FOR about 40 years or more, specifically after the departure of HH the late Sheikh Saad Al- Abdullah from the Ministry of Interior, Kuwait has not witnessed any minister who performs his work in the field like First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousuf Al-Sabah who made the field his office. Whenever the minister visits prisons and facilities supervised by the Interior and Defense ministries, he discovers many horrific issues.

Nevertheless, he chooses humanity over the strict text of the law. He does so in the women’s prison where many have had a miserable life or whose husbands wronged them by implicating them in loans and dud checks. The husbands enjoyed the money, while the wives and other family members paid the heavy price. He does the same in the men’s prison, where some non-Kuwaitis are serving time for violating the residency and traffic laws or those with small debts.

Thus, imposing minor sentences does not mean leaving them to be a burden on the State. We then beg to ask: Why not deport them? They cost a lot of public money, while the solution is to deport them, and reduce the security and social burdens. In all other countries, when prisons are overcrowded, the issue is resolved by deporting foreigners and pardoning those with minor sentences. Just as some countries have signed agreements with other countries for the convict to serve his prison term in his country, there is also a way for certain countries -- buy public rights to ease the burdens of the State.

This is in addition to a new prisoner monitoring system -- an electronic bracelet for citizen prisoners, especially female citizens involved in civil and financial cases. Instead of families disintegrating, the mother is at home among her children and she is monitored round the clock. All of these and more can address overcrowding in prisons that have become like human warehouses, because work is being done according to the letter of the law.

Without a doubt, amending the law has become a necessity. This is the task of the current government, which must consider all legislation in order to modernize and develop them to be more humane and for the State to save a lot. Undoubtedly, everyone appreciates the field work carried out by Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf. The man performs his duties humanely and we have seen the fruitful results of the measures he has taken.

Likewise, his field visits to all sectors in the ministries of Defense and Interior or the affiliated bodies usually result in immediate solutions to problems. This indicates high administrative awareness and understanding of what is good for the people. The tasks assigned to ministers require working in the field, not at the ivory towers. Sheikh Fahad Al- Yousuf has proven this.

In the same manner, Minister of Social Affairs Dr. Amthal Al-Huwaila opened her office and the doors of the ministry to everyone. She allocated one day a week to receive the people’s complaints. In this regard, we remember once again the necessity of having a grievance office, as the case in most countries keen on ensuring justice among people. The office is directly linked to the leadership and complaints are scrutinized with the utmost precision, such that no official is unfair or there is no favoritism. In this way, we do not return to the corrupt practices of those who were using everything for their own interests under the pretext of representing the people.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
[email protected]