KUWAIT: Five MPs yesterday submitted a proposal to increase pensions paid to retired Kuwaitis by KD 60 monthly every three years instead of KD 30 currently. MPs Ali Al-Deqbasi, Faisal Al-Kandari, Salah Khorshid, Ahmad Al-Fadhl and Khalaf Dumaitheer, who filed the bill, also called for the need to revise the amount of the increase once every five years depending on the rise in the cost of living. The lawmakers said they submitted the proposal to help retired people cope with the steady rise in the cost of living, especially since many pensioners totally depend on such pensions for their living.

In other Assembly news, opposition MP Abdulkarim Al-Kandari yesterday declined an invitation by the National Assembly's legal and legislative committee to discuss with him a grilling he had filed against the prime minister and which the Assembly decided to refer to the committee to decide whether it is in line with the constitution. MP Saadoun Hammad, a member of the committee, said Kandari did not attend the meeting and the committee invited the justice minister for a meeting on Sunday to represent the government in the issue. Kandari filed to grill the prime minister several weeks ago and the government insisted that it violated the constitution and demanded that it should be reviewed by the legal committee.

Also, MP Khalil Al-Saleh called on the government yesterday to implement recommendations made by the Assembly and its committees, claiming that most of the recommendations are normally ignored. Saleh also called on the government to cancel making exceptions to appoint expatriates who do not fulfill conditions in government jobs.

By B Izzak