Monday’s suicide attacks in Riyadh will continue to haunt us for some time to come. The tragedy even cast its heavy shadow upon the speech by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd five days later as he addressed the Shoura Council. In such speeches, the king normally outlines the government’s policy for a future we all hope will be an improvement over the present. In the king’s speech, the word which dominated was “reform” and he was not hesitant about addressing an issue that continues to occupy people’s minds. It was a speech which focused on a national project everyone wants to see become reality, a project which will not be deterred by terror or forced upon us by outside pressure. It was an expression of the will and wishes of both the people and their leadership, a cure for the future. It calls for us to first carry out some thorough soul-searching and then set out to effect reform at all levels — political, administrative, economic and social.
We shall all be partners in the political and administrative development process through the Shroura Council. We expect the following: a revision of existing rules and regulations; tight control over government bodies whose performance will thus be improved; broader popular participation; more women taking up jobs; freeing the economy from the shackles of pointless bureaucracy and encouraging domestic as well as foreign investment. In addition, we also expect to see more and better jobs for our youth and for us to live in social harmony and national unity — at a great distance from extremism or any attempts to ignore history while adopting a rational, moderate and tolerant Islamic path. We expect to remain a part of the free world and aspire to a better future through active reciprocal relations; we don’t want a world in which we live a static life while the world around us keeps changing. We want to be full partners in the world and not limit ourselves to being no more than spectators.
This is the future that King Fahd wants for us and the one he wants to lead us into.
Is there anyone among us who will disagree with such a future? Do the apologists who can see only the dark side of things have any ideas better than these? Can they ever deliver? What do we want? Do we not long for stability, prosperity, freedom, happiness and positive interaction with the outside world? Or do we prefer isolation, backwardness, fighting with one another and conflict with the outside world? The decision is ours. We can make the difference and choose the future we want for ourselves. We are about to witness the dawn of a new Saudi Arabia. Let us open the doors and walk through them in peace and security.
Arab News From the Local Press 19 May 2003
