Manama: Kuwait's Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah said that the recent developments in his country called for laws to fight "negative political developments" and an ensuing "slide into chaos".
He said the developments were a threat to national unity.
"There is an urgent necessity now to establish the necessary framework to exercise rights and ensure there is no slide into ominous chaos," Shaikh Sabah said as he inaugurated the third ordinary session of the 13th legislative term of the parliament.
"The recent events have clearly shown deep misunderstandings about rights and duties and the need to address this situation. Some people have mistaken compassion and wisdom as leniency and easiness and I here stress that the negative political developments are a threat to our national unity that we will not tolerate," he said.
Sectarian tensions between Shiites and Sunnis threatened to erode the country's peace in September after Yasser Habib, a self-imposed Shiite exile, made disparaging remarks about Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), who is esteemed by Sunnis.
In a move to ease the tension, the government banned rallies and stripped Yasser of his Kuwaiti nationality.
The Amir now wants the country to move forward with a new mindset that makes Kuwait's interests the top priority and all stimulates citizens to protect them the country any harm.
Attempts to break the law and to make Kuwait wade into political and religious quagmire were not acceptable, the Amir said.
"The parliament, cabinet, institutions, and citizens should act wisely and stand together against any attempts to disrupt peace in the country," he said.
Authorities should work within specified parameters in accordance with constitution to achieve mutual benefit.
The Amir also called for protecting the democratic system from extremism to avoid negative consequences for the country.
"As our forefathers did, Kuwaitis believes in democracy as a way of life and therefore, its interests should be of our first priority," he was quoted as saying by the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
Kuwaiti society condemned and rejected irresponsible acts and wanted the values of respect and moderation to prevail, he said.
The Amir said that people had misused atmosphere of freedom and acted irresponsibly towards the nation.
Shaikh Sabah insisted that confronting radicalism was crucial for the country's development and that upholding law and order was a responsibility that all people should assume, to bolster unity.
"It is true that the Kuwaiti society is small, but we are not isolated from the regional and international conflicts," he said. "Such a fact requires Kuwaitis to unite and fend off anything that may harm the country's national interests."
Co-operation in the past between the legislative and executive branches had led to the approval of the state development plan, he said.
The Amir said that people who misused the media for baseless allegations should appreciate that Kuwaitis would not allow negative attitudes to harm the country.
"MPs, as representatives of the people, should take into consideration that such practices should not be allowed to continue," he said.
The constitution and law should rule all actions and freedom should not mean that some people could be above the law, Shaikh Sabah said.
