Manama: Two Kuwaiti lawmakers have called for revoking the passport of any Kuwaiti who harms the country’s reputation abroad.
“We would like the interior minister who is cleaning up the home front to also look at these tarnishing the reputation of Kuwait abroad and revoke their passports for five years,” MP Nabeel Al Fadhel said.
“We would like also the health minister to suspend the treatment trip of any patient or relative who misbehaves abroad. The situation has gone beyond the point of resentment among Europeans who are now calling for the expulsion of all Arabs,” he said.
MP Abdul Hameed Dashti said that he would call for a debate on the issue of Kuwaitis engaging abroad in acts that tarnished their country’s reputation.
“I will request two hours at a session when parliament resumes to address the issue and eventually agree on recommendations that will be referred to the government for action,” he said in remarks carried by local daily Al Watan on Sunday.
“We need to carry out a study on the increasing instances of irresponsible practices by some young Kuwaitis during their trips abroad. Their actions are offensive to the reputation of Kuwaitis as civilised and refined people who respect the laws, customs and traditions of the countries they visit.”
The lawmaker said that he was concerned about possible repercussions of the irresponsible acts.
“What we fear is that Kuwait and its people may have to pay for acts that can put our foreign officials in embarrassing situations. Their recklessness should not be tolerated and it deserves our attention. Options include revoking the passport of any Kuwaiti found guilty of misbehaving for a specific period of time,” he said.
Neither lawmaker specified the malpractices that prompted their calls for government action, including revoking passports, but social media users in Kuwait have been broadcasting and showing videos and pictures of attitudes by Kuwaitis they described as highly irresponsible.
These included a woman using flip flops to hit her children in a public park and young people tampering with fountains. Pictures of people throwing empty bags and cans in public places, and not in allocated garbage bins, were also disseminated on the Net.
