Imagine you’re a Member of Parliament. A representative of the people. And during a question & answer session, you get the opportunity to ask one question of the government. What would it be? I mean there are a wide range of topics. Everything from water, to fuel, to inflation, to accountability, and even that pesky global financial crisis we’ve all be hearing so much about.
So if you had the chance to ask one question, or heck, if your representative had the chance to ask a question, what would you have him or her ask?
Well, one MP asked how many freemason lodges there are in the country.
Even sadder was the answer from the Minister of Interior who quoted the law which bans freemason activities in the Kingdom.
Is the secret motto for some public servants, ‘ignorance is bliss’?
It’s funny that I read this news story and the next thing I happened to read is your blog about it :p
well, the question ought to be specific enough to warrant the answer credible. I very much enjoyed reading the list of questions submitted by MP Bassam Haddadin. The questions were answered, albeit not sufficiently, by the concerned minister.
In regard to what question I have in mind for the government, it would be without doubt about easing the restrictions of forming political parties in the Kingdom. I would formulate my question as to integrate the “thaba7toona” movement, which should have been able to form its own political party to drive and organize the youth of the country.
Of course I would prepare my question with the appropriate laws and constitution references that apply to the situation. I won’t, however, try to be phony and overly patriotic as in the case of a similar effort at Ammonnews.net asking what question people had for his majesty.
It won’t be a question, it will be a reuqest to put every penny they spend online for people to see, and I mean every penny. I would also ask , when are they planning to change the racist elections law that is in place now?
I like this post very much , it really got me excited …THanks man , my question would be like this
” could you please give us your government’s plan for the next 8 years? ”
I am sure the answer would be… ” we can’t tell the future” , and they would probably quote an Ayah from the Quran , and then say NEXT!!!!!
I would ask about what plans they have for the public sector:
what restructure or model are you following?
the organization chart of all governmental bodies?
who report to who?
authorities?
joint efforts or planned mergers and why?
decreasing employees and increasing salaries?
efficiency & quality?
tasks to be moved to NGOs and civil societies?
how is government either helping or blocking private sector? studies about surplus from downsize and reallocation of assets?
what sort of representatives did you expect a rigged parliamentary election to produce for a non-representative parliament? Jordan First or MEDIOCRITY FIRST???
Well, I think that his question is really about political muscle. The Freemasons in town are individuals who oppose the Muslim Brotherhood, and have formed or joined various parties that aim to lesson the role that the MB plays in the country. The MB feels that it is under threat, and it is protecting its turf, which is very legitimate. Sadly, however, the Mb itself does not bother to be held accountable to the public.
Mr. Qudah is trying to “blow the whistle” on the Freemasons, who like most other people who do not subscribe to the typical Jordanian docrtine, operate whatever but under close cover, with blessings and all. Qudah is probably trying to bring the matter to the forefront, because like the comments on the item suggest, most people have no idea what are these parties, or at least whether or not they have ties with Freemasonry.
Anyway, if I had a question for Parliament, it would be: How much fuel do you spend per month? (since we’re all paying for it) How much do you spend on telephone calls? What have you accomplished during your tenancy? What is your vision for Jordan? What do you plan on doing after you’re done with Parliament?
بدايتآ،كي٠يمكن أن أسئل هذا السؤال الي Øكومه لم أكن مسؤول أنا وملاين من الشعب الاردني ÙÙŠ وصولها الي سده الØكم،والسؤال الدي ÙŠØ·Ø±Ø Ù†Ùسه،كي٠يا أيها الØكومه وصلت الي سده الØكم ØŸ..وكي٠يمكن التخلص من هذه المصيبه ..
Huh Urduni? The population voted (not that I agree with the one-man-one-vote rule, nor the way votes are distributed geographically) for our Parliament. For God’s sake they canceled the Higher Media Council. Why is it that a new government means bringing in new institutions, new laws, new procedures, only for the consecutive government to cancel these foundations of our country — without even a popular vote? But anyway, there’s no use of griping about it.
True, I agree with the managerial rule that says that 80 percent of an organization’s problems come from upper management (which in this case could probably mean the government). but I also believe in grassroots development; we, our fathers and grandfathers simply brought this all on to ourselves.