Kuwait - Slipping into a State of Chaos

Kuwait Times

Published Date: November 25, 2011
By Abd Al-Rahman Alyan, Editor-in-Chief

Revolutions, acts of retaliation and strikes are normally the result of unfairness or oppression, be it economical or political. When these forms of retaliation turn violent, it means that the oppressed have reached a level of desperation and have nothing to lose.

As a Kuwaiti, I have access to free education; free medical service; free basic food items for a year and a half, and even after that, it is subsidized; a liter of petrol is probably 10 times cheaper than bottled mineral water; landline telephones are charged at a fixed annual fee of KD 30 (equivalent of KD 2.5 per month); water and electricity are offered at extremely low subsidized rates and nobody ever bothers to pay them.

Also as a Kuwaiti, I really can't complain about paying taxes because no income tax is paid and import tax is one of the lowest in the world. As a Kuwaiti, I am entitled to several benefits like government grants to study abroad, government accommodation (which is a house and not a flat), unemployment allowance, employment allowance which increases depending on the level of education, marital status and number of children you have, a state-run pension scheme for which I pay peanuts on a monthly basis because the government pays the rest and the list goes on.

As a Kuwaiti, I am a free and a proud person who does not have to worry about any political oppression by the government or its security forces, as we are not a police-run state. In fact, Kuwaitis hardly pay any regard to the police. I have to bow down to no one but God and even that, I do willingly.

When it comes to freedom of the press, we are leading the way in the region and are even ahead of Israel, as a matter of fact. Looking at last week's events, it seems that as a Kuwaiti I also have the right to crash into Parliament, manhandle security forces, throw the blame on opposition MPs and walk away!

Enough is enough! Kuwait is a spoilt nation and what the opposition blocs are doing seems like a rich man's revolution that is fueled by greed and money, followed by a bunch of bored spoilt kids. Yes, there are always disputes and room for reforms, but all that can be resolved in Parliament where the majority rules.

I am yet to see a majority vote of no-confidence in the current Prime Minister since he has passed all the previous ones. I am beginning to sense we have a clear case of 'sore loser' in the opposition who continuously refuses to accept the vote of the majority in Parliament.

If there is one thing I agree with the opposition blocs, it is about the weakness of the government. I don't understand why some MPs are still walking free after they have clearly broken the law and the privacy of many other MPs' offices; by breaking into Parliament, attacking the guards on duty and going through private and confidential papers.

The problem we are facing in Kuwait is that many people think that they are above the law. The fact that the government deals with them leniently and tries to be diplomatic with all sects of the society has fuelled the audacity of the opposition, which they have interpreted as a sign of weakness. The government has to react like for like and do it soon because Kuwait is slipping into a state of chaos.