His Excellency Dr. Ma'rouf Al-Bakhit
H.E. Dr. Ma'rouf Al-Bakhit's Response to Letter of Designation
November 27, 2005
Amman, Jordan
In the name of God, the most Merciful, the Compassionate
Your Hashemite Majesty King Abdullah II Bin al-Hussein, may God protect you,
Peace, God's mercy and His blessings be upon you,
I am honored, Your Majesty, to be designated to form the government. The letter
of designation was comprehensive and instructive for both me and the government,
which will define its priorities and implement its agenda in accordance with the
directives and guidelines you have outlined in the letter. These directives and
guidelines provide us with support, sharpen our will and boost our ambition to
meet Your Majesty's expectations, to be worthy of your trust and that of the
Jordanian people, who deserve our exhaustive efforts, a decent living, job
opportunities, security, freedom and stability. We commit ourselves to this, and
pledge to proceed on the path you have charted, with the reform you have
endorsed and the approach to change you have sought - a comprehensive building
of Jordan, its state of institutions, the rule of law, pluralism and modernity.
Your Majesty,
The directives and objectives outlined in the letter will be accorded full
attention, interest and effort from the government in order that they will be
realized, their benefits maximized and their foundations made solid. [We will]
build on the achievements of past governments, but will also elaborate on the
key directive that was outlined in the letter, which affirmed that reform is not
just an option, but a prerequisite for building the new Jordan to which we
aspire. This is our motto, and will be made a reality on the ground felt by
every Jordanian man and woman.
The government is committed to reform as both a concept and a practice as it
implements its agenda, and reform will not just be a formality, but reform in
the fullest sense of the word. It will be applied to positions, institutions and
infrastructure in the context of a coordinated methodology where decisions are
coherent and impersonal. In all it dealings, the government seek a scientific
understanding of the needs of our country and people, and will not isolate
itself from the world. This will contribute to deepening our existing
achievements and to correcting any errors of implementation that may have
transpired due to a lack of experience, the pressure of conditions or simple
misjudgment.
It was fortuitous that Your Majesty honored me just as the recommendations of
the National Agenda Committee were being submitted. The National Agenda will be
the government's compass, and will guide us in the implementation of reforms. We
will be honored to implement the goals you identified when the National Agenda
Committee was formed last February.
Reform, as Your Majesty has reaffirmed more than once, will not be a one way
street. It will be a complementary, comprehensive program encompassing social,
economic and political development.
We will start, Your Majesty, implementing the directives articulated in the
letter of designation by immediately forming the requisite ministerial
committees to draft new laws for elections, parties and municipalities. Draft
legislation will take into consideration the standards of modernity and justice.
The government likewise will enhance cooperation with Parliament, our partner in
the decision-making process, to issue laws regulating our political life that
first and foremost define parliamentary life and to encourage citizens'
participation by expanding open dialogue that invites them to participate in
building the future of Jordan.
The government, Your Majesty, is committed to preserving people's gains achieved
thanks to your insistence on Jordanians' right to enjoy freedom, constitutional
rights, security, stability and the rule of law. The government believes that
security and freedom are inseparable; they are the crowning achievements of
modern societies, preserved during the most trying times. Jordan will not be an
exception to this, and the government will be, Your Majesty, keen to maintain
the balance between security and freedom. We will not allow one to overwhelm the
other. Security and stability will be the hallmarks of Jordanian excellence, in
spite of the terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in our capital. Following
that incident, Jordanians, through their condemnations, their protests and their
expressions of pride in Jordan, embodied the motto, the “one, unified Jordanian
family.” The attack on our beloved capital, Amman, is a crime that strengthened
our resolve in our preventive war against terrorism and the takfiri culture,
both of which are alien to our society and adhered to by only a few. Our society
will not allow these people to undermine Jordan, because Jordanians are fully
aware that this culture is alien to Islam's human, civilizational and ethical
values. Those who justify terrorism will not be exempt from our campaign against
this culture.
Your Majesty,
The government reaffirms its belief in freedom as a value, culture and necessity
for modern societies. Its desire to preserve it derives from the importance the
government attaches to Jordanians' exercise of their constitutional rights in a
framework of responsibility and national belonging that respects national
achievements, national security and the personal security of Jordanians, the
latter of which is an indivisible component of national security. Therefore,
ours will be a government of dialogue and openness, listening to all points of
view. We will not seek to impose a point of view on anyone, but Jordan's
national interest is a red line which no one will be permitted to cross, ignore
or circumvent.
The government believes, Your Majesty, that controversial issues, whether
political, social or economic, should not be addressed according to security
concerns. Rather, we believe, as Your Majesty has affirmed, that culture and
intellect should guide the reform process in which all sectors of society should
participate. This inspires vitality and communication among different sectors of
society and effectively sustains the national action workshop initiated by Your
Majesty when you assumed your constitutional powers.
In compliance with your directives and your wise vision for treating the twin
issues of poverty and unemployment, the government will immediately start
working on quick, practical and feasible plans to alleviate poverty and reduce
unemployment in the medium and long terms.
