Transparency is King Salman’s hallmark

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman’s first 100 days in office were replete with achievements as they witnessed the appointment of Mohammed bin Naif as crown prince and Mohammed bin Salman as deputy crown prince, reshuffle of Cabinet inducting new faces, the declaration of Operation Decisive Storm to restore legitimacy in Yemen and announcement of several welfare projects.
“King Salman’s first 100 days were full of achievements. He met several world leaders including US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi to strengthen Saudi relations with those countries and protect the Kingdom’s national interests,” said Khaled Ahmed Aburas, chief editor of Profile e-newspaper and head of the new media at the Saudi Cultural & Arts Society in Jeddah.
Speaking to Arab News, he said the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm, launched by King Salman in association with other Arab, GCC and Islamic countries, boosted the self-confidence of Saudis. “The operation also contributed to preventing Tehran’s ambition to expand its influence and hegemony in the region,” he added.
“Transparency is the hallmark of Salman era,” Aburas said. “We have seen Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussing issues of citizens with ministers frankly and openly. These are wonderful developments and show that we are in a golden era of King Salman and no doubt his popularity is growing by leaps and bounds.”
“I have noticed young Saudis who are active on the social media praising King Salman for taking a number of important decisions during the past 100 days. King Salman wanted to improve the condition of Saudis in all sectors and the new decisions would contribute to implementing his futuristic vision,” said Aburas who has thousands of followers on the Twitter.
Aburas described King Salman as citizens-friendly king who wanted to establish close relations with the general public to know their requirements and would not tolerate any action by ministers or officials that harm the dignity of citizens. “This noble quality of King Salman has made all citizens happy.”
He praised King Salman’s decision to continue the government’s foreign scholarship program, saying it goes in line with the king’s vision to induct young blood to the administration. “The foreign scholarship program will bring about dramatic improvement in the quality of education received by Saudis and would reflect positively on the society and government departments,” he explained.
He said the beneficiaries of the scholarship program would bring about qualitative change in government departments when they come back to the Kingdom and accelerate the country’s progress in all fields. “King Salman has been providing every support and encouragement to Saudi youth.”
He also praised the king’s directive to authorities to expedite measures for providing housing to all deserving Saudis. King Salman changed the previous housing minister for failing to meet his expectations and of citizens. “Housing is a major issue facing all Saudi families and I am happy to see that the king has given top priority to this issue,” Aburas said.
Aburas noted the king’s recent statement on the Twitter that he would not accept any negligence from ministers and officials with regard to extending the necessary services to citizens. “This is an important statement that sends a strong message to ministers and officials that the king is serious on matters related to citizens’ welfare, prosperity and rights,” he added.
King Salman follows media reports as well as discussions on the social media and responds to them quickly by taking decisive actions. In this respect, he referred to King Salman’s decision to remove Health Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb and Royal Protocol Chief Mohammed Al-Tubaishi from their positions for mistreating citizens that went viral on the social media. Prince Mamdouh bin Abdul Rahman was banned from sports and talking to the media after he made a racist remark during a television talk show. “All the decisions taken by King Salman after ascending the throne in January will benefit citizens,” he told Arab News.