This is a noteworthy article from Arab News, translated from the Arabic daily Al-Riyadh. Turki Al-Sudairi, a former Minister of State and Cabinet member, and now the head of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, lays it on the line to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. He’s clearly not a lightweight blowing off steam. He tells the Commission that they are not appreciated because of the way they behave, because too many people act as vigilantes, because aggressive confrontation angers people.

He thinks the Commission has a role, but it is not the one it currently plays. Instead, he’d like to see it become more formal and professional in dealing with serious social problems like drug trafficking. Definitely worth reading.

[NOTE: A reader aptly questions whether the Turki Al-Sudairi who wrote this piece is the chairman of the human rights commission or the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Riyadh, in which the article was originally published. The answer is, I don't know. It is, however, quite likely that I was mistaken in attribution and it is the journalist rather than the government official speaking.]

Another reality check for the commission
Turki Al-Sudairi | Al-Riyadh

There is nothing better than adding new information to already confusing information that would lead a person to believe something positive about a controversial issue. Our information about the activities of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is already confused. The information is limited to what is published in local newspapers every now and then.

The commission’s head, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith, once said he was afraid of the emergence of a new generation that hates the commission. We all know that such a generation exists. The commission is now suffering as a result of what its agents have done. The commission members who make mistakes are not senior employees, nor are they qualified. But the effects of their mistakes are far reaching. Information about the commission must be corrected. The commission should also play a role by not dealing with people with aggression. Those who say that the role of commission is not needed in our society are wrong. The Kingdom is targeted by criminal elements, such as drug smugglers. The commission has played an important role in fighting drugs and tackling terrorism.

The idea that the commission is not needed is something that has been raised in the past few years when volunteers, whose presence is not really needed, joined the commission.
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