9 p.m. closure a catastrophe

By Raja Al-Otaibi WE have to differentiate between importing Western culture and then becoming skeptical to embrace it, and importing a global moral value and practicing it. These values, such as fostering justice, truth and peaceful coexistence, are ideal for any country and people in all periods of time. However, some imports, like the closure of shops early in the night, aren’t desirable under any circumstances. The proposal of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development to close shops, except pharmacies, restaurants, coffee shops, and some supermarkets, at 9 p.m. is something about which apparently no thorough studies have been made. Even if it has some positive elements on one side, there are several negatives on the other. Perhaps these negative factors would contribute to a catastrophe in Saudi life, in terms of society, security, and the economy. Take for example, the case of shops of chocolates, cookies, dresses and perfumes. These shops will be the worst victims of the proposed 9 p.m. closure. Unlike the Western community, members of the Saudi community are not accustomed to go shopping in the morning or at noon, but only in the afternoon and evening. Shops in the Kingdom make their earnings most during a five-hour period from 4 p.m. till 9 p.m. If we deduct the time of temporary closure of the shops for the evening prayers of Maghrib and Isha, it would be only four working hours. This means that if the shops close at 9, they will incur huge losses. Normally the labor contract between shop owners and their staff is to work at least for eight hours. But in fact, the staff can work only four productive hours in the event of a 9 p.m. closure. This means that the shop owner incurs losses, and subsequently he will be forced to cut salaries or increase the prices of goods. Ultimately, the losers will be not only shop owners but also workers and customers as well. Is there any justice in inflicting such losses on certain commercial activities while allowing other trades to make profits? This forces citizens to close their shops early and spending more time in coffee shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. What would be the fate of workers who become unemployed because of the losses incurred in businesses? It is also not possible to compel Saudi society to go to bed early. Perhaps they could resort to taking sleeping pills without a medical prescription! Some positive factors are pointed out for implementing the proposal. These include bringing up the percentage of Saudization, strengthening social cohesion, reorganizing the life of Saudi citizens, and the like. All these are sentimental approaches and have nothing to do with reality. Hence, we have to focus on a realistic approach without doing harm to any sector. Saudization can effectively be implemented without resorting to such decisions. Similarly, one cannot make people in Riyadh like people of London who sleep at 9 p.m. Saudi society cannot be reorganized after taking into account only one angle of the proposal and ignoring its other aspects.