Al-Jazirah

Over the past few years, many negative practices have become prevalent in our country. We see Saudis involved in practices that reflect negatively on our society. They are ready to make fun of themselves and act like fools to make millions of others laugh. We see Saudis filming their children in funny situations and circulating the clips on social media. Many people do trivial things thinking that this will make them famous.

On our streets, we see drivers disobeying traffic rules in broad daylight and engaging in dangerous stunts in complete disregard for the safety of other road users. We see people throwing trash on streets and littering everywhere without any care for the poor street sweepers who have to kneel down and pick up the garbage.

If you visit a mall or a government office and try to park your car, you will not find a good spot because everyone will have parked their cars incorrectly. No one respects the areas designated for the disabled. You will probably see someone who does not suffer from a disability park his car in front of you in a spot designated for the disabled.

Moreover, most children misbehave inside malls and tend to disrupt the movement of other shoppers. You will see women performing prayers at gates or entrances. Once you’ve performed prayer at the mosque, you will see people pushing and shoving one another on the way out. Everyone seems to be in a hurry just to get out first as if they were running away from something bad. No one respects queues at supermarkets and ATMs. Hospitals are not as quiet as one would expect. They can be as noisy as the street when in fact they should make patients feel comfortable and relaxed.

Islam urges Muslims to respect law and order and not to hurt others. Our daily social engagements and interactions are full of negative practices. City municipalities around the country impose fines on littering and it seems that the fines have not deterred anyone as people continue to engage in this negative practice. I do not know what type of tools the municipalities use to monitor violators. For example, have they installed surveillance cameras? What about the parks that have become complete eyesores? How are the municipalities going to protect these parks?

Why do a large number of Saudis tend not to respect the rights of others on roads and in queues? Is it because they are always in a hurry or is it because of wasta?

The authorities should impose laws to deter such violations or else chaos will become prevalent and we will continue to see these negative practices generation after generation. Everyone should act responsibly and preserve public property and facilities.