18 July 2013
'Amnesty would be better utilized'

In this week's online poll, Arab Times asked voters to vote for the kind of change they wished to see following the upcoming elections. An overwhelming majority, 47%, said they liked to see greater leniency in the crackdown against expatriates. Speaking to the Arab Times, respondents said that probably a proclamation of amnesty would be welcome. "Now, that the jails are full and violators have had a taste of the long arm of the law, an amnesty would be better utilized by expatriates than before." Others said that they hoped the new government would realize that the there are many innocents who are also getting affected in the raids, such as people dropping off friends who get mistaken for running illegal taxies, people who get picked up despite having proper documents, and traffic violators, who get deported.

Deportation for traffic violation is a disproportionately large punishment, they opined. "When someone gets deported, an entire family is hit. Dreams get crushed. Expatriates are in all kinds of conditions, some have half-built houses, some have children going to colleges and universities, and for a great majority it's all about staving off hunger. When you get deported for a traffic offense, lives get upset."

There were also some respondents who saw the other side of the coin, namely lives lost in traffic accidents. Their hearts went out to the families of accident victims, "which is very unfortunate." They felt that there has to be some balance between the severity of the punishment for violators and the lessening traffic accidents.

About 17% of the voters wished to have a more stable parliament, after this election. These voters felt that much of the problems of the state is due to lack of political stability. If there's political stability, there's more economic development. When there's more development, there's more employment opportunities for all, including citizens. When there's demand for manpower, probably then the crackdowns might soften, and also the government might be open to the idea of legalizing the status of violators.

Similar sentiments were echoed by 15% of voters, who wished for more employment opportunities for all. They also saw the growing number of unemployed among the country's youth as a major social problem. "If you don't put the tremendous energy of the youth to constructive purposes, then it will vent itself in undesirable ways."

A minority of voters, 9%, said that Kuwait must encourage tourism. "There is great potential for tourism in Kuwait as it has a long coastline and the monetary resources to build great infrastructure." In the opinion of respondents, tourism will bring more liberal views in the society, and also add to the country's economy. For about 8% of the voters, the concern was business. They wished for more liberal laws for foreign investors, "as this would bring more money into the country and also enrich the business landscape with greater variety. A tiny minority wanted to see change in the sectarian and tribal conflicts in the country. They felt these factors are a major impediment to development, and focus should on national development instead of tribal or sectarian interests.

Arab Times 2013