« King Abdullah Visits Prince Hamzah Hospital, in Disguise
And another year passes by … »

The Man in Disguise is Back!

Published at September 16, 2007 in Jordan and health.
1,393 Views | Tags: No Tags.

It’s been ages since we heard stories about King Abdullah’s incognito visits and this one took me back to the early 2000’s.

The more I think about it the more I become proud and content of the wise and considerate leadership Jordan enjoys. The best way to feel with the people and know what exactly needs to be corrected is to be present at the notorious scene.

 

 

King in Disguise

King Abdullah could’ve simply taken the words of officials on the status quo of the Prince Hamzah Hospital, but he’s well aware of the fact that people would most probably tell him what he would like to hear.

I can imagine Mr. Samih Al Ma’aita (سميح المعايطة) kicking himself for ever having to write the article on how promising the hospital looks and the great investment Jordan made (more than 100 million $) in building that hospital. A quick look at Al Ma’aita’s article would make you think Jordan has introduced its version of Mayo Clinic.

But the reality is so far from what Mr. Al Ma’aita had predicted. The feedback from the people, after less than a year from inaugurating the hospital, was terrible: Doctors and nurses were being beaten by patients and their families, people called radio stations reporting bedbugs and lice, patients died because there were no medical specialists, in addition to a fire that broke out IN the hospital and a strike by the hospital workers and other reports by journalists who witnessed what the hospital is from the inside, all within the timeframe of one year.

Without a doubt, the King did not like what he saw.

Here are some excerpts from King Abdullah on why he goes incognito:

 

If I hear of a crisis in a certain area, I send people ahead of me a day or two beforehand to write a report. And then I confirm whether or not I actually need to go to this place.

 

 

If I wasn’t in disguise and was to go to an institution and ask what the problems were, people would probably say what I want to hear, or what they think is the right thing to say.

 

 

And then when we go, a lot of the security come with me, and they also take notes from what they see. We compile the reports after my visit, and the reports go to the government.

So to all the negligent, careless, inhuman officials in Jordan: you’d better start doing what you’re supposed to do, for the Disguised Man is back to haunt you!

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • blogmarks
  • De.lirio.us
  • Furl
  • Netscape
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • Technorati
  • Fleck
  • MyShare

16 Responses to “The Man in Disguise is Back!”

Feed for this Entry Trackback Address
  1. Gravatar Icon 1 Qwaider قويدر
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 12:17 am

    Wallah, Long live our disguised knight!

  2. Gravatar Icon 2 Hani Obaid
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 12:38 am

    It is exciting and comforting to think of the king roaming Jordan inspecting things first hand.

    Samih’s article is more than 18 months old, and written before the hospital even opened, I would email him about it before judging him too harshly.

  3. Gravatar Icon 3 Three
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 4:09 am

    HM cannot pay visits to every Jordanian institution under the sun, and here is where our role as citizens comes. People should tackle issues they don’t like differently, instead of just cursing every person in charge they know the name of they should speak up, be precise and to the point, they should point out where it went wrong and blame those who should be blamed and give credit where credit is due, a good example of that is the way you dealt with the dilemma you and your family have gone through. More people should adopt that approach.

    Aish mish 3ajbak ya flan?
    Ya zalameh huwwe fi ishi bi3jeb bi hal balad!

    The latter is the general attitude people have. :|

    Off topic shway, kal3adeh :P

  4. Gravatar Icon 4 Kat
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 7:18 am

    ur king is the coolest king in the world. I didn’t know he did these things. Now he seems even cooler!

    Just read about ur ordeal. Hope ur dad’s doing better now.

  5. Gravatar Icon 5 Who-sane
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 8:44 am

    Hani, I wasn’t trying to highlight how ignorant Mr. Al Ma’aitah is or anything, I’d never do that, especially knowing that his article was written before the hospital was inaugurated. I wanted to communicate how the Jordanian people thought the hospital would most probably turn out to be as a salvation for their medical concerns and what it really is at the moment. It’s what all Jordanians hoped for and what Al Ma’aitah wrote about.

