When asked about issues such as women’s driving and providing more entertainment outlets for youth, some decision makers here say: this is not a priority for us in the present time. Very diplomatic, but also very alarming because these officials don’t bother to tell people their other priorities, if there was any of course.
I find the idea of prioritization somehow troubling, especially when discussing national issues and in the absence of an elected parliament that reflects the opinion of the nation. I think that some officials use prioritization as an excuse to ignore, avoid, or delay taking decisions even though he knows deep down these are the right decisions to take, only because such decisions don’t go well with his personal agenda. What we have now is different trends in the society having different priorities, and different leaders having different priorities, all while our most pressing issues remain unsolved and get even more complicated.
Now my question for you dear readers: if you have the ability to solve one of our national issues, what is the single most issue you would like to solve?
Saudi Jeans 
Can I answer this question as a woman from Jordan? Because I know how I’d answer it!
The single issue I would most like resolved is this: Jordanian women should have to right to pass on their citizenships to their children, regardless of whehter or not the father has the Jordanian citizenship.
It is baffling to me that I cannot have my children carry Jordanian passports if I were to marry someone who is not Jordanian. That’s absolutely ridiculous and I hate it.
I hope you’ll have a lot of readers answering that question of yours; it will be interesting to see the kind of issues that pop up!
I have a selfish request, namely prioritizing making the visa process for Americans easier! I would love to visit Saudi Arabia but it seems nearly impossible to get a Visa.
“Rambling Hal”
even in KSA we have the same problem and it happen to alot of peple but there alot of big issues we have to be solved .
“pearlofdubai”
also, we well have the same of we want to visit your cuntry but it well be more than you by a hundred time .
Thanks for bringing up this issue, I’ve always had a problem with this “prioritization” scam, yes thats how I feel about it!
you start to talk about a problem
and before you know it you are given this lame excuse.
I can’t help but think are we really such a one dimensional nation that can’t think or take care of more than one issue at a time?!? I don’t recall how many ministers, a97ab ma3alee, Wuzaraa2 dawla we have, but I’m pretty sure there are more than one, how about asking each to take care of his own business maybe we can get things rolling and somehow get out of this gridlock?!
The irony is that this cliche is now being used by everybody not only officials. Have you discussed any issue with anyone who disagrees with it, and one of the reasons for his/her objection was becasue: we have more pressing issues to deal with than this? :-)
I don’t see the point of asking people what’s your most pressing issue as each one who is suffreing from a problem would like to see it prioritized.
The sick would want to see a better health care system,
the unemployed would want to see an end to his unemployment,
The investor would think that the most pressing issue is less beuracracy…
And the poor women who has been strolling in the courts for the past 5 years to get divorce form her drug abusing husband, or get her divorcee to pay her 4 kids their monthly SR.1000 allowance which the “judge” Ra’9eya Allaho 3anhoo orered would think that fixing the court systems is thee #1 priority!
Thanks again for bringing this up.
As an outside observer, I’d suggest the top priority is getting the message across that ‘different’ doesn’t equal ‘evil and therefore must be suppressed’.
It needs to start at home, when kids are little. It needs to be reinforced throughout the school years. And further reinforced through the media and the mosque.
With that out of the way, I think it would become a lot easier to address many other problems, from health care to treatment of expat laborers; from marriage to anti-terrorism.
Oh, and even the kind of clothes one wears! (Reference to your appearance in this article in the Christian Science Monitor.
Pearlofdubai: I don’t have any problem getting a Saudi visa. That may be because I’m male, however.
As someone who has lived in Jeddah for more than 28 years, I want to see centers built for children who are abused, physically and sexually. Since this topic is such a taboo among its citizen, I want to see more awareness and care for abused children. This problem has been going on for far too long, and too many people live in secrecy with this terrible problem.
Mansur
I think allowing women to vote should be a top priority. Without the ability to vote- women lack voices.
reform Saudi education
AHMED,
FEELING good to answer this issue..
Fundamenatly speaking firstly right of expression & right of speech should be brought up ,Saudi lacks this miserably..
Bringing up better perspective & broader views among saudi’s as OTHER non- saudi are not inferior or evil is important.
thirldy kingdom should enforce civil law which protects freedom of every citizen irrespective of age or sex to exist!!!.
Reader in UAE.
Crime, hands down.
Capital punishment used to be a strong deterant. Now thats its gone, statistics have balloned.
There’s just so many to choose from, it’s like choose which flavor you want from a jelly bean bowl.
I would probably stamp out corruption since its causing so many problems in saudi arabia
hi
i want to say that i read ur blog very often, but never commented until now.
As someone who was born in Jeddah and lived there for 18 years, i would always love to go back for a visit.
i dont know if u can call this a ‘national issue’ but it is difficult to get a visitor visa.
I had an iqama for 18 years and feel it is almost imporssible to get a visa now, so many requirements and complications at the embassy.
So imagine the case with people who had never been there and would just like to visit (not for Hajj nor Omra)
answering in arabic:
الجرائم الكثيرة التي أخذت بالظهور دون ردع حقيقي، وخصوصاً السرقة والاغتصاب.. والسبب الانصراف الأمني شبه التام عنها.. والقضاة المزاجيين..
سأختار معالجة القضاء.. لو كان الأمر بيدي!
Education. No doubt about it.
I think, the most important problem is corruption. almost everyone had an experience of that once or more.lack of transparency is another important issue we should concern on.
It is certainly educating the population by building more English Medium Schools, Colleges and Universities in Saudi Arabia. There are many arabic institutions especially in Riyadh and Jeddah, which have no value in international markets.
Most proffessional people, who are working in public services such as in police, fire fighting organisations and even in some hospitals, do not know a single word of english. So how do people with no arabic background speak to them? “It becomes a complete mess when calling the police or fire dept for expatriates”
The education system in the country must go through a complete revolution to grow and increase their standards living through non-oil resources. Im not saying eliminate arabic, but english has higher scope for the Saudi population to become a globaly recognized society.
Our frailities are ivincible,our virtues barren; the batttle goes sore against us to the going down of the sun.
“Robert Louis Stevenson”
Can we change anythin’??
i don’t wana sound hopeless but come on!
There’s an important thing that we should focus on and that is education ,it shuld be improved. and if it was up to me i’d change those old semi usless curriculums we have!
I would like to congratulate Saudi Jeans that, your web site with this post of “Prioritization” got published on 14th December in the Saudi Gazzette News Paper. Keep Up the good work. [;-)]
Answer to prioritization—Set up a panel of educated people in various areas of expertise, let them handle the people’s grievances. In ksa we have many small problems that need to be fixed to allow people to be more intelligent, happier, etc.
I want to see my daughters university (king faisal in dammam) fixed up, something that the girls can be proud to attend, the collea in dammam i hear is atrocious! We need to get women working in retail so us muslimahs dont have to buy our under garments from men, nor our perfumes, face care products—is this realy in line with Islam for me to hold up my undergarment and ask the man in the shop to find me a diff color or size????? is it really in islamic standards for me to discuss my scent with a handsome lebanese salesman? i feel more comfortable shopping in bahrain where i can discuss these products witha woman. is it in keeping with islamic standards for me to ride in a car with my strange driver? I feel that we’re being forced into doing these haram things and i resent these men here acting as if all us women are whores who will give into temptation—what a joke when soo many saudi men cheat on their wives and drink! (tash ma tash tackels these issues). Please, give me a break!