By FATIN BUNDAGJI
On May 17, 2003, in his annual address to the National Consultative Council, the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia reaffirmed his will to work toward political and economic reform.
"We will work to improve our system of government and the performance of the public sector and broaden popular participation in the political process." During that speech, he called for the widening of women's participation in the political, economic, social, cultural and educational fields, and for reinforcing their rights and status in society; and the importance of promoting the family and the need to protect Arab youth.
The same year, the then Crown Prince Abdullah presented a bold initiative entitled the "Charter to Reform the Arab Position." In it he proposed measures to bring about more democratization in the Arab world as a means to promote peace and stability in the region. Regionally and locally Saudi Arabia was aware of the obvious fact that the prerequisites to political stability are social equality, civic engagement, and good governance.
Following that in 2005, during the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, the global Muslim community reiterated the above-mentioned Saudi political intentions in the OIC's "Ten-Year Program of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century." The Plan of Action states in Article VIII and under the title, "Human Rights and Good Governance" that: "Muslim states need to seriously endeavor to enlarge the scope of political participation, ensure equality, civil liberties and social justice and to promote transparency and accountability, and eliminate corruption in the OIC Member States."
It seems as it were, that all our leaders were aware that the "The Muslim World faced grave political, socioeconomic, cultural and scientific challenges with implications for its unity, peace, security and development" and as such, a unified strategy was the only safeguard against such a calamity.
Going from the global Muslim community to the local Saudi one, I have to justifiably admit that several initiatives have borne to bear in Saudi Arabia as a means to achieve the above ambitious statements. Cases in point are the Saudi National 5-Year Development Plans. Ever since the 70s, the Kingdom has systematically used these plans to road-map its way to development, modernization, peace and stability. But insofar as results, these ongoing plans (9 to date) have yet to prove their success in realistically achieving what they proclaim to do.
From a citizen's perspective, and based on the basic assumption claimed by these plans to "improve the standard of living and the quality of life of Saudi citizens," I dare to ask the burning question: As we advance into our 9th Plan, has anyone been tracking the successful accomplishments of the former 8? If yes, then why the deep divide between what is strategically designed on paper and what is realistically being achieved on the ground?
The achievements of former plans may be many. No one can deny that Saudi Arabia has grown from a desert land to a seemingly modern high-tech nation. The growth of major cities, the creation of hospitals, schools, and public utilities may all indicate visible achievements - but also by comparison, they highlight major shortcomings as a result of short-sight during the planning process.
Equitable development is mentioned in several of the plans but achieved by none so far - the fact that chronic migration from rural areas to major cities is still ongoing; the fact that we are still trying to build the basic infrastructure that should have been in place 40 years ago; the fact that we are still trying to figure out ways to diversify our economic base as a means to reduce our dependency on oil; the fact that we are still stuck in the field of privatization and unemployment reduction... all these prove that our National Planning Process was never accurately estimated nor strategically designed.
2012 is a year of change. In 2011, we witnessed the "Arab Spring." However, a "spring" it was not; for it was not an innocent birth; instead the events of 2011 are the fermentation of long brewing consequences. The fast growing chaos we are witnessing today is nothing more than the natural outcome of a people demanding for a better quality of life for themselves and their families... a basic right, promised to them by their leaderships and officially communicated in 2006 during the OICs Summit in Makkah.
A promise the payback time of which has come.
Dipetik dari - Arab News
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