Standoff looms over committee proposal in Kuwait

A bitter standoff is looming in the Kuwaiti parliament as lawmakers are sparring over a proposal to form a committee to combat “negative phenomena” in the country.

MP Waleed Al Tabtabaei, a veteran lawmaker who returned to parliament after winning a seat in last month’s elections, said that he had plans to call for the formation of several ad hoc committees within the parliament.

He added that the “negative phenomena”, the “human, stateless and martyrs rights” and the “people with special needs” committees would be among the top ones that should be set up by the parliament during its four-year term.

The negative phenomena committee would denounce, resist and combat all phenomena, events and speeches deemed “alien” to the local culture, traditions and values. These include drugs, abuses and crimes, but also concerts and the mixing of students.

However, MP Rakan Al Nusf, who was first elected to parliament in 2013, said that he opposed the proposal to form the negative phenomena committee, arguing that it had a negative record when it was formed by other parliaments.

The committee harmed public liberties, intervened in the personal freedoms of Kuwaiti citizens and considered anything that did not fit the orientations of its members as negative phenomena, Al Nusf said.

“This committee in past parliaments was given a loose and broad definition, which afforded it vast powers, many of which are the prerogative of permanent parliamentary committees,” he said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Jareeda on Monday.

“This is not acceptable, especially after previous negative experiences. Many negative phenomena in society are the concern of other parliamentary committees, such as drugs which is the prerogative of the health committee, and the high incidence of crimes, which is under the competence of the interior and defence committee. The cases of abuse of public funds are also under the supervision of another committee,” he said

source : gulfnews