The National Assembly.

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said yesterday that he and a number of MPs have been the target of "unprecedented" smear attacks, adding he will refute the unfounded charges. Ghanem charged that the attacks against him were "financed" by some and are mere groundless accusations and claims that are unacceptable, adding that facts will be revealed shortly. The speaker vowed he will refute such claims in the coming Assembly session scheduled for next week.

Opposition MPs have harshly criticized Ghanem for allegedly violating the law while declaring the membership of leading opposition MP Bader Al-Dahoum null and void. They also accused him of manipulating voting on a key resolution to delay all grillings against HH the Prime Minister until October 2022. Some MPs also charged that he appointed a relative of a lawmaker in the Assembly in violation of the law.

Meanwhile, opposition MPs Hasan Jowhar, Muhannad Al-Sayer and Muhalhal Al-Mudhaf yesterday demanded that the speaker must add their grilling against the prime minister to the agenda of the next meeting. Based on a vote last week, which opposition MPs claim was illegal, Ghanem postponed all grillings against the prime minister for over 18 months.

MP Mudhaf meanwhile claimed that names of 359 Kuwaitis have appeared in the so-called Panama Papers, which include millions of documents about people allegedly involved in corruption. The lawmaker asked the prime minister if authorities have conducted any investigations into the Panama Papers and what are the results of the investigations, if any. He also asked the premier to provide him with the names of all Kuwaitis revealed in the Papers, and inquired if a Cabinet member is involved in the documents.

MP Musaed Al-Mutairi yesterday proposed that the government should declare the last 10 days of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which is scheduled to start next week, as a public holiday. He also proposed to increase the pension of retired Kuwaitis by KD 120 monthly once every three years.