KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: The National Assembly will be holding sessions next Wednesday and Thursday, on January 12-13, said Speaker of the Parliament Marzouq Al-Ghanim Monday. He indicated, in a press release, that the sessions were called by several MPs, noting that the sessions could be postponed upon a request to the parliament’s leadership. The session would witness debates and discussions on several proposed legislations, he affirmed. The cabinet will attend the Thursday session of the National Assembly, said a minister on Monday. Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Mohammad Al-Rajhi affirmed that the government was keen on cooperating with members of the National Assembly to meet the aspiration and dreams of the Kuwaiti people.

He affirmed that His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah directed the cabinet to cooperate with the National Assembly during the session. Ten MPs had earlier submitted a proposal to hold the special session on Thursday to discuss and vote on a number of urgent bills. Earlier on Sunday, 10 other MPs proposed holding a special session on Wednesday for the same purpose. MPs Mehalhal Al-Mudaf, Bader Al- Mullah, Hassan Jawhar, Hamad Al- Matar, Fayez Al-Jomhour, Muhammad Al-Hewaila, Osama Al- Shaheen, Saleh Zeib Al-Mutairi, Abdulaziz Al-Saqaabi and Al-SaifiMubarak Al-Saifisigned the proposal to hold a special session on Thursday. Following are the items in the agenda of the proposed special session: ■ Report No. 10 of the Human Resources Development Committee on amending the Civil Service Law; ■ Report No. 41 of the Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee on amending Audio Visual Law number 61/ 2007 and Publishing and Printing Law No. 3/ 2006. National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al- Ghanim has confirmed receiving both proposals, and that he will invite the MPs to the special sessions scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as per Article 72 of the Assembly Decree.

Regarding the government, Al- Ghanim said he will invite the government to the special sessions; but the decision to attend or not lies in the hands of the latter. In a related development, MP Khalid Al-Otaibi released a press statement in response to those asking why other urgent bills were excluded from the agenda of the two special sessions like the proposed distribution of a portion of the profits of the Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) to the retirees, amending the Housing Affairs Law, waiving citizens’ loans, disqualification of those convicted in offending crimes from standing for elections, and expanding the authority of the court to decide on cases concerning nationality. Al-Otaibi clarified that the special sessions are only for deliberations and voting on bills whose reports have been completed by the concerned parliamentary committees. He added the Parliamentary Priorities Committee is considered a “grave where the priority bills are buried.” On the other hand, MP Abdulkareem Al- Kandari forwarded queries to Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmed Mansour Al-Hamad Al-Sabah about the press statement of the Kuwait Diwan for Human Rights chairman that they received complaints about the alleged practice of torture in some police stations.

He wants to know the steps taken in this regard, if the diwan has contacted the ministry about this issue, and if the diwan received reports about human rights conditions in Kuwait from global organizations. MP Yousef Al-Ghareeb asked Minister of Health Dr Khalid Al-Saed about the rising number of illegal clinics operated by marginal expatriate workers who perform plastic surgeries even if they are not doctors. He wants to know the measures taken by the ministry to address this issue that endangers people’s lives, if such clinics were shut down, and if the involved individuals were referred to the concerned institutions. Al-Ghareeb also forwarded queries to Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Ali Fahad Al- Mudhaf about the way his ministry is dealing with the Covid-19 variant Omicron. He asked if any of the students and teachers were found to be infected with Corona during the exams. In addition, he submitted a proposal to increase the number of seats in the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacology at Kuwait University.By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff and Agencies