Society

This is a fascinating topic. Tribes matter a great deal in some parts of the Saudi Arabia and less in other, such as the Western Province. It will be interesting to understand the nature of this relation. It has been and is an important factor in political system of...

JAC (Jeddah Autism Center) celebrated its 25 years anniversary on April, 2nd 2019. At that time there was little awareness and acceptance of autism in society. Today, it is a different picture.  

In 2009 I visited the JAC at its first location. The center was located in a small villa with less than 20 staff members. There, I met with a handful of employees from the JAC and administration staff from the Al-Faisaliya Welfare Society. The atmosphere was full of enthusiasm for the new project, as it was the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia with huge demand. But the plan seemed to be incomplete at that time; it was not fully organized and many questions such as resources, educational system etc. seemed to hang in the air.

My colleague blogger and fellow journalist Sabena Saddiqi wrote this post exclusively for Saudi Times on the occasion of the visit of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman to Pakistan this week. She comments and analyses the visit from a Pakistani perspective.

Saudi Arrests: Monday marked the first month since the Saudi arrests of princes. Along with many corrupt politicians and businessmen in Saudi Arabia.

These Saudi arrests shook the whole world. At first, Saudi citizens did not know how to comprehend and react to these happenings. The Saudi arrests raised piles of questions concerning Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman’s behavior since becoming deputy crown prince in 2015. When he first appeared on the political scene, the political and socio-economic lifestyle in the country was ambiguous. On one hand was authoritarianism, on the other, an unusual transparency. The aim of the Saudi arrests was to collect unlawfully gained money. The accused had made these deals through their positions of influence in government and business sectors.

For decades, Saudi corruption has had deep roots in Saudi Arabia. The public has been cheated-off of its rights to a safe and healthy living environment. Every major scandal has a top-rated official attached to it, an untouchable.

I started working as a journalist with Arab News in the early 1990s. That’s when a friend alerted me about a lot of raw sewage being dumped in the desert round Jeddah. Sensing a good story, I approached an editor for the green light for the story. I was told that this was too hot a topic to touch. Apparently, the people responsible for the mess were too important to be criticized in public.

Saudi Corruption: On Saturday 3rd November, guests at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh received an urgent notice to vacate the hotel by 11 PM. The notice went on to state . “unfortunately, we will not be able to grant an extension request due to high-security procedures dictated by the higher authorities”.

Start Of Commercial Courts In Saudi Arabia After 10 Years Of Delay!

Arab News announced on Tuesday that Saudi Justice Minister Walid Al-Samaani has officially launched commercial courts. These courts had been operating officially since mid-September. In his speech at the inaugural ceremony, Al-Samaani said that the role of the three commercial courts in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam is to enhance the business environment. Encouraging investment and boosting economic development will achieve this. All in line with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives. The new measures will uphold the rights of people and ensure healthy business environment.

Significant cabinet and non-cabinet changes, and a long overdue TV interview by MbS. Still the dots of vision cannot be fully connected.

Last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave an interview to selected Saudi TV channels. There aren’t many anyway. The interview was more of a Q&A session on Vision 2030 left an impression of justification on the audience for the painful steps taken. Taking through from Aramco’s IPO, unemployment, reinserted allowances, housing, Iran but not women. They were not mentioned at all. With a fatherly protective tone combined with a fair share of simplicity reflecting openness mixed with transparency, build up the trust needed.

Saudi Arabia has been voted onto the UN women’s rights commission last week. On the same day, Majlis Al Shoura members rejected a proposal to establish sports colleges for women 76:73.

No, this is not a joke, seriously. Along with other 48 countries Saudi Arabia will promote the role of women in societies and defend their rights.  Hmm, seriously, how?

Aramco: Tax reduction was one of three solutions to make the Armco IPO worth $2 trillion

After months of speculation on the Saudi Aramco IPO – which is planned for next year– the Saudi government took on Monday a serious step towards making the transaction possible. A new regulation was announced changing the income tax payable by Saudi Aramco from 85% to 50%, with the cut backdated to 1st January.

Saudi Women: Creating a girls’ council in one of the most conservative regions in Saudi is a great step and much needed. Yet there were no women seen on stage at the launch, adding more to the contradictions in people’s mind.

Through Vision 2030, the Saudi Arabian government wants everything to be better. The work and life situation of women is a major item on that list.

Last week Okaz, a semi-official newspaper, said that Saudi Aramco is considering offering shares to Saudi citizens.

Sources ‘familiar with the matter’ say that Saudi Aramco internally has discussed on how to do the IPO structure so that Saudi retail investors can get in on the deal cheaper than through international exchanges. Traditionally, Saudi Arabia offers shares in government-owned companies, such as it did with Saudi Telecom (STC), Saudi Electricity (SEC), SABIC and others. Shares are sold at a set price of about $2.67 – in an effort to redistribute wealth among the local population. An Islamic charity mentality, or don’t ask me what I am doing with the money.