Briton vents fury on govt, Kuwaiti laws
KUWAIT CITY: A British citizen working for a local company allegedly abused and bad-mouthed a staff member of the Hawalli Pollution Testing Center after the latter told him that his car needed repairs.
Reportedly, the British man, accompanied by four semi-clad women, went to the Hawalli center to get his car checked. A staff member after checking the car told him that his car needed repairs and that he should come back after getting the repair job done.
This infuriated the British man and he started abusing the staffer, Kuwait and Kuwaiti laws loudly in public. Sources say the staffer warned that it was illegal to speak in such a manner but the accused did not heed him and drove off angrily.
The staffer noted the number plate of the car and reported the incident to his higher-ups. Securitymen found that the accused was working for a local company and sources say due legal action will be taken against him. 'Nobody is above the law and everybody should respect the laws of the country,' they added.
By Munaif Naif
Special to the Arab Times
Nobody is above the law... Yeah right. When the whole country runs on wasta it means that if you have the right wasta you are above the law. Period.
I don’t know any of the players in this incident, so this is just pure speculation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was nothing wrong with the car in question, and the Pollution tester was just being an ass and picking on someone to justify his existence. How many times in Kuwait do you see that? Maybe he was jealous of the four scantily clad ladies... what, they didn’t have abayas on? Maybe they were showing off some flabby white-skinned arms?
What exactly did the Britisher say that was illegal? That the jobsmith’s mother wore combat boots in bed? That corruption is so pervasive in Kuwait that you now have to bribe someone to pass a car pollution test? That Kuwait is a hell-hole, and that the Kuwaiti laws are an ass? Yeah, well there are probably lots of westerners that would agree with him on that. Not many would waste time on taking legal action... all it means is that the side with the biggest wasta wins. For the Britisher it means he better have a really good relationship with most senior Kuwaiti in his organisation if he wants to stay on in Kuwait. So either the Britisher will be fined/imprisoned/kicked out of the country, or it will be quietly swept under the carpet.
3 comments:
I agree. Corruption and wasta in Kuwait reached a level that no one can ignore. But, assuming that the story is accurate, does that give right to a Brit or a Westerner, or any one for that matter, to insult or bad mouth a government employee, or the local laws and regulations?! Also, if a Palestinian, an Indian, a Pakistani, or any non- European or North American, did what this Brit did, what kind of treatment he will receive?! Again, I don't know how accurate the story is, but just wondering.
as a Brit he has the rights. Britain made this tiny Kuwait and some other countries, like hmmm Qatar, Bahrain, uae and loads more.
so god save the queen
its ridiculous. wasta and corruption in the whole region need to be clamped out.
at least its not as bad as saudi. there, foreigners are sometimes considered inferior human beings.
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