Tariq Al-Jalahma: Serving the People Is Not Just a Slogan

It is natural, indeed a duty sworn to and borne with responsibility, for a minister to go to his office every morning and oversee the affairs of his ministry and its various sectors during official working days.

But when you find a minister dedicating part of his time outside official working hours, on a day off, to listen to citizens, address their complaints, and seek solutions to their problems, the situation changes completely. It becomes something worth pausing to reflect on and praising.

This image caught my attention during a visit to the office of the Minister of Youth, Dr. Tareq Al-Jalahma, accompanied by Dr. Dalal Al-Sayyaf, author of the book "And in the Heart, a Prince," and Engineer Sara Al-Khariji.

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The meeting was scheduled for Saturday evening, a day off for most government entities. Initially, I assumed the meeting would be private to us, and I linked the choice of this time slot perhaps to the minister’s commitments and tight schedule during official working days. However, the surprise awaited me upon entering the General Authority for Youth building; I found several citizens and young people in the lounge area.

At first glance, I thought they were staff from the minister’s office or employees of the Authority continuing their work during the holiday. But curiosity prompted me to ask: Who are these young people?

The answer I received was unexpected: These were visitors who had come to meet the minister. I paused for a moment.

The minister was not in his office on Saturday evening merely to hold a meeting, receive a guest, or complete some ministry-related tasks. Rather, he was receiving citizens who had specifically chosen this timing so he could listen to their demands and complaints, and attempt to help them find appropriate solutions to their problems.

Even more impressive was that this was not an exception dictated by a specific occasion or emergency. When I asked one of the minister’s office staff: "Does this happen regularly?"

The answer was even more commendable: "Yes... and consistently."

In fact, as I learned, this does not stop at working days or even weekend holidays; it extends to Eid days as well. The minister was present to receive citizens on the third day of the recent Eid al-Adha. Here, the scene becomes more than just a minister opening his office on a day off.

It represents a model of a deeper concept: that responsibility is not limited to working hours that end when the clock strikes, and that serving citizens should not be tied solely to an official appointment schedule.

During our meeting with His Excellency the Minister, we conveyed our admiration and appreciation for this, and we did not hide our respect for this behavior, which is rarely seen with such regularity.

However, his response was simpler than anything we could have said.

He did not speak of an exceptional achievement, nor did he consider what he does a favor to anyone. Instead, he clearly stated that this is the natural thing to do, and that officials are "soldiers serving the nation and its people," and that their duty is to implement the directives of His Highness the Emir and His Highness the Crown Prince, and to work toward what brings good to Kuwait and its people.

This is where the value of the situation lies.

Sometimes, you do not need a long speech to know the character of an official, nor do you need press statements to discover the extent of his concern for people. It is enough to enter his office on a day off and find citizens waiting their turn, and a minister sitting and listening to them.

People may differ in evaluating officials and their performance, and opinions may vary regarding policies, decisions, and outcomes; this is natural in any society.

But there are human and administrative situations worth mentioning as they are, because they present a positive image of what it means for an official to be close to the people, and for a citizen to feel that his door is not closed to him.

In an era when the distance between the citizen and the official has become a concern for many, the simplest and most impactful messages remain those where a citizen finds someone to listen to him.

Perhaps this is precisely why I left the General Authority for Youth’s building, recalling that simple scene: on an evening during a holiday, citizens waiting, and a minister sitting in his office to listen to them. This, ultimately, is the essence of responsibility. It is for the official to understand that the position is not a privilege, but a trust; and that the office is not merely a place to exercise power, but an open door to serve the people. And the most beautiful legacy an official can leave behind is not his name on the office door, but a positive impact on a human life—someone who entered one day burdened by a problem, and left feeling that someone had listened to him and tried to help. An Egyptian journalist