Abdul Aziz Al-Samari

Al Jazeera

 

This great nation, blessed by Almighty Allah with a huge reserve of natural resources, has become a member of the club of rich countries.



In the backdrop of the economic boom being witnessed in the Kingdom, some citizens view life in a way that has nothing to do with reality.



They follow a philosophy of spending that is totally opposite to saving. They consume a lot under the illusion that the wealth from oil will never end.



This behavior is not prudent and underscores a lack of vision for sustaining a brighter future.



These people believe in amassing wealth through all possible means, regardless of whether this involves corruption and the abuse of power and social status.



Greed is a human instinct, and greedy people fail to understand that the nation is a vital element and more important than wealth.



Some of these people are unaware of the unique value of a safe and secure nation. The nation is like a home that protects a person from cold and storms in winter.



People feel at home when they land in their own country from abroad. Wealth and prosperity cannot be an alternative to a safe and secure nation.



What has prompted me to emphasize this is a recent report on corruption. I have gone through the annual report released by Transparency International, a global organization that leads the fight against corruption.



Saudi Arabia ranks 55 among 175 countries in the organization’s Corruption Perceptions Index for the year 2014.



I also highlight this point in response to the recent comments of Abdullah Abdul Qader, deputy president of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha).



“Yes. We are facing administrative, economic and financial corruption at all levels,” he said at a seminar organized four years after the creation of Nazaha.



All this shows that we have a defective strategy in combating corruption. The figures speak volumes about our indifference in effectively fighting this menace.



It seems that Nazaha is too weak to triumph over administrative and financial corruption.



This, of course, will adversely affect the interests of the nation and its security as well as its future.



Corruption is eating away at the walls of our nation and threatens us with more disasters unless we act promptly and effectively to contain it.



Nazaha is a meek lamb which is facing corruption in the private sector. Similarly, nepotism holds sway over rules and regulations as well as the nation’s broader interests.



It also stands above the principles of accountability and penal action.