Saudi Press Roundup

The right man in the right place

We have seen that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah thinks ahead of us, taking appropriate measures to allay our fears. He plans for the future and does not want us to keep us in the dark.
The king has taken a series of steps to protect the interests of citizens. He is a unique king and knows the responsibilities of a leader. He confronts challenges by taking effective measures.
There is no doubt that King Abdullah’s leadership gave the Kingdom the right direction. Crown Prince Salman gives him full support in running the country’s affairs.
At the same time, the national interest demanded the appointment of Prince Muqrin as deputy crown prince to make use of his expertise and capabilities to accelerate the country’s progress.
By his new decree, King Abdullah declared that Prince Muqrin is the next crown prince being the right man in the right place, to stabilize the country and avoid any constitutional vacuum in future.
The royal decree gives a number of important signals. First of all, it is a futuristic decision and strengthens the Kingdom’s stability at a time when the world is going through major developments. King Abdullah wanted to remove conflicts and fears over who will become the next king in the absence of the king and the crown prince (May Allah protect them).
In his decree, King Abdullah insisted that nobody is allowed to change or replace Prince Muqrin as the deputy crown prince. The king announced his decision after winning support of Crown Prince Salman and in excess of one-fourth of the Allegiance Council’s members. He made it clear that Prince Muqrin will become the crown prince in the absence of crown prince and the king in the absence of king and crown prince. By taking this decision, King Abdullah wanted to put an end to speculations about the country’s future king.
— By Khaled Al-Malik

Kingdom’s metro projects
Major Saudi cities including Riyadh, Makkah, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam will have advanced metro systems within a few years. Nearly SR250 billion will be spent on these projects.
Now people are talking about the areas to be covered by the metros and the need for implementing the projects following world-class standards. They also want to know how many buses will be operated to places that are not covered by the metro.
I don’t know what will be the response of citizens and residents toward using these public transport systems. We cannot predict their reaction because they rarely use public transport in the Kingdom.
We have seen how people damaged public properties at the Corniche. So, measures should be taken to ensure protection of these facilities that are being established spending billions of riyals.
In order to know the public reaction toward metros and their preparedness to use public transport systems, we have to conduct a survey. A major awareness campaign should also be launched to enlighten the public about its benefits. We should also provide these services at reasonable charges to encourage people to use them.
— By Dr. Salem bin Ahmed Sahab

Increase in divorce cases
Family plays an important role in building a society. Families should be built on strong foundations. A family should bring up children in such a way that they would be capable of taking future roles and responsibilities.
When we think about our young men and women, they often get married not to build a stable family but to fulfill their sexual desires. After the period of honeymoon and decline of sexual desires, both of them tend to find out the personality of one another and start evaluating and asking questions. Is she/he the one I could live with until the end of my life?
These questions then lead to finding faults with one another and couples often exaggerate these mistakes. A minor mistake then becomes an unforgivable one and leads to divorce. This happens because of the failure of a family in the upbringing of their boys and girls properly.
As a result of this failure we read reports of huge numbers of divorce cases in the Kingdom. In a single year 34,490 divorce cases have taken place in the Kingdom, according to a Justice Ministry report. This means 96 divorces occur in the country everyday. These are cases that have reached the court and there may be several other cases. We know that many of these cases occurred because of silly reasons.
We must take quick measures to end this painful situation. The solution does not lie in just blaming the youth for their failure to lead a happy married life. We have to find the reasons for the increasing number of divorce cases and solve them. This should start from our homes and reach schools and universities and society to develop a new culture and set up a successful family.
— By Bakheet Alghabbash

Growing demand for housing
More than three million Saudis are currently waiting for housing loans. This number is definitely going to increase year after year. The government has allocated SR250 billion for housing projects but the amount would not be enough to meet one fifth of these applicants.
What is the main problem facing the housing sector? Is it the skyrocketing real estate prices? Why the Ministry of Housing is not taking any concrete action to find a drastic solution to the problem?
The Kingdom’s planners have so far done nothing for Saudis to get housing before they reach 40. Growing rate of inflation has further reduced their chance to buy land and homes. This indicates the big challenge posed by housing for Saudi citizens.
The solutions so far presented to solve the housing problem do not touch the crux of the matter. Prices of real estate are going up and the Housing Ministry has so far failed to contain the price hike.
The government has to take measures to bring down real estate prices in order to solve the problem.
— By Abdul Al-Hameed Al-Amri

Time-tested relations
Speedy political developments are taking place all over the world. There are also conflicts of interests between the US and Russia. Some of them directly affect the situation in the Mideast.
Kingdom’s ties with the US have been strong and stable over the years, compared to the latter’s relation with other governments and there were no indications of differences cropping up in bilateral relations.
But recent months witnessed quick developments, creating fears and suspicions. However, Saudi-US ties remained unaffected. Politics will not stay stable forever as it changes according to interests. Saudi Arabia understands that the US can play an important role in establishing peace and stability in the region. At the same time, we know that countries that had played a leading role in the past have lost their political and economic influence in the region.
Saudi Arabia has won global reputation for taking a reasonable stand on regional and international issues. At the same time, it has been using its influence to mobilize support of major powers. The visit of US President Obama to the Kingdom was aimed at establishing close relations between the two countries. Saudi Arabia has expressed its views on major Arab issues and its support for Egypt. America is a superpower enjoying international respect and we believe that its cooperation with the Kingdom would have more positive outcomes.
— By Turki Abdullah Al-Sudairy