By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Lawmakers yesterday paid tribute to late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who passed away last week after ruling the country for 14 years following a 40-year career as foreign minister and three years as prime minister. The lawmakers described Sheikh Sabah as an extraordinary leader for his great services to the nation.

Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said the late Amir was "righteous with his people, seeking to meet their needs, watching over their comfort and striving to achieve their aspirations for Kuwait". Regionally, he was a messenger of peace, working hard for issues of Arab and Islamic nations, especially those issues in which humans were victims of conflicts, and the Palestinian case was his priority, he added. Ghanem said the late Amir was the guardian of the constitution and thus the nation is "crying for a great leader and wise skipper who steered the ship by weathering storms. He had a kind heart and was a source of safety".

MP Saleh Ashour described Sheikh Sabah as a great leader who loved Kuwait and its people who in turn loved him. MP Safa Al-Hashem said Kuwait lost in Sheikh Sabah a school of diplomacy that endorsed peace and neutrality. MP Riyadh Al-Adasani said Sheikh Sabah made many initiatives and provided assistance to neighboring countries. He said the late Amir exerted great efforts to preserve Gulf unity.

MP Adel Al-Damkhi said Sheikh Sabah defended the Palestinian cause and resisted normalization of ties with the Zionist enemy. MP Abdullah Al-Kandari described Sheikh Sabah as the wise man of Arabs and a peacemaker who defused the Gulf crisis.

The Assembly then held a second special session to study a number of draft laws. The Assembly unanimously approved a law setting the financial allocations of the Amiri Diwan at KD 50 million. Head of the budgets committee MP Adnan Abdulsamad said the sum also includes allocations to members of the ruling family.