JEDDAH, 5 March 2005 — There is no official plan so far to hold elections to the Shoura Council, says its chairman Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid. “Talks about an elected council are premature as the subject has not yet been officially mooted,” he said.
Bin-Humaid’s statement comes ahead of the proposed plan to reshuffle the 120-member consultative body, injecting new blood representing various tribes and regions of the country. The Shoura Council will be expanded to include 150 members in less than two months.
There are talks that famous artists and footballers might be inducted in the body for the first time. Some say the new list that includes a number of young technocrats and retired experts is already finalized and it would be announced on April 12.
Dr. Bin-Humaid ruled out appointment of women to the council. “I don’t think women would make it during the upcoming reshuffle.” However, he said the council would continue to seek women’s expert opinion on matters related to them.
There are also rumors Dr. Hamoud Al-Badr, who has been the council’s secretary-general since its inception, would be replaced.
Bin-Humaid said the council was happy when the government decided to hold elections to pick half the members of the country’s 178 municipal councils. He said public participation would activate municipalities across the country.
The chairman welcomed criticisms on the council’s activities. “Such criticisms, be they published in the media or sent to us directly, will help us improve our work in tune with the hopes and aspirations of citizens,” Al-Hayat Arabic daily quoted him as saying.
He said the Shoura has nothing to do with executive matters. “People say that we have failed to do this or that. But they don’t know whether or not such matters come under our purview or passed to us in the form of draft laws to debate,” he pointed out.
The chairman rejected allegations that council members were living in ivory towers without taking interest in the day-to-day problems of citizens.
“This is absolutely untrue. Shoura members are also citizens and come from different parts of the Kingdom. By hearing our discussions on various issues, I am sure this false notion will disappear,” he said.
“We discuss important issues such as unemployment, terrorism and university admission as well as ways and means to fight corruption,” he added.
Bin-Humaid called for regular review and upgrading of educational curricula matching with development requirements, but without going against Islamic teachings and Saudi traditions.
“There are two distinct opinions on the curricula. One says it’s fine and there’s no need for change and other says it needs total overhaul. There is yet another moderate opinion, which calls for changes to protect public interest such as meeting job market needs. The council has discussed the matter in detail and given its recommendations,” he said.
The Shoura chief said the Saudi consultative council is equal to parliaments in other countries in terms of mission, structure and organization. “It plays a legislative as well as monitoring role,” he added.
He called upon the public not to underestimate the Shoura’s role. “We have passed a number of important regulations including amendments to the naturalization law and the labor law,” he pointed out.
He said the council invites ministers to answer questions of Shoura members on the ministry’s performance. A number of top officials including the ministers of interior, foreign affairs, petroleum and minerals, finance, work and information have already addressed the Shoura.
Bin-Humaid said the public response to weekly broadcast of Shoura debates was encouraging. It helps the public to know what is going on in the corridors of the Shoura. “Everybody is welcome to visit the council to have a first-hand knowledge of our activities,” he said.
He refuted suggestions that Shoura members are unreachable to citizens. “This is not true. Our contacts with citizens have never stopped. We receive messages and proposals from them on a daily basis,” he added.
