Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, Saturday praised the media for its positive effect on the growth and development of the country and stressed that the media should promulgate the spirit of enthusiasm and focus on positive things. However, he said, it doesn't mean that the