Don’t criticize the housing minister for telling the truth

Don’t criticize the housing minister for telling the truth

December 26, 2015
Al-Watan
Al-Watan

Hamad Al-Maneh
Al-Watan

The ferocious attack against the Minister of Housing went too far. It is healthy to criticize government officials if they make wrong or inappropriate statements. However, it is not appropriate to focus on a part of an official’s speech out of context.

I personally do not know the Minister of Housing and have never met him, nor do I have any interests in the ministry. However, like others, I support constructive criticism which pinpoints the mistakes of officials or the negligence of a government agency. I am against harsh criticism and targeting individuals by taking their words out of context. We will not benefit from such criticism. Saudi society has set a great example of wisdom and reason over the past few decades as far as criticism is concerned. All columnists criticize officials in a constructive way.

I feel we have lost our way in terms of wisdom and reason. What the minister said was something common and we all say it all the time. Why it was blown out of proportion is beyond me. Taking parts of an interview or speech and interpreting it out of context will harm us. Firstly, we will fall into the trap of generalizing about people and will give others a reason to follow suit and do the same with other ministers.

We should not make quick judgments because this will only cause us to indulge in rumors and divert our attention from pressing issues. Moreover, many officials will refrain from telling the entire truth about the problems they face for fear that they will come under fire like the Minister of Housing. As Saudis, we have awareness that qualifies us to have interactive dialogues with officials to find solutions to our problems.

I do not think the problem is with what the minister said about housing. He did say that the majority of citizens were unaware of the dimensions of the housing problem and do not seem to understand the issue. We do have a housing problem, a shortage of land and a financing problem. I am sure that there are numerous solutions and that the ministry is working on them.

Some people only focused on this part of what the minister said and claimed that he had reduced the causes of the housing problem to the wrong thinking of people and to how they view this problem. This is unfair and also unreasonable and illogical. The causes of the housing crisis are clear to everyone, the minister included. Saying that the minister is not aware of or is ignoring the real causes of the housing crisis in our country is unfair and detracts from the importance of the minister as an official figure. We all know the real causes of the housing crisis. It is not a secret.

All he asked was that people not be too ambitious and hope to own a big home. I agree with him. We do not utilize the space in our homes and tend to spend too much money on design and construction. The problem is in our minds. It is the way we view the design of our houses. The minister did not mention one important thing. He did not talk about residential towers as an alternative to homes. If this option were to become available, many citizens would have a chance to own their own property within a short time at a reasonable price. The problem is most citizens do not consider this to be an option.

We have a spending problem and tend to lead lavish lifestyles. Many of us waste our financial resources while some tend to be more careful with money and save. Of course, this is not the main reason why some of us do not have a home. I am sure there are a large number of Saudis who just want simple homes and do not care about being lavish.


December 26, 2015
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