  6. Gravatar Icon 6 KJ
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 8:51 am

    Yalla Husain good job buddy, you should be proud of yourself to have caused a ruckus and I am sure this will further add to your father’s healing :)

  7. Gravatar Icon 7 verbal alchemy
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 10:04 am

    lol, hajjaj 7ashash :mrgreen:

    hatha il shebl min thak il asad no? i think its gr8 to keep this tradition alive, heard many times that mohd bin rashed does that as well, which i think means that a leader wants to know more bout the ‘leadee’ (i know the word doesnt exist but cudnt find the right one)

    God bless u and urs Husain :smile:

  8. Gravatar Icon 8 ثائر الليل
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 11:40 am

    ايوه خلي هيك بشر تتعلم فعلا ما بيجو غير بالبهادل والشرشحة. انا مش فاهم ليش المدير او المسأول الفلاني ما يحترم حاله من اولها و يقوم بعمله على اكمل وجه بدل ما ينكحش مثل اللي صايبه برص او جرب؟
    و يا عمي يا مدير اذا لقيت حالك ما بتقدر انك تستطيع انك تسوي شغلك قدم استقالتك وانت محترم بدل ما تتشرشح وتنمسح بكرامتك الأرض و كل الجرايد تكتب عنك و يصيرو الناس يأشرو عليك و انت بتمشي زي اللي الحمار اللي اكل شلوط على ابو غفلة. فعلا اللي استحو ماتو يا سيدي.

    بس سأل زغير اخ حسين. ليش بالعربي يا اخي؟ الله وكيلك صارلي ساعة بحاول افك بهالخط لبين ما اجى زميل الي ابن حلال ولخصلي المموضوع بدقيقة. على كل حمدالله على سلامت الوالد و ان شالله انه كل واحد بيوخد حقه

  9. Gravatar Icon 9 Hani Obaid
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 5:13 pm

    Verbal Alchemy, the word you are looking for is “subject”. As in, we are the king’s subjects.

    I know it has many definitions, but the one you were interested in is:

    Subject: being under dominion, rule, or authority, and owing allegiance to a sovereign, state, or some governing power.

  10. Gravatar Icon 10 Maher
    Sep 17th, 2007 at 5:52 pm

    Oh man! Our King is the best!

  11. Gravatar Icon 11 verbal alchemy
    Sep 18th, 2007 at 9:59 am

    hani, thank u! :mrgreen: when fasting i dont feel like working any of my brain cells to be honest :oops:

  12. Gravatar Icon 12 Who-sane
    Sep 18th, 2007 at 2:25 pm

    ثائر الليل: عذراً يا صديقي بس المفردات في اللغة العربية لا تسعفني أحياناً، بس بوعدك اني أحاول أكتب بالعربي مرة تانية وشكرا للقراءة ومحاولة فك الرموز

  13. Gravatar Icon 13 Hani Obaid
    Sep 18th, 2007 at 4:59 pm

    Hussein, sorry, my misunderstanding. :oops:

  14. Gravatar Icon 14 Dave
    Sep 19th, 2007 at 10:41 pm

    King Abdullah rocks. We need more incognito, impromptu checks on more services throughout the country. Jordan’s laws and standards need a bit more enforcement in certain areas.

  15. Gravatar Icon 15 sharm
    Sep 20th, 2007 at 7:08 am

    Congratulations

    You win by World United Bloggers Award ( WUBA )
    You was the choice of more than 210 bloggers represent 74 countries .

    Check the WUB web Site to receive your Award
    www.worldub.blogspot.com

    Sharm
    WUB Chief
    ( This Is Not Spam )

  16. Gravatar Icon 16 ثائر الليل
    Sep 20th, 2007 at 10:53 am

    و انا في انتظار كتاباتك بالعربي. و مشكور عالرد

Leave a Reply

« King Abdullah Visits Prince Hamzah Hospital, in Disguise
And another year passes by … »
. . . . . . .