kuwait to make up for what it missed when the influence of opportunists prevailed over reason in the executive and legislative institutions, which led to the weakening of the state.
There is no doubt that this heralds a major change in public affairs, which had previously been neglected either because of quarrels and struggles for influence in parliament and Cabinet, or as a result of the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposed itself for nearly two years on everything in the country.
Sometimes countries endure setbacks until a firm leadership emerges to lead them to safety. History is full of evidence in this regard, including in the Gulf region, similar to what the late King Abdulaziz bin Saud did to unite the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when it was facing great difficulties.
Saudi Arabia urgently needed every possible experience to rise, so he issued a series of bold decisions and regulations, and personally supervised their implementation. He knew from the very beginning that there is no revival of a state without hard work and decisiveness.
All its rulers followed this approach, such that today, this country, under the directives of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and with direct follow-up, perseverance and great effort from Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, is entering an advanced stage of economic, political and social transformation, making it the talk of the entire world.
The Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad did the same. Despite the small size of the state, he turned it into an economic power and stopped all the noise around it that distanced it from its neighbors. The leaders of the UAE,
especially Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, were able to transform it and develop in various fields. Currently, the United Arab Emirates has reached the ranks of developed countries within a short period of time to enter the space age from its widest doors.
On the Arab side, a leader who took his country to better levels is the Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi. Within just seven years, he managed to bring about many achievements, overcoming the great devastation caused by the Muslim Brotherhood Group’s control of power, in addition to the many negatives left by the period of Abdul-Nasser’s revolution and its aftermath in terms of the economic distortions and political heresies.
On the international level, Singapore, for example, was an island that was suffering from extreme poverty but it turned around because of a man called Lee Kuan Yew, an economic tiger. Then the current Prime Minister Halimah Yacob came after him and completed the difficult path in the construction process and achieved the highest incomes at the individual level.
Singapore is not the only country whose leaders had a distinctive character in its history. Britain, during the era of Margaret Thatcher, managed to get out of its financial impasse within 11 years, and restored its strength. At that time, it did not submit to the forces of political pressure, and went on the path of reform, putting the interests of the United Kingdom above everything else.
There is no doubt that Kuwait has all the capabilities that qualify it to keep pace with the course of the time and progress at all levels, which is what the political leadership is seeking today.
For its own interests, His Highness the Amir sought with determination to make Kuwait an important icon in the region, considering that it has money and manpower. However, the only thing lacking are firm decisions, and efforts to stop the political absurdity that caused the country to be left behind.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times