JEDDAH, 28 September — Ghassan Al-Suleiman, vice chairman of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has said that Dr. Majed Al-Kassabi resigned as the chamber’s secretary-general for personal reasons.
He denied press reports that Kassabi quit in protest against a decision taken by the chamber’s board to cut short his financial powers.
“Dr. Kassabi informed the board of his desire to resign the job about eight months ago. We tried our best to dissuade him,” Suleiman told Arab News.
“But he insisted on resigning and he officially expressed it at the end of last summer,” the vice chairman said. “All our efforts to make him postpone the resignation had failed,” he added.
He said Kassabi would leave the post after the chamber’s budget session to be held by the end of Ramadan.
Asked about the efforts to find a replacement for Kassabi, Suleiman said, “The board has started receiving nominations and will select the best candidate shortly.”
Kassabi told Arab News that he had informed the board of his intent not to continue in the post. He said he would make necessary preparations for the chamber’s general assembly meeting scheduled for December.
Suleiman commended the efforts made by Kassabi in the service of businessmen and industrialists in the city.
Kassabi, 42, who holds a doctorate in industrial engineering from a US university, has worked as a professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He is the son of well- known contractor Abdullah Al-Kassabi, owner of Kara contracting company.
Kassabi has played a commendable role in making the Jeddah Economic Forums and Jeddah Tourism Festivals a big success over the past years. He is a member of the Supreme Economic Council’s consultative panel.
According to Al-Watan daily, some businessmen in Jeddah believe that the setting up of a special committee to review the financial allocations made by Kassabi during the past years was one of the major reasons that prompted the secretary-general to resign.
But Ibrahim Al-Jomaih, head of the financial committee, said there were no differences between the board and the secretariat, adding that the board had not removed the secretary-general’s financial powers.
Meanwhile, Mustafa Sabri, legal adviser to the chamber, was quoted as saying by Okaz newspaper that the board, which gave the secretary-general his powers, has the right to withdraw those powers if it wants to do so.
Asked about the resignation, he said, “Dr. Kassabi wanted to keep himself free for his personal activities. He has done a great job as secretary-general during the past five years.”
