CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN SAUDI ARABIA: A STUDY OF THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR

The effects of Arab Spring led to widespread dissent among Saudi citizens, culminating in governmental fear of civil revolt. Thus, the Ministry of Labour introduced many developmental policies such as localisation, women employment that aimed to develop the country and satisfy the needs of citizens to offset rising inflation. These policies were said to be in the best interests of Saudi citizens. This study has therefore intended to investigate the extent to which the Ministry of Labour engaged and consulted with its citizens prior to the introduction of those policies. This study found that Saudi citizens participated via social dialogues, together, social media and digital communication in democratic governance. However, there is a gap in the perceptions of the Saudi elite and citizens regarding the significance of citizen participation in Saudi governance. It was discussed that complete democratic governance cannot be adopted due to autocratic nature of Saudi Arabia.     

泰国华人家庭和社会的缩影——读《碧城风云录》

泰国泰中学会副会长林光辉先生的著作《碧城风云录》一书 ,生动地展现了二战前后泰国华人家庭和社会的历史 ,是全面了解和认识二战前后泰国华人社会的必读书