Investing in solar energy, activating the role of Saudi women, rebuilding the Saudi character, are the three main concerns of Mohammad Al-Mutlak, a Shoura member and managing director of Al-Mutlak Trade and Industry, general director of Al-Bairaq Establishment for Trade, and executive director at the Saudi Factory for Industrial Fasteners. During his interview with Diana Al-Jassem of Arab News, Al-Mutlak confirmed that the Kingdom should find an alternative source of energy besides oil. He also said that the Kingdom’s reliance on oil could be reduced by further developing Saudi human resources reducing the number of expat workers in the labor market.
Rapid change
What, in your opinion, are changes that would have a major impact on the lives of Saudis within the next 20 years?
Change is a natural phenomenon that happens everywhere in the world. In the Kingdom, we need to be concerned with major issues like human development. We have to concentrate on building our population, boosting education and be ready for market changes. Depending on our human resources, will reduce the number of expats on the Saudi labor market. However, challenges are easy to talk about, but difficult to change. The two main challenges the Kingdom faces, are the growing population and the introduction of youth to the job market.
Singapore adopted a good model that we would like to apply to the Kingdom. They developed their manpower and are now fully dependent on their human resources. What we need is to diagnose our problems and try to solve it.
Role of leadership
What do you think of the leadership roles at organizations in the Kingdom? What are the reasons for their current state?
I know of many companies that have brilliant and highly educated leaders. In contrast, there are many incapable leaders that got their current position by luck. This is a fact of life. Appointing a leader to an organization should be based on his qualifications and not on his family links or favoritism. However, I do believe more in the word ‘manager’, not leader.
Sustainable development
What goals would you set for the Kingdom’s development and how do you think these goals can be achieved?
We should have alternative sources of income, beside the oil revenues.
Education: We need to remodel our education system to enhance the level of science and humanity fields. We also have to prepare students to be active participants in the country’s development.
Water issues: We have to invest heavily in energy resources. We have to come up with solutions for shortage of water. Then, we should evaluate how to meet energy requirements. We also need to boost solar energy technology and nuclear energy.
In terms of security, I believe that the Kingdom will stay secure despite the unsecure status of neighboring countries.
Challenging tasks
What are the most difficult decisions that need to be applied in the Kingdom within the next 20 years?
The role of women in society and building an alternative economy are the two main tasks that need to be applied in the Kingdom. Education is also a great challenge in all Arab countries. Our low level of education contributed to downgrading our society culture. If we compare Egypt’s education 50 years ago to today, we will notice the sharp decline in quality.
Creative project
Give me an example of a creative project you would like to establish in the Kingdom.
Using solar energy to produce electricity is the project I hope to see in the Kingdom. We generate electricity at very low rates because we have oil. We waste oil worth $ 1.6 million every day, only to generate electricity. In fact, we can produce electricity for free by using the sun power.
KSA in three words
What three words would you use to describe the Kingdom within the next 20 years?
Prosperous, self-reliant and stable in terms of security.
Human rights
How can we all improve on human rights in Saudi Arabia? What are your expectations regarding human rights practices?
We must fight abuse and issue rules and regulations that ensure the rights of individuals. We need to stand up loudly against mistreatment and the abuse of human beings.
Biggest challenge
What is the biggest challenge facing the Kingdom today?
Reducing the number of foreign laborers is a real challenge. We need foreign labor but we don’t need big numbers of individuals who work in the same field. We need professional expatriates who are working in positions like IT, nursing, computers, journalism and many other fields. I also refuse to use the word expatriate. I prefer to call them ‘Arabs’ not expatriates.
Prominent activities
What are the most prominent economic activities in the Kingdom? What ‘neglected’ sectors need to be developed?
The most common, unhealthy and unproductive sector is the retail sector. It is the most destructive sector to our economy. The neglected sector is the industry, and information technology.
Housing growth
There is a huge demand for housing in the Kingdom because of the increasing young population. The government has also put an emphasis on this sector as it allocated SR250 billion in this budget for housing. Do you believe the housing sector needs much attention from the government and the private sector?
Although the Saudi government took a great step when it launched the project to build 500,000 residential units, these are not enough. The government needs to manage this in a good way. Actually, the allocated budget would not serve all people.
Role of SMEs
There is a need to boost small business enterprises (SMEs) in the Kingdom as it creates various jobs. What role you see for SMEs in the Kingdom’s economic development?
This sector is the backbone of any country’s economy. It is the catalyst of economy worldwide. Unfortunately, SMEs are considered a big joke in our country. We do have SMEs, but with wrong concepts. Most SMEs are owned and managed by expatriates. This cannot contribute to the development of the Saudi economy. SMEs in Saudi Arabia don’t build a national labor force. If there is a disaster and all expatriates leave, the whole country will collapse as expatriates run many important departments in many sectors.
Knowledge hunt
Education is always a priority of the Saudi government. What changes you envisage in the education system to fit Saudi youth in a knowledge-based economy?
The education system must raise this generation and rebuild the Saudi character before teaching it. The concept of SMEs, for example, couldn’t be applied well until the character of Saudi workers changed. Saudis should be ready to work hard in order to be successful. Unfortunately, we still don’t have national hard workers. Our syllabus doesn’t teach the students morals and culture, it only teaches them theories.
Fair opportunities
How do you see Saudi women contributing to the labor sector, the social and political arenas within the next 20 years?
Women rights are also a big issue. We are still in a dilemma about giving women their rights. More than 50 percent of the population consists of women and I think they are highly educated and more committed than men.
We have to find ways to involve the educated women in our life and job market. We have to balance between both traditions and the necessities of the new age. I see positive signs like women working, but we’re still moving very slowly.
What’s required for Saudi women to actualize your future vision?
Women need to be more committed to their goals. Saudi women also have to change their views about life, work and expenses. They have to make a career for themselves regardless the payment of the career. Women should accept that we live in a conservative society.
Saudi media
What measures and standards should be applied to Saudi media?
Rules and regulations should not contribute to the media. The media should not cross red lines such as religion, race, and privacy.
What are your expectations for the next 20 years?
What I am expecting is a tough competition between traditional and social media, but both have to work in parallel. Social media is faster, has complete freedom, but it is not reliable. Most news on social media is fake and undocumented rumors.
Learning from the past
What mistakes have been repeated in the Kingdom over the past two decades? How we could we eliminate these mistakes to develop the Kingdom?
The uncontrolled import of foreign labor is a big mistake that should be avoided. The rapid reduction of water and the inaction in building an education system have resulted in a poor outcome. We have to teach students how to treat animals, to respect outsiders, and to treat workers, maids and drivers in a civil manner.
Message to Saudis
Given the fact that youths make up the majority of the Saudi population, what message would you like to convey to them? And what would you say to the rest of the population?
My message is to elderly people rather than youth. I suggest elderly people should raise their children very well and rebuild the Saudi character. I expect the next generation not to be much different from the previous generation. I expect the Saudi character to be changed after 20 years.
