Kuwait: New cabinet with 2 women sworn-in

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir yesterday sworn-in the new Cabinet that immediately came under fire from a number of MPs setting the stage for yet another bout of political disputes. The 16-member Cabinet includes seven new faces, some of whom were ministers before, and two women while the four ministers from the ruling family were retained in their posts.

Ali Al-Barrak, who was the Education Ministry Undersecretary, was appointed as Health Minister, while former Islamist MP Ahmad Baqer became Minister of Commerce and Industry and State Minister for National Assembly Affairs. He was a minister before 2006.

Hussein Al-Huraiti, the only elected MP in the Cabinet, was appointed Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs.

Abdulrahman Al-Ghuneim was appointed as Minister of Communications. He was a minister in 1980s. Bader Al-Duwailah was appointed as Minister of Social Affairs and Labor while Fadhel Safar, a Shiite and a member of the municipal council, was appointed Minister of Public Works and Municipality.

Mohammad Al-Olaim was appointed as Minister of Oil and Electricity and Water. He was Minister of Electricity and Water and Acting Oil Minister in the previous Cabinet.

Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali was retained.

The two women in the Cabinet are Nouriya Al-Sabeeh and newcomer Mudhi Al-Humoud.

Sabeeh was retained as Education Minister while Humoud was appointed State Minister of Housing and Administrative Development. Humoud is a liberal academic and former head of the Arab Open University.

Despite threats to grill him, Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khaled Al-Sabah was retained in his post. The new Cabinet appears to have fulfilled sectarian and tribal divisions of the society.

The four major tribes of Awazem, Rashayda, Mutairi and Ajmans are represented. Shiites have two ministers, Safar and Shamali, the same number of the previous Cabinet.

Politically, Liberals and Islamists are well-represented with one minister each for the Salafis and Islamic Constitutional Movement and one for the Shiite National Islamic Alliance. This is the fourth government to be formed by Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah since he first became a prime minister in February 2006.

In the past two years, two assemblies were dissolved because of political disputes and early elections were called. Following the swearing-in ceremony, HH the Amir urged the new ministers to work united as a team and to cooperate with the National Assembly.

But the new Cabinet was not to the liking of several MPs, especially Islamists. Hardline Salafi MP Mohammad Hayef Al-Mutairi spared no time to criticize the new line-up.

He said he is studying boycotting the opening session of the National Assembly because the Cabinet includes two women who do not abide by the election law which requires women to respect Islamic Sharia law, a reference that the two female ministers do not use the Hijab, or head cover. Mutairi also criticized the inclusion of Safar, alleging that "he is suspected of being a member of Hezbollah Kuwait". Safar was among several Shiite activists detained and interrogated in March over accusations of being members of the Kuwaiti branch of Hezbollah.

The public prosecution however did not press charges against them for lack of evidence. The detention came after a rally was held to mourn former Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Imad Mughnieh, accused in Kuwait of hijacking a Kuwaiti plane and killing two citizens in 1988.

Islamist MP Faisal Al-Muslim said the new Cabinet is "disappointing" adding that he is contemplating taking a "practical action" without elaborating. Leader of the Salaf group Khaled Sultan Al-Issa particularly criticized the inclusion of Humoud saying she is likely to "become a cause for a crisis".

He did not elaborate but he was apparently referring to the fact that Humoud is a leading liberal activist. Outspoken opposition MP Mussallam Al-Barrak said that Kuwait needed a national salvation government away from the quota system that has never worked.

In the meantime, 30 new MPs held an informal meeting yesterday at the Diwaniya of MP Saleh Al-Mulla and discussed several issues including the election of a speaker. MP Waleed Al-Tabtabai said that several MPs raised the idea of electing a new speaker other than former speakers Jassem Al-Khorafi and Ahmad Al-Saadoun who are the only candidates. Tabtabai said that he was ready to withdraw from the race if Khorafi also withdrew and MPs agreed on a consensus speaker.

The name of MP Abdullah Al-Roumi was raised but no decision was taken as several MPs protested that this issue should be discussed only in the National Assembly. Khorafi did not attend the meeting. The lawmakers also discussed a proposal calling to boycott the opening of next assembly term in October if the government failed to present its program by then.

Several MPs called for giving the new government enough time to perform and for postponing any grilling. MPs will continue the meeting today at the Diwaniya of MP Nasser Al-Duwailah.

By B Izzak, Kuwait Times