KUWAIT CITY, June 1: MP Faisal Al-Kandari submitted a grilling motion against Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Saud Al-Harbi on his procrastination in ending the academic year, without any serious and clear alternative.

Al-Kandari pointed out that he and his colleagues repeatedly called on Al-Harbi to address this issue, but the latter has not responded until now. Instead, the minister has been insisting on the continuation of the academic year, disregarding the statement of Health Minister Sheikh Dr Bassel Al-Sabah that the coronavirus crisis is expected to continue until the end of this year as no cure has been discovered so far, he added.

He warned the plan of Al- Harbi to resume classes in August is impractical due to the extraordinary preparations needed for the opening of schools, in addition to the fact that a large number of schools are being used by cooperative societies and some were transformed into shelters for expatriates who violated the Residency Law. He clarified he has nothing personal against Al-Harbi, indicating the aim of the grilling is to protect and maintain public health.

In a related development, Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim confirmed receiving Al-Kandari’s grilling motion against Al- Harbi as per Article 135 of the National Assembly Decree.

He also informed His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and Al-Harbi about the grilling motion, which he referred to the National Assembly Office for inclusion in the agenda of the upcoming session. He revealed the office will soon specify the date of the session that might be held next week or the following week.

Meanwhile, MP Sa’adoun Hammad affirmed support for the grilling of Al-Harbi who has been hesitating in ending the academic year although other Gulf countries already took this step. Hammad said the schools are not ready to receive the students according to the recommendations of health authorities, pointing out these authorities are not capable of checking 700,000 students at once.

He added Al-Harbi’s insistence to turn a deaf ear to incessant calls to end the academic year is considered a missed opportunity for expatriate teachers who would have traveled upon issuance of the official announcement of the closure of the academic year.

On the other hand, MP Hamdan Al-Azmi said the referral of individuals suspected of involvement in the One Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB) to the Public Prosecution without evidence implies the intention to ruin the lawsuit as it happened in previous cases like the multimillion deposits scandal He added it is not a good start to refer the 1MDB file to the prosecution without mentioning the names of the accused, especially since Kuwait Financial Inspections Unit (KFIU) already revealed these names.

Moreover, MP Ahmed Al-Fadl asserted the coronavirus crisis headline is related to health; but the core of the issue is economic as the negative economic consequences are much worse than the medical repercussions. He stressed the need to allow small businesses to resume their operations, provided they strictly comply with medical regulations. He said the plan of the government covered the medical aspect of the crisis, but it totally ignored the economic aspect.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff