Abdulateef Al-Mulhim
Commodore, Royal Saudi Navy (Retired)
Just a few days before the Saudi National Day the Ministry of Interior announced the capture of some terrorists in a preemptive strike and foiled their plots to blow up oil pipeline and carry out assassination attempts against Saudi officials. Four terror plots were foiled and 17 suspects were arrested.
Saudi Arabia again proved to the world it is making serious efforts to eradicate terrorism. But the question is, who should learn from the outcome of the Saudi war against terrorism or who should be more focused on the importance of protecting this country and its assets? The answer is — Saudi youths who carried the Saudi flag to celebrate our National Day just a few nights ago.
Saudi youths are the most precious element of our society. They form the highest percentage of our population and they are our future assets. They should increase their participation in positive pursuits and assume more responsibility in building the country. They should contribute to the prosperity, stability and security of the country.
There are a few who want to divide the society and hurt our country and it is our duty, especially the duty of our youths, to be aware of the enemy and their evil plans to disrupt the security of the country.
For several decades, Kingdom has been providing free education, free healthcare and many more facilities to its citizens without burdening them with income tax or any other taxes. Consequently, with the passage of time Saudi youths have become dependent on the government and its generous welfare system. But, now we have to make changes to our lifestyle and the way we use our resources. We should not squander our resources to maintain our luxurious lifestyle. We have to use the public fund to enhance our infrastructure.
Many of our Saudi youths are educated. They have graduated not only from the best universities in the Kingdom, but also from the best schools in the world and they are capable of facing any challenge.
In the past, our fathers and grandfathers who were barely educated, contributed immensely to the development and progress of the Kingdom making it one of the fastest developing countries in the world. It was their hard work and determination that mattered.
Our fathers and grandfathers used their hands and simple tools to build oil pipelines, modern oil refineries, seaports, airports, new roads, rail tracks, hospitals, schools and many other facilities. Many of those decades-old infrastructures and facilities are still intact and functional. The reason behind that is the hard work, dedication and the extra care they had taken to make sure the public funds were used judiciously and honestly and without any corruption.
Saudi youths must realize that the Kingdom is being targeted by terror groups that have sleeper cells in the country. These terror outfits don’t want to see our development. There are others from outside who do not want to see Saudi Arabia progress and remain a stronger contributor to world peace. Saudi Arabia is known as one of the most stable and safest countries in the world and it is the duty of our youths to work hard to raise the image of the country.
It is the responsibility of our youths to be more prudent, more serious about their future plans and more serious about their patriotism. We want our youths to be like their fathers who worked under the sun to build this country. We also want them to be more respectful to the elderly, the handicapped and the guest workers living in our country. They should change their behavior on the road, abide by traffic rules, be more serious in classrooms and put more efforts in the workplace.
The world and the region are changing and our youths, who are the future of the country, should learn how to adapt to the changes and how to cope with future challenges. Oil will not be there forever, but we have a lot of resources, abundance of assets and bright brains and we need to utilize them wisely.
Written by Abdulateef Al-Mulhim. Youths and Their Responsibilities reprinted with permission of Arab News and Abdulateef Al-Mulhim.