Kuwait Times

Published Date: October 05, 2007
By Ahmad Al-Khaled, Staff writer

Cooperation turning into action is exactly what we need," said Kuwaiti national Faisal Mohammed referring to HH the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's speech to the nation on Wednesday night in which he called for the need for cooperation between the legislative and executive branches of the government. Over the past year, MPs and ministers have engaged in countless feuds and monotonous infighting which has led to a virtual government standstill in the form of legislative progress and change.


Talk, talk, talk! That is all they do in the Parliament - they always blame the ministers but the MPs seem to have done very little over the last year. HH the Amir is challenging them to work harder for us, to accomplish something besides all their fighting and talking...I hope they listen to HH the Amir this time, or else we will remove them in the next elections in exchange for new MPs who commit themselves to action," said Khouloud Ali.

HH the Amir spoke of a litany of negative tactics that are being indulged in, which he urged the lawmakers to avoid. He specifically called for both branches to stop the 'doubting intentions and abilities' as well as making 'differences in opinion' - a topic of discussion among the public and in the press.

The persistent grilling of ministers are taking us nowhere. They smear each other so badly that I sometimes cannot stand to look at the newspapers...I think the Amir is right in urging the MPs and ministers to avoid this circle which has proved fruitless," said Deema Mohammed.

Haitham Issa said, "I was pleased when he spoke the bit about 'stop searching for the mistakes of others' and the many other negative acts seen over the past year in the Parliament which consistently threatens to grill ministers." He added, "The badmouthing must stop." Other Kuwaitis agree. "I support the Amir's rejection of the negativity of MPs and ministers. This negative, blaming attitude is stalling national progress," Sarah Basam.

In his speech, HH the Amir encouraged action on the state's infrastructure in the form of construction and national development as well as citing the need for the implementation of economic goals.

I am thankful HH the Amir told MPs and ministers to get going with construction efforts for our future instead of continually discussing and complaining against it," said Mazen Nasser and continued, "We all know the state's infrastructure is in need of an overhaul so MPs and ministers would do well to heed the Amir's advice and get down to fixing it.

The Amir's determination to transform Kuwait into a financial regional hub is also what many Kuwaitis want. "Economic change is the key and the Amir's vision for Kuwait's future as a regional financial center should be at the top of Parliament's agenda for this year," said Saad Ahmed.

HH the Amir also noted the need for peace and security. Barrak Mohammed commented on the Amir's mention for security, saying, "We sometimes take for granted the peace that we have. Since liberation we have thankfully been isolated from regional violence and disruption and the Amir's mention of the blessing that we have in our peaceful state is reflective of the thanks we give to Allah in Ramadan.

Khaled Nedal, a politically savvy teen agrees. "I appreciate the mention of security as I was born after the liberation and my generation forgets the strife suffered by our state - appreciation of our peace is most important and I am thankful, and Inshallah I hope it continues. Long live Kuwait!

Capturing the theme of the Amir's speech was Nawaf Bader, who said, "Action was the key focal point of the speech and rightly so...we will languish with another year of words. Unless MPs and ministers get together and do something concrete with all their discussions, Kuwait will suffer - that is what HH the Amir was saying and Inshallah his message was heard.