King Abdullah’s speech

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s speech on Friday that addressed the Arab and Islamic world has flayed the international community’s silence on the massacre of Palestinians by the Israeli occupation forces. He also cautioned against the new terrorist outfit, the Islamic State (IS).

There is a link between the IS terrorism and other groups and the massacres that are taking place in Gaza. The Saudi king understands this relation. In his speech, the king has stressed that those who show leniency toward terrorism today would become its victims tomorrow.

After 9/11 events, the US has adopted a strategy of taking the war to the Islamic world, instead of confronting extremists directly. Former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had formed a group of experts to set out a strategy toward the Islamic world and what we see today in our countries is the result of that revenge strategy.

The US strategy focused on three points: Fanning the fire of Sunni-Shiite conflict; creating conflicts among the Sunnis like the fight between Al-Azhar and the Muslim Brotherhood; and triggering infighting among the Salafi Muslim groups. By adopting this three-pronged strategy the US has succeeded in taking the war into the Islamic world. As a result, we see that the US is not enthusiastic about cultural dialogue or fighting terrorism in the Middle East. US and Israel have also succeeded in managing the peace process for more than 20 years.

By launching a war on Hamas in Gaza, Israel intends to enhance the name and fame of the resistance group, which is the Palestinian version of Brotherhood.

King Abdullah’s speech is a warning whistle for naïve people to be cautious about this big plan. In his comprehensive speech, the king has said everything in a diplomatic manner and told the world that Saudi Arabia is aware of foreign plots to destabilize Arab world.

— Mamoun Fandy, Sharq Al-Awsat

Social responsibility

Most companies in the private sector have given importance to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to show their humanitarian face and this has been playing an important role in achieving sustainable development. CSR enhances relationship of companies and businesses with the civil society.

Social activities of companies as well as businessmen and businesswomen are not considered a luxury but part and parcel of their humanitarian values. Businesses allocate part of their profits for the benefit and well being of the society as part of its corporate responsibility.

CSR is good for companies as according to one study it increases their profits by 18 percent compared to those firms that do not have such programs.

A survey conducted on 28,000 participants in 56 countries, through the Internet, showed that 66 percent of people like to purchase products of companies having CSR programs. About 62 percent of them like to work for such firms, 59 percent intend to invest in such companies and 46 percent said they are ready to pay extra prices to purchase products of companies having CSR programs.

— Ahmed Ali Al-Amoudi, Al-Sharq

Paying bribes for jobs

Some unemployed Saudis have expressed their readiness to pay up to SR50,000 to get a decent job in a government department. They give these offers through the social media as reported by sabq.org.

This seems to be a very strange phenomenon. Some say people adopted this system because of a lack of wasta or high-level connections to get jobs. Saudis do not prefer private sector jobs because of lower salaries and long working hours. It is quite unfortunate that people express their readiness to pay huge bribes to a get suitable job without trying for jobs. There are different government agencies such as the Labor Ministry, Human Resource Development Fund and the Civil Service Ministry that help Saudis to get employed.

Newspapers are full of advertisements seeking qualified manpower to fill various vacant positions. We see complaints of businessmen and private firms who say they do not get enough qualified Saudi workers.

Private sector offers a lot of job opportunities for Saudis with attractive salaries to improve their situation in the Nitaqat system. Saudis can also start their own small businesses making use of soft loans provided by various agencies. New development projects across the country have created a lot of jobs but most Saudis prefer to have government jobs. This will only increase the Kingdom’s unemployment rate and the money to be offered as bribes to get jobs would rise further.

— Ibrahim Mohamed Badawood, Al-Madinah

Public investment funds

The government intends to establish new investment funds to manage its wealth. The Council of Ministers recently allowed the Public Investment Fund to set up investment firms inside and outside the Kingdom. Moreover, the Shoura Council is discussing prospects of setting up a sovereign fund to manage the country’s budget surpluses.

We should appreciate the government’s efforts to invest its surplus wealth in various profitable ventures. But it should make sure that such investments are carried out with transparency and clarity to avoid rumors.

The foreign asset fund of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) is classified by SWF Institute as the third largest in the world with a total investment of $675.9 billion. But the fund’s transactions are not transparent enough. SAMA says it invests the money in low risk capital markets, without explaining the nature of such investments.

International reports say that SAMA invests mainly in US treasury bonds without giving details. But other major funds of Norway and China have given details of their investments to ensure transparency. SAMA is not disclosing the profits it has earned or losses incurred from its investments.

— Mohammed Al-Aufi, Makkah Newspaper

Salaries and loans

During 2011-2013, the number of Saudis employed in the private and public sectors rose to more than one million with an increase of 63 percent. During the same period consumer bank loans taken by Saudis reached SR133 billion with an increase of 67 percent. Total consumer loans received by Saudis, including through shadow banking, amounted to SR235 billion.

I don’t know whether any government agencies including the Ministry of Economy and Planning and Social Affairs Ministry studied this matter. It is an important issue to be discussed by the Shoura Council. According to the latest official statistics a Saudi earned an average monthly salary of SR6,959 and an actual salary of SR4,765 in the private sector by the end of 2013. At the same time, the average salary earned by a government employee stood at SR7,956 with real wage standing at SR5,448.

The above figures will give the reason for the increase in consumer loans as the actual salary received by people is calculated after deducting inflation rates. People are obliged to take loans either from banks or friends or relatives to meet their essential requirements, as the actual salaries they get are not enough to meet their needs.

— Abdul Hameed Al-Amri, Al-Eqtisadiah

Retirement age

Some economists and other experts have proposed to increase the retirement age of government employees from 60 to 62 or more. The proposal came after a statement issued by the Pensions Fund about the growing numbers of retirees every year and that it would not be able to pay their pensions. In some Western countries like the US and France the retirement age is between 62 and 67.

The fund will not be able to pay pensions for the latest pensioners in the coming years. It spends more than SR3 billion monthly on about 500,000 pensioners. Some people say it is better to reduce the retirement age to give jobs to new university graduates. In my opinion it is better to increase the retirement age of those employees in the salary scale of eight and above to achieve both goals.

— Mohammed Al-Musfir, Al-Riyadh