Okaz newspaper

The Saudi government did not leave out any matter of concern to the citizens without addressing it and establishing a facility to take care of it.

IN the past 88 years following the unification of Saudi Arabia by King Abdul Aziz in 1932, many spectacular achievements have been made by the Kingdom.

Among others, these include the ability to travel from the Red Sea coast in the west to the Arabian Gulf in the East crossing a distance of more than 1,500 km without the fear of looters, highway gangs, and other criminals.

The tangible achievements consisted of tens of universities, thousands of schools, hundreds of hospitals, health centers and clinics and the provision of enough quantities of food, vegetables and fruit at reasonable prices.

Our homeland brought together the concepts of security, health and education. Following this, the success or failure of every citizen is left to his or her determination and willpower. Those who make strenuous efforts will succeed while those who bask in laziness and sleep will only have to blame themselves because there is opportunity for everyone.

There is a comprehensive and fair judicial system. The first thing the judges learn in the law school is the Prophet›s saying that out of three judges, two will go to Hell and one to Heaven.

One of the first two in Hell is a judge who knows the rule of law yet he judges unfairly while the second is ignorant of the law and judges accordingly.

The government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has established enough courts and supplied them with the required equipment similar to schools, universities and hospitals. For this, it should be thanked and appreciated.

Having said this, I ask the judges to adhere strictly to the law and to fear Allah in all the rulings they issue.

The government also established social security funds to assist the poor and needy Saudi families, the Real Estate Development Fund to grant easy loans to the citizens to build their own homes, the Public Investment Fund, the Agricultural Development Fund and many others.

The Saudi government did not leave out any matter of concern to the citizens without addressing it and establishing a facility to take care of it.

During the past 88 years, the citizens have benefited from sustainable development, which included the establishment of ministries and corporations in various fields. There is an authority for seaports, an establishment for roads, a body for the digging of wells and many others. The government has also set up giant companies such as Saudi Aramco and SABIC.

These achievements were not made overnight but were carefully nourished and sponsored by the government until they reached today›s level.

As we celebrate our 88th National Day, I pray to Allah to protect the Kingdom and the two Holy Mosques from any act of sabotage, machinations, wrongdoing or evil. I also pray that the path of development and prosperity of our country continue forever.

On this glorious occasion, I add my voice to that of my brother Hammad Al-Salmi who wrote in Al-Jazirah newspaper last week calling for the expansion of the non-Muslim road between Jeddah, Makkah and Taif.

He said the project to expand this road was the focus of attention of the Makkah emir about 10 years ago. The Ministry of Transport started the expansion work and then it stalled. The work on the expansion eventually came to a complete halt.

We wish that the ministry, the Makkah Development Authority, the Haj committees and other concerned bodies to complete this vital road as quickly as possible.

The road does not only concern non-Muslims but is also of extreme value to all travelers who are not Haj or Umrah pilgrims between Jeddah, Taif, Asir, Riyadh and the Eastern Province.

I hope that the expansion and lighting of this road would be a gift of the government to the citizens on the occasion of the National Day.