Majlis Ash-Shura, 1362 A.H.

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

From AbdulAziz bin Abdul Rahman AlFaisal

To the dignified president of The Shura council, Our Son, Faisal, may Allah protect him.

We read the annual report of The Shura council for its approved affairs for the year 1361 A.H. and number No 472 on 26/12/1361. We wish that you convey the Council our compliments for their efforts and acknowledged exertions, and our good belief in them. This belief and trust necessitates us that we extend their work for one further year since the beginning of Moharaam 1362 A.H.

We ask Allah for success and prosperity.

And peace and blessing of Allah be upon you.

On behalf of the Council, the Council member Mr. Ahmad Ben Ibrahim AlGhazawy then delivered the following word:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Your Honor:

while listening to the royal decree renewing the session of the Council to congratulate each other for this trust and work hard on completing our duties.

Celebrating today this new session, we take the opportunity of your honored being in the Council room to express the happiness prevailing among the Council members, and the pride they get by this honor, and the noble meaning it implies. At the same time, we find ourselves in a situation that entails us to exert vast efforts to resume activity in all duties entitled by us as much as possible.

Your Majesty:

We wish that your Majesty accepts, on behalf of his Majesty our glorious king, the most loyal statements of thanks and praise, and the most sincere signs of love and faithfulness. We ensure your glorified majesty that the whole people is raising its hands in praying and supplication to Allah, glorified and exalted be He, to extend the life of his Majesty, and sustain his victory, glory and success for paternal care he includes it with, and for the passion and patronage he donates upon it.

The government of his Majesty is still holding the debt of all that guides the nation and the country to the prosperity of justice and safety, luxury and reassuring despite all difficulties imposed by the circumstances of destroying war. Despite all that, this government is engaged in ensuring is needs, and attaining its luxury, by all means. The best that it did and still is doing, is growing agriculture and developing it according to the most modern methods, and closest to production, which yields are being picked a while ago.

The previous session of the Council, rather the entire country witnessed that reforming movement as much as current circumstances permit. It also could add to this appreciation what goes in the minds of various classes of the people to double the efforts exerted in this way, in consideration of the majority longing to knowledge and awareness.

In turn, we could assure your Majesty, with hearts full of hope, that we won’t save an effort for the sake of duty and performing it, for the sake of advising and providing it, whenever that is within our specialization and authorities.

Being lucky that your Majesty and it is our great honor that you preside upon this Council and reinforce it, are so interested of regulations, projects, and transaction that are directly related to the benefits of the country and nation that are presented to the Council, we find no escape from fulfilling our oaths, and focus all interest on what achieves your intentions and brings us closer to Allah.

Here we find a good opportunity to express our hope that state departments and its divisions share the government and the Council their feeling of the necessity of reconsideration of what demands or benefits of the regulations require, which experience and facts indicate that they need some modifications so that they are fair and just, and guide to the desired purpose and wished target.

Justifications and needs that up till now require that are convincing in some regards, however they lack development and advancement, and remain in place out of slowness and shrinkage, something that your majesty avoid hence the Council,

We could only praise the good deeds, passion and favor that his Majesty bestows abundantly upon the nation by day and night, that favor is unmatchable along history.

To be faithful, we should raise our voices with thanks and prayer to his Majesty towards providing food items, and decreasing their prices, and making it easy for every consumer to get them at no cost or effort.

Our Council has a hope that we ask your majesty of: that specialized committees of caterings perform their charged duties like watching the prices of items, and their occasional increase or fluctuating due to illusionary regards, and fixing them at a level that is in accordance with the benefit of the salesman and the consumer at the same time.

Later, his highness the Prince delivered the following word:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

His Majesty, was kind enough to show his approval of the Council. There is no doubt that the government and the nation are following his Majesty. Although some of the current circumstances limited some actions, I am quite sure that we would be ok as long as we are faithful.

There are some points that were indicated to by our colleague on behalf of the Council. These points are quite important, and they are important for every thinker whether in the government, or the in the nation and country, and they require a lot of reforms. Yet everyone would reach the goal as said. Since we are on our way, we would reach, by the will of Allah, to the desired goal and intended target.

Our status is satisfactory, in comparison to other on all grounds:

First: religiously
Secondly: in terms of manners
Thirdly: in terms of applying justice between members and authorities.
Fourthly: in terms of exerting the effort of what is beneficial for the country and nation.

This is what every one of us feels, yet it is not all that our souls aim to. There are some points that prevent reaching the desired purpose quickly. Yet what is required from all of us is big and responsibility is great.

Reforming actions are the basis of everything. If good intention and hard work accompany them, set regulations would be achieved, by the will of Allah. They are certainly not divine rules, and they need to be modified according to the need of the country. What is valid among them would be held, and what experience and the need of the country prove it is not valid; modification needed should be done to it.

My advice to the Ministry of finance is that we don’t like to go into increases in balances, yet in reforms. What I believe is that all of us are aware that we are loyal in our actions, and consider the public interest in everything. We are aware of exerting every effort that leads to the benefit of the country and the nation. This is undisputable. As for what our colleague raised in his previous statement to urge committees of caterings to carry out the required duties like watching out prices of items and their increase, I would like here to inform the Council that committees of caterings were never deficient of their duties. They asked us a lot to take some procedures. And I don’t like any disturbance to take place in the market, or that any trouble in a resource or for a consumer happens. Experiences have proved that every such action leads to its opposite. Since no excesses happened, I decided not to prove the demands that these committees apply the established procedures.

We did not expect that prices in the country are cheaper than prices of other countries, even exporting countries, and this is very certain.

It is a divine care. The good intention and efforts of his Majesty, as well as his wisdom are greatly involved.

Public responsibility is what remains. This is a shared responsibility between the Council, State, Citizens and Society.

First: responsibility towards Allah

Secondly: responsibility towards honor and tradition.

1- Responsibility towards Allah entails us to cooperate in what satisfies Him and the Prophet. So all of us have to be a commission for promoting virtue and preventing vice, according to what our religion necessitates, confirming the holy Hadith: "He who sees something detestable, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot, then with his tongue, and even if he is not able, then with his heart, and that is the weakest form of faith".

2- Honor and tradition and maintaining good manners and decency involved by the honor of man. No nation without good manners and no society without good manners. A lot has been said about that but sayings alone are not enough, strict observance should accompany that.

Yes, responsible authorities were never deficient. The Department of General Security is performing all its duties too in all that reaches it and gets aware of it. If we really want to have a society that has a solid base, it should be upon good manners. Manners include legitimate and human etiquettes, treatment, and good company with people, good manners in work and prudent talking, which are one of religion pillars. If we gain good manners, we will then gain goodness in both world and afterlife, and we will gain everything.

Now in the name of Allah, and on behalf of his Majesty, I inaugurate the first session of your respected Council in its new session.