KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem gestures during a session of the National Assembly yesterday. - KUNA

KUWAIT: A journalist covering the National Assembly news for local Arabic daily Al-Jarida claimed he was physically assaulted by the commander of the National Assembly guards yesterday after preventing him from doing his work. The newspaper decided to suspend its coverage of the National Assembly following the incident, which took place after a verbal encounter between the journalist and the Assembly guards. Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said the incident will be investigated today, adding that he had called the editor of the newspaper. He affirmed his respect for both the media personnel and the Assembly guards for maintaining order at the building.

Journalist Ali Al-Sunaideeh Al-Ajmi told Al-Jarida that he was covering an incident where the Assembly guards were trying to calm down military pensioners who were in the spectators' gallery. The men wanted MPs to debate a draft law that gives them more financial rights and refused to keep quiet when asked by the speaker. Then the guards intervened and asked them to leave.

At this point, the guards asked the journalist not to cover the encounter, but he insisted as he was doing his job. He said the guards spoke to him roughly. He then went to their commander who was watching and complained that they were preventing him from doing his job. The commander did the same and asked him to leave. Ajmi said he refused since he was doing his duty. At this point, the commander ordered him to hand over his Assembly ID and leave the building, which he did. As he was being escorted by the guards towards the gate, the commander hit him from behind, Ajmi claimed.

Meanwhile, the Assembly session passed yesterday without any significant output, except a number of decisions on work to do in the coming sessions. Lawmakers decided to discuss a draft law on naturalizing stateless people known as bedoons and allowing them to join the army in today's session. They decided to debate the new economic charter on Feb 20 after threats by MPs to grill the finance minister.

MPs also agreed to debate an investigation report about a huge rise in so-called hospitality spending by the interior ministry, which the budgets committee recommended be referred to the public prosecution. However, the Assembly could not debate the issue as the session ended. During the session, MPs criticized the government failure to bring down the cost of recruiting domestic helpers from abroad and the failure of the newly-established Al-Durra company to do the same.

MPs also insisted that the government should speed up a key reform law on regulating conflict of interests to allow the prosecution of MPs and ex-lawmakers accused of accepting bribes from the government. State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh told the Assembly the law has been approved by the government and will be sent to the Assembly soon. The Assembly then gave the legal and legislative panel one month to complete the legislation.

Head of the budgets committee MP Adnan Abdulsamad said that the Assembly should not debate a government draft law stipulating to allow the government to borrow as much as KD 25 billion until his panel completes the revision of the state's financial status within one month. The government wants the law to be able to borrow from the domestic and international markets to finance the budget deficit resulting from low oil prices. The Assembly then started to debate the housing problem, but could not finish the debate before the session was adjourned for today.

By B Izzak