A new phase … hope ahead

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“THE Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous said: ‘We are governed by hope.’ So let us be optimistic, we have no way at this stage but to be optimistic about completing the road of building, reform, rehabilitation and reconstruction, and to fight corruption, which has its roots in most of the state’s facilities and institutions, life will not stop,” columnist Bassam Al-Assousi wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“Kuwait has been distinguished with smooth transfer of power since its foundation until now. Goodness is in this good land. God has endowed us with goodness and abundant sustenance.

“This is what modern history taught us, a continuous series in which the power is handed over from generation after generation. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem, Sabah Al-Salem, Jaber Al-Ahmad, Saad Al-Abdullah and Sabah Al-Ahmad, may God have mercy on them all. Each of them departed and the path is completed by the successor, thus history is also the guarantor of judging era and stage of each of them.

“So, in my opinion, there is no new era, as some say, but rather a new phase with its hopes, aspirations and ambitions, and here the question comes or jumps to mind: What is required or hoped for in the next phase, as people await and eyes are wide open?

“In my opinion, what is required at this stage is that we all raise the slogan ‘Yes to change’, new ideas, new men, new development projects, showing red eye, that is to say firmness against nepotism and favoritism in government and Parliament, a responsibility that should be shared to achieve such aspirations.

“The authority is under obligation to change for the better towards restoring confidence in the law and fighting corruption, and more transparency and firmness in pursuing the thieves of public money, the ‘big’ ones before their ‘small’ ones.

“The people are also required to reform themselves and get out of the state of crushing and despair and the screaming party and shoulder their national and social responsibilities.

“The elections are at the doorstep and this is the field to translate words to actions. The miracle will not descend from heaven to advance the country, for the era of miracles has ended.

“I repeat, let us cultivate optimism and be pleased with the good. This is the mission of all of us, the politicians, the sheikhs, the merchants, the press, the readers and the writers as well.

“The country cannot tolerate new adventures and ‘street battles’ which push the nation into the dark tunnels of history. Honorable, gentlemen, we are a small country, its population is small, and it has a lot of money and goodness, and it is easy to control it and redraw its beautiful image as ‘the Bride of the Gulf’ – that is what our forefathers want it to be.”

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“After the by-election of one of the tribes in the Fourth Constituency and after the results appeared, one of the persons who took part in the celebrations hoisted the flag of the tribe. Many did not welcome this act, and some called for the return of sovereignty of the state and asked where we went wrong,” columnist Jassem Al-Rumaidi wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“If we go back to the origin of the problem, the answer to the question is another question: Who pushed the citizen to take shelter under the umbrella of the tribe of the homeland? The answer is crystal clear.

“The indisputable fact is that the government is the one who has watered the spirit of tribalism, factionalism, and sectarianism among the people. Look at the division of constituencies when 25 were approved upon Decree No. 99 of 1980 to select 50 deputies to Parliament, and you will find constituencies assigned to groups of urbanites and others for certain tribes and others for a specific sect. Who did this division? Is it not the government?

“Even when the amendment divided the country into 5 constituencies, the division still has a tendency towards sectarianism, tribalism, and urban areas, so who is to be blamed for the comparison between the percentage of voters in the second and fifth constituencies, the people or the government?

“Even when the supreme decree was issued for one vote, the individual became more attached to his group than before, and the one vote became fragmenting to members of society.

“We must not forget the great calamity of the government with its sponsorship of some deputies or those called service representatives. This is the straw that broke the back of the nation. It is unthinkable to complete a transaction without the help of an intermediary in most cases. If the citizens had equal chances of working, why did our poor friend seek refuge under the ‘flag’ of his tribe?

“Had the government fostered some of the faces and polished them in front of their sects, the people would have not become partisan, would be more loyal and adherent to their sects, groups and tribes.

“There are many stories of injustice which fell on people who lost their loved ones and the reason is the lack of means for treatment abroad, and the same is the case in ministries and government agencies.

“It is impossible to find someone who is promoted in his work without the presence of a mediator, close influential person or current to support him, for which country are you crying?

“Is it possible that there are VIP ministries in the state in which only a class of the people is employed and only those who are affiliated with them are promoted?

“We do not forget the influence of some VIPs for people who become their subordinates and their mouthpieces in the National Assembly. Who destroyed patriotism and broke the castles of belonging to Kuwait?”

 “The National Assembly approved the bill on supporting and guaranteeing the financing of local banks for clients affected by the repercussions of corona in its first reading,” columnist Attorney Riyad Abdulmohsen Al-Sanea wrote for Annahar daily.

“The vote in favor of passing the bill in its first reading came within a very sensitive context – the preoccupation of official and public opinions on the recent political, health and economic events.

“Passing such a bill violates the general principle on the independence of banks as large financial institutions with professional and specialized departments, through which they can guarantee their loans and take responsibility for their action without the interference of a public authority … because this contradicts the general principle on free economy and opens the door for manipulation, fraud and benefiting from public money.

“Supporting the owners of small and medium enterprises has many direct and indirect mechanisms, without the need to enter into such flawed and contravening legal circumvention … wherein the authority can, as it worked in the subsidy process, reduce interest to make a lot of aid and facilities, as is the case in many other countries that passed the Bankruptcy Law.

“Then, the demand for the approval of the Bank Loan Guarantee Bill will give the State indispensable responsibilities, especially since previous experiences confirmed the wickedness of such laws … in a way that opens the door wide for manipulation and deception and enables seizure of public money.”

 “Power has shifted smoothly in Kuwait for several reasons, the most important of which are the existence of a clear constitution, a law on the inheritance of the emirate, and an influential public opinion that supports the system of government in its choice of who assumes the authority of the emirate and the mandate of the crown, but what is next?  What are the steps that guarantee stability?” columnist Dahem Al-Qahtani wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“Without a doubt, there has been widespread public rejection of the increase in corruption cases last year. As a result, unfathomable public anger would have spread to the streets had it not been for the emergence of the corona pandemic.

“Concurrently, public rejection of the one-vote electoral system that produced nationwide councils has not prevented corruption due to its strange composition, and perhaps, the ease with which some of the corrupt were present.

“The new era in Kuwait needs to undertake several governmental and political initiatives to get out of this congested political situation, which is denied only by those who are not aware of the reality of what is happening in Kuwait.  Without these initiatives, the tense political situation may turn into a major crisis, as people prolonged the increase in corruption and this miserable electoral system.”

­— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli

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