In this area, the government will not revert to archaic, circumstantial or
temperamental methods, but will begin by devising a transparent, computerized
database that will be prepared and continually updated by field teams to define
and identify the poor so that support and assistance are channeled to those who
are most in need of them. The government will also start considering how to
enroll a wider sector of society in health insurance, and work on allocating
some state lands for the construction of housing projects, to be made available
to those with limited income at nominal prices. The government will fight
corruption, placing Jordan among the countries that strive to rid themselves of
this phenomenon. This effort will include the issuance, as soon as possible, of
the anti-corruption law that already has been referred to Parliament.
Your Majesty,
The government is committed to enhancing the investment climate in Jordan in a
way that not only inspires the trust of Arab and foreign investors, but that
also elevates the quantity and quality of investments by eliminating
bureaucratic obstacles and by simplifying, updating and modernizing
administrative and legal procedures. The main consideration in our investment
promotion policy will be a project's ability to create jobs for Jordan's sons
and daughters. The government will continue the privatization program as
scheduled, while implementing your directives to allocate part of the shares of
companies to be privatized to members and retirees of our armed forces and
security institutions.
Here, we seize this opportunity to reaffirm your sentiments concerning our armed
forces and security institutions and their alertness, readiness, professionalism
and experience that would not have been realized except through Your Majesty's
personal support and care. Your concern for them is evidenced in the
modernization of these national institutions, in the level of training and their
members' standard of living. The government will maintain this approach
alongside its other urgent priorities and programs, so that Jordan will remain
an oasis of security and stability for its citizens and guests.
The communication and information revolution has drawn people of the world
closer than ever before, and the media has been a main vehicle of this. The
media has played a vital role in reporting news, uncovering truths and spreading
awareness on many vital issues. The government, Your Majesty, is aware of this,
and believes that Jordanian media is a component of this international matrix.
It should not be excluded from its dynamism or be limited to simply relaying
news. Jordanian media is part of the modern Jordanian state. The government will
not seek to instruct or intimidate it. Rather, it will strive to involve it in
the national action workshop to entrench a culture of dialogue that rejects
violence, that counters takfiri rhetoric, that respects opinion and freedom of
expression, that defends democracy and justice, that seeks truth and objectivity
and that eschews defamation, character assassination and personalization of
controversial matters. It is hoped that the media will rise to the occasion of
unlimited responsibility and freedom, while remaining committed to defending the
interests of the Jordanian people and to putting Jordan first and always.
The government, Your Majesty, considers national affairs comprehensively, and
knows that its mission will not be easy. It nevertheless aspires - and will
strive - to meet your expectations and to be worthy of the trust of our people,
drawing on your leadership for resolve, on the history of this country and its
great people for hope and on Jordan's achievements over many years in spite of
the scarcity and modesty of our resources.
The government will be attentive to youth, and women will have a significant
share in our efforts. We will give special attention to horizontal development
so that its gains will benefit all governorates to the greatest extent possible
so that the standard of living of our people can be bettered. We will also
continue to support educational programs through completing the computerization
of the curricula, linking schools to the Internet and emphasizing those
specializations demanded by the Jordanian and Arab labor markets. No effort will
be spared to update and modernize curricula to emphasize scientific learning and
to respect young minds, while preserving our Arab Islamic identity, our
authenticity, our heritage, our values and all that is noble in our history and
civilization.
Your Majesty,
The Hashemites' continued support to the Palestinians will be the government's
guideline in its dealings with the Palestine National Authority. The government
will follow in Your Majesty's steps in offering moral and financial support to
the Palestinian people, and in intensifying political action that would
facilitate the implementation of the roadmap, the establishment of a Palestinian
state and the realization of a permanent, comprehensive and just peace. This
conflict has continued for too long a time, and the years and days that have
passed have proved that there is no military solution; negotiations are the only
path to its resolution.
As for Iraq, Your Majesty, the historic links between the two peoples put it on
the government's agenda. As you have stated, we are with all Iraqis as they
endeavor to build a new Iraq, in which all social groups contribute to its
creation, and we [hope to see] a unified, pluralistic and democratic Iraq whose
elite, parties and civic institutions reject violence and terrorism, and whose
citizens are in consensus over peaceful competition for representation in the
state's institutions and positions.
Your Majesty,
Your extraordinary efforts to place Jordan on the world map as a homeland for
freedom, moderation and unlimited affinity for peace are a source of glory and
pride, as well as an example of leadership and diplomacy. The Amman Message and
the International Islamic Conference that adopted it as a working document to
remind Muslims of Islam's true values and essence are only a fraction of the
effort you have exerted. The concept and meaning of the Amman Message will
receive the government's special attention. We will work on communicating it to
every Jordanian school, university and home, so that our citizens could
contribute to this noble mission.
I submit to Your Majesty the names of my colleagues, the ministers, and I join
them in praying to God to protect you and grant you success, so that you will
always be a source of support and inspiration to your loyal people and to the
Arab Islamic Nation, and so that Jordan will always be first, now and always.
Peace, God's mercy and His blessings be upon you.
Your obedient servant,
Ma'rouf al-Bakhit
Amman,
25 Shawwal 1426 Hijri
27 November 2005 A.D.