Green Card: A ray of hope for expats (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

Emad is an Egyptian engineer. Ahmed is a Syrian accountant. Both are very close friends and their families are like one big family. Both the friends have been living in Saudi Arabia for the past 35 years. Their children grew up together. All their childhood memories were formed in Saudi Arabia and all their friends are in this country not in their respective home countries.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/916331

Saudi Vision 2030: Dawn of a new era (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

Whether you believe it or not, I just realized that in order for me to see ancient Islamic artifacts, works of Islamic art, archaeology, coins and books, I would have to visit a neighboring country or to travel as far as Europe to find some museum housing such treasures.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/915606

The main target of 9/11 (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

The grim memories of the 9/11 attacks continue to cause immense emotional pain to not only the bereaved families of the victims but also to all the peace-loving people around the world. Writing about 9/11 is always a painful experience.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/913496

Strengthening Saudi-US ties (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

This week US President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia. During his visit, he will meet Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and attend a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit. Many analysts believe that the visit will enhance the Saudi-US ties and will help bring the two sides closer on various regional and global issues.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/912106

Taking Saudi-Egypt ties to new heights (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

Visits of Saudi officials to Egypt or Egyptian officials to the Kingdom are a routine thing since the day King Abdul Aziz laid the foundations of modern-day Saudi Arabia.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/908651

Unethical reporting of KSA (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

Do you really need to conceal a camera and move around taking photos in a country like Saudi Arabia? I don’t think so. Shops and malls in the Kingdom are flooded with the most advanced cameras and video recorders.

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Using media for image building (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

On March 17, 2012 Arab News published an article about young Saudi students in the West and their role as the Kingdom’s young unofficial ambassadors.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/901971

A wake-up call to the Middle East (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

In 1973 then US President Richard Nixon weighed military seizure of Saudi oil fields during the famous oil embargo. A few months later, Saudi Arabia welcomed a huge number of Americans who arrived to work at the Saudi Aramco oil and gas installations in Dhahran, Abqaiq, Udalyah, Shadgam and Ras Tanurah. They were not US Marines but petroleum engineers and technicians hired by Saudi Aramco for its fast expanding infrastructure.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/898331

Mission accomplished? (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

Six months ago, Russia’s direct military intervention in Syria surprised the international community. It has once again surprised the world by announcing its sudden military withdrawal (partial though) from the war-ravaged country. From a military point of view, when a country especially a superpower intervenes in another and later pulls out its forces without a clear victory, it is usually taken as mission unaccomplished.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/896291

340 days in space (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim. Arab News)

President Obama: Hey Scott, loving the photos. Do you ever look out the window and just freak out?

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/892916

The end of an era (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

Until a few decades ago the number of airlines around the world was so low that many international travelers would identify any airline’s nationality by just having a quick look at the tail, name or insignia.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/889461

Israel’s disappearance from Arab media scene (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

Does anyone in the Arab world know what is happening in Israel? Do we know what weapons systems their defense forces are acquiring or developing? Do we know who is who in the Israeli policymaking circles?

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/885871

Adapting to change (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

During the 1970s, the world saw an unprecedented hike in oil prices and the United States was the worst-hit country.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/884381

Innovative idea to ensure happiness (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

During the past few decades, innovative methods of governance have begun to emerge. With new approaches to management or administration, we have witnessed creation of unheard of ministerial portfolios.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/882221

Making Haia more effective (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

On Sept. 8, 2014 I wrote an article titled “Defining the role of Haia is a must” for Arab News. Once again I would like to lay emphasis on the need for redefining Haia’s role and remodeling the organization along modern lines, particularly the way it interacts with the masses, so as to make it effective.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/880741

Heavy reliance on Saher system (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

Two reports that I came across recently left me confused or should I say sad. According to one report quoting the traffic department, the number of road accidents and fatalities has substantially decreased after the introduction of Saher.
On the other hand, insurance companies have announced a dramatic increase in the automobile insurance premium. Now, will someone explain this to us?
Sadly enough, Saudi Arabia’s roads are known to be one of the most dangerous ones in the world. It is not because the roads are narrow or mountainous and Saudi weather is also not the kind that hampers the ability of motorists to drive. Most days of the year, Saudi skies remain sunny. Our roads are dangerous not because of some inherent technical flaw but mainly because our youth have developed very bad driving habits. It is not about speed. I am referring to the reckless driving with total disregard for traffic laws. Due to reckless driving, Saudi Arabia has lost thousands of men and many more are left physically and mentally crippled thus overburdening our health-care system. This is in addition to the tens of billions of riyals in vehicles’ damages. Saudi Arabia is reported to be a country with the highest fatalities on the roads. Is there any solution to this problem?
In order to check road fatalities, our government has taken various measures. One of those steps was the introduction of Saher, which is a speed-tracking system with a camera. Some of those cameras are installed on various thoroughfares and some are mounted on cars and are mobile.
On Saudi roads or highways, one would always see drivers coming from the opposite side of the road flashing high beam to warn other drivers about the presence of a camera along the way.
Saher is making a lot of money from motorists found guilty of violating traffic rules but it is said that it has had no effect on the number of road accidents. Many motorists usually slow down in areas, which they know are covered by Saher cameras and once they pass by that area they change their speeds.
We all know that the main cause of accidents is not only 10 or 20 km/h above the speed limit; it is the dangerous way of driving. In other words, Saher has become a financial burden on many citizens and expatriates without any tangible results. The main reason for this is that with Saher, the traffic police are not seen and roads are not properly monitored.
The traffic police have to be present with more authority to prevent any wrongdoing one the road. We are seeing an increase in joyrides called (Tafhit). Many lives have been lost and many expensive cars have been totally damaged. Many of our youth don’t know the value of the vehicle because their parents normally buy cars. This has to change and young men have to be taught to start working at an early age as part-time employees. This will teach them the value of money. Road accidents are becoming a national disaster. Due to the continuous rise in road fatalities, there is a need to prepare a national plan. Under the plan, lectures should be given in schools on road safety and capabilities of our traffic department be upgraded. This can be done through intensive training of the traffic department personnel. There is a great need to increase the number of traffic officials on the roads to control and monitor traffic and drivers’ behavior. The impact of Saher system should also be reevaluated. Instead of solely relying on this system, it should be used as a tool in the arsenal of the traffic department.
We have to look closer in the hike in insurance premium due to irresponsible drivers. The increase is a burden on many people who are law-abiding citizens and drivers. At the end of the day, many changes should be introduced to the traffic rules in the Kingdom. Saher is not the ultimate solution. We can’t leave our roads to be monitored by a standstill camera.

Taking Saudi-China ties to a new level. China is the world’s most populous country with a population of about 1.4 billion (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/870086

We all are Saudis first (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/861441

(Istituto fondamentale - Global) Can We Use Islamic Rules In Better Way? (Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, Arab News)

http://www.eurasiareview.com/30072015-can-we-use-islamic-rules-in-better-way-oped/