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WEDNEDAY, APRIL 20, 2011
local Al-Kharafi supported Lebanese, Palestinian resistance KUWAIT: Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah issued a statement following the death of Kuwaiti business mogul Nasser Al-Kharafi. In his statement, Nasrallah extended his condolences to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the government and the people of Kuwait. “We were shocked with the sudden demise of such a loyal, supportive and respected brother, Nasser AlKharafi,” said Nasrallah. He spoke on the bitterness of losing such a great supporter of both the Lebanese and the Palestinian resistance. “He loved resistance groups, helped and defended them on various occasions,” he added, noting that Al-Kharafi always called for unity amongst Arabs, Muslims and the Lebanese. “He was a pioneer of construction,” he said pointing out that despite his wealth, Al-Kharafi was a benevolent man who sought Allah’s forgiveness rather than partake in the joys of the materialistic world. — Al-Jarida
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n April 17th, 2011, the Arab and Muslim world lost a father when Nasser Mohammed Abdulmohsen AlKharafi passed away at the age of 67. When you met Nasser AlKharafi, you expected a figure larger than life. The evils of money and power, after all, have often led many men astray, with some simply choosing to indulge themselves in worldly pleasures and becoming so immersed in those that they lose touch with the world around them and forget how to deal with the common man. Others become so obsessed with increasing their power and wealth that they lose touch with what really matters in life. Nasser Al-Kharafi was in so many ways immune to these evils. He
knew what really mattered in life, and up till the day of his death stood firm on his beliefs. He raised his family to live lives of dignity, honor, respect and, most importantly, humility. Money and power did not cloud his vision, and he made sure that these things did not cloud theirs either. He believed in the Arab Muslim cause and fought for it with a passion one more usually sees in the eyes of a man who has nothing to lose. I remember speaking to him personally about this cause, and I distinctly remember how affected he was by it. He told me how he tried to help, but faced tremendous resistance from some of our own ‘leaders.’ This troubled him as though he somehow felt responsi-
ble and obliged to do something about it. In his struggle for the cause he crossed centuries-old sectarian boundaries as if they never even existed. It was that easy for him because he wanted freedom for our people more than anything. His burial was sad, yet beautiful at the same time. You see, his loss was a tragedy but in his wake I saw a divided people back together again, standing side by side as one for him. I pray that one day we see things the way he saw them and stand together again as one. May Allah have mercy on his soul.
Different workshops have been held [in Kuwait] on this subject by the World Bank, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Public Works, with all these institutions being interested in the issue,” the minister said. “Mass transportation is one of the primar y solutions to Kuwait’s traffic problems, espe-
cially given the increasing population and the limited number of roads which aren’t able to handle these huge numbers.” He lauded the conference objectives, saying, “This conference aims to discuss traffic problems. We need more study and research into this issue. Studies into the metro was first
carried out about 20 years ago, and today those are old already and don’t suit the present time. We now need to conduct a new study for the next 20 years.” The minister said that there are also two studies currently taking place into the planned trans-Arabia railway network,
KUWAIT: Dr Mohammed Al-Busairi, Minister of Communication at the booth of Citybus with officials from the Ministry of Interior. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat
in which the Eastern Line would run from Oman to Kuwait, through Iraq and into Turkey and the European nations, whilst the Western Line would run from Yemen through Saudi Arabia to Jordan, then again to Turkey and on to Europe. “These are part of the Gulf rail network system, multi-billion- dinar projec ts,” he stressed. “The GCC countries are serious about carrying out these projects and we will see them realized within five to seven years.” Al-Busairi also revealed that his own ministry has already signed a number of contracts related to the construction of the metro system. “ The Ministr y of Communications has already signed contracts with specialist contractors for carrying out the metro projects,” he explained. “The local metro project will connect all the areas [of Kuwait] together. It should be able to transfer people from residential areas to the city center. We have to encourage the idea of mass transportation.” Visitors to the conference will also have the chance to take a look at the associated exhibition and workshops taking place in the hotel’s Al-Hashemi Ballroom.
GUST holds ‘Global Festival with VIVA’ By Ben Garcia
KUWAIT: Jalal Badra, Osaka’s Operations Manager with his staff at the venue. — Photo by Ben Garcia
Muna Al-Fuzai
muna@kuwaittimes.net
Work on first-quarter plan begins KUWAIT: The R adisson Blu Hotel in Salwa is currently hosting Kuwait’s first Metro and R ail Conference and Exhibition, with the two-day event, which concludes later today, being held under the patronage of caretaker communications minister Dr Mohammed Al-Busairi. The planned construction of a metro system in Kuwait will be a clear step forward in the countr y ’s development, the minister said in his speech at the inaugural ceremony yesterday morning. “The metro system will play a part in turning Kuwait into a financial and commercial center by 2035, according to the state development plan,” said Dr. Al-Busairi. “ We’ve already begun work on the first-quarter plan, which covers many sectors, including transportation, which suffers from large-scale traffic congestion problems.” A number of studies have already been carried out into Kuwait ’s transpor t-related problems, with a great deal of research being done on this area, he continued. “Communications and transpor t are amongst society ’s greatest tools and solutions.
iEARN: A small step for a greater cause
( The contributor wishes to remain anonymous.)
Metro will be major step forward for Kuwaiti transport: Al-Busairi By Nawara Fattahova
Local Spotlight
A tribute to Nasser Al-Kharafi
KUWAIT: The devastating earthquake, tsunami and the fall out from the nuclear crisis in Japan have globally affected supplies of food ingredients of Japanese origins. Speaking with the Kuwait Times during a two-day ‘Global Festival with Viva’ held at the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) campus where they served as one of the sponsors, Jalal Badra, OsakaKuwait Operations Manager admitted that the supplies for his outlet had been absolutely shaken by the disaster. “We have to make alternative arrangements for our fresh supplies because we cannot continue ordering products we badly need,” he explained. “We don’t want our customers to think that we are still serving the products from Japan.” he said. Those involved in the food business need to be flexible, Badra explained. “We need to continue the business and provide the same taste and quality,” he said, adding that his business is currently importing tuna, salmon and shrimps from a variety of countries. “Before the radiation issue, all of our products were authentic Japanese products, but since the earthquake we chose to be on the safer side, so we’ve temporarily suspended our orders from Japan,” he said. According to Badra, when it comes to taste, Japanese products taste the same as the products from other countries. “The only thing we have to accept was the higher cost of import-
ing from other sources, he added, stressing that the change won’t affect Osaka-Kuwait’s menu prices. The reason, he said, is that “customers know that our restaurant offers the best prices. We want to maintain that credibility and we don’t want to lose our regular customers.” Although alternative arrange ments have been put into place, Badra agreed that certain ingredients of Japanese origins are irreplaceable. He explained that he was able to restock some time before the nuclear radiation crisis. “Rice is one such irreplaceable Japanese ingredient that we need to use in our restaurant,” he said. “This is a crucial ingredient that we maintain in our restaurant.” He explained that in his capacity as Operations Manager, he’d done “some panic buying way before the nuclear issue arose,” adding, “When it comes to rice stocks I still have enough maybe to last for over four months.” Badra also admitted that whilst some competitors in the market have felt the impact of nuclear radiation concerns on their sales, “thank God, in our restaurant Osaka, we haven’t lost a single customer; we have retained the same profits because we maintain our regular communications with our customers.” He further observed that the key to maintaining sales is in letting your customers know about the safety and freshness of your products. Badra was confident that it wouldn’t take long for Japan to get back to normal. The Japanese “are resilient
people and we pray that everything will be alright in a few months’ time,” he said. The Osaka Kuwait restaurant is located in Shaab at the side of Gulf Road. The restaurant’s participation in GUST’s Global Festival with Viva was just one of many events in which it had the chance to inform customers about the safety and deliciousness of its products. Osaka-Kuwait has been invited to several educational events held on Kuwait’s university campuses, with its first such venture being when it was asked to do the catering for another event. The Global Festival with Viva at the university campus, which began on Monday and concluded yesterday, was part of their annual festival organized by GUST’s Students Association. The event showcased several products and services offered by the university’s students, but also featured a number of specially invited guests. Explaining the festival’s objective and purposes, Muhammad Al-Sabih, Vice President of GUST’s Student Association, said, “We organize this event to give a chance and a venue to our business-minded fellow students to showcase their products. This becomes their first ever venture in business or it could be a launching pad for something big they’re planning to achieve in their lives.” The event also featured various cultural presentations by performers of different nationalities and ethnicities.
MPs support amending Article 2 of constitution KUAWIT: MP Khalid Al-Sultan has warned against a tendency by some parliamentarians to meddling with fundamental constitutional articles with the objective of achieving major constitutional changes, claiming that some of his fellow lawmakers support amending Article 2 of the constitution to make Islamic Sharia the source of all Kuwait’s legislation. Al-Sultan also raised a question over an apparent constitutional loophole in the open-ended period granted to the executive authorities to form a new government after a previous cabinet has been dissolved or stepped down, suggesting that this needs to be remedied. “We should end that and limit the time given to Prime Ministers to form their cabinets to 15 days at all times,” the MP asserted. — Al-Jarida
I
was glad to read about the US-funded initiative iEARN that promotes the practice of journalism amongst Kuwaiti students. I think this project is a small step for a greater cause. In fact, I think any project that encourages the freedom of the press and writing skills, especially amongst youth, is a great idea. It would help both parties get a better understanding and awareness of their mission as well as their task. The project is led by the International Education and Resource Network. iEARN is part of the US State Department-funded Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) that targets supporting reform efforts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). I fully support programs that fuel youth talents and abilities and allows them to express their views. Now, MEPI has had several programs, but this one for Kuwait has made a special collaboration with the Ministry of Education. The program will give high school students a chance to do some training in the very competitive and difficult field of journalism. Now, as a writer in the Middle East, and especially in the field of local affairs, I know that journalism is not an easy-going profession. Many people try to write, and may have some talent, but it doesn’t last long in this part of the world because writing for the press can be dangerous. That is of course, if you want to do decent writing and keep your pen mightier than a sword. Now, I surely hope that such competitions are focused on touching on important issues to the local community. I think topics such as the environment, thinking on a local level and issues related to common values and ethics, especially amongst women today, is what should be focused on. Now, few Kuwaiti women find their way into jobs in this country that make them key decision makers and this is an issue that needs to be addressed and examined. It would be really good to hear what many young high school girls would like to see for themselves 20 years from today. I believe projects like that would affect many people and help them develop their thinking skills. The program has chosen five Kuwaiti schools with 15-20 students from each school and has planned a trip for the students to Oman, the other of the two countries where the initiative is taking place. I hope other Gulf governments encourage this program to benefit their citizens.
British conman steals KD40,000 By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A Palestinian man has accused a British fraudster of conning him out of KD40,000 before fleeing the country with the stolen money. The plaintiff told police that he had handed over the money, his savings, after he and the British man agreed to form an import company, but the Briton turned out to be a conman, returning to the UK with his ‘business partner’s’ cash. An investigation is underway into the case. Drugs, booze bust Two Bangladeshi men were arrested in Bneid Al-Gar after patrol officers caught them red-handed with 500 grams of marijuana. In a separate incident, an Asian taxi driver was also taken into custody when police confiscated 20 bottles of alcohol from his vehicle.