JEDDAH, 22 July 2006 — It has been one year since Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ascended to the throne of the Kingdom, according to the Hijrah calendar. (The Gregorian anniversary date is Aug.1.) Over this past year the king has won the hearts of citizens and residents in the country alike.
King Abdullah is a caring father to all the people in the Kingdom. His kindness recognizes no borders, going out to succor any place in the world where calamity or war has hit. Every order the king has issued has been for the welfare of the people, aimed at lessening their economic burdens, increasing their educational facilities, employment opportunities and above all the rapid national progress. For instance, anyone who visits a fuel station in the Kingdom hears each driver invoking a prayer: “May Allah prolong our king’s life” because the great burden of rising fuel prices has been taken off the backs of the people by a royal decree.
Being a true God-fearing man, the king wants to stick to the commands of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with all the principles of human love and care for the subjects with justice and fairness. His goal is to achieve greater prosperity for the people. The achievements in the areas of education, economy, agriculture, industry, cultural and social life in the short span of a year are loud testimonials to the king’s commitment to progress.
His policies have pushed the Kingdom to a notable position regionally and internationally apart from a significant role in decision-making on Islamic and international stages.
King Abdullah has evidently been following the path paved by the founder of the Kingdom, the late King Abdul Aziz, in his policies in religious, political and developmental matters. King Abdullah said while opening the second year of the fourth Shoura Council this year: “Our Islamic method makes it binding on us to spread justice among the people without any distinction between the strong and the weak. All should be given their due rights. We will not keep back anyone’s rights and all people are equal. Nobody becomes great except by his actions and none becomes small but by his crime.”
The top most priority of the king is to know the needs of the people by studying their problems from close quarters. With the apparent keenness to improve their standard of life and reducing the burden of life, the king ordered in August a 15 percent hike in the salaries of all government employees, including the military personnel and pensioners. A month’s basic salary was given to Grade 5 employees and below. Royal orders were issued to enhance the allocations to the agencies and services that directly affect the people. This order was aimed at enhancing the assistance to people through social insurance, water and electricity, the Real Estate Development Fund, the Saudi Credit Bank and the Saudi Industrial Fund. Gasoline and diesel prices were slashed and new universities, colleges, technical institutes and schools were opened at various places nationwide.
The king aimed to do away with the housing problem, particularly for low-income earners by issuing orders to allocate SR8 billion for huge housing projects covering all the regions in the Kingdom. The scheme, which is scheduled to complete in five years, will get an additional SR2 billion. Another practical measure to bail out the common man from his economic and social problems was doubling the allocation for the Saudi Credit Bank to SR6 billion.
A further SR25 billion has been allocated to various other developmental funds for the rapid progress of the Kingdom. In order to achieve a giant leap in the field of education, a dozen new universities have been established with special attention to women’s education.
The establishment of three new economic cities was also announced. The King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah will be upgraded and the airport in Madinah converted to an international airport. A railway project is also under way to link east with west and north with south.
The Kingdom’s national security situation has been of great concern. Side by side with taking measures to ensure the safety of all persons living inside the Kingdom, King Abdullah pardoned prisoners languishing in the country’s jails.
Under the king’s directive, the government paid generously from the public fund to resolve blood money conflicts that have kept prisoners from being released. The king has also declared amnesty to those wanted for national security threats if they surrendered to authorities and devoted themselves to returning to the fold of civil society.
King Abdullah has also paid special attention to victims of calamities in various parts of the world by sending them aid materials and funds. In order to discuss the issues of the Ummah, an extraordinary summit was held in Makkah.
There is special funds set up to extend a helping hand to poor countries. His concern for the Muslims the world over has been quite evident when he allocated SR70 billion for the expansion works in the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. He only aims to make the pilgrimage as comfortable and safe as possible for the pilgrims coming from the world over.
With regard to foreign policy, the king wants to ensure support to international peace, welfare of all people in all parts of the world. He also wants to promote the cooperation with the brotherly Arab and Islamic states as well as other friendly countries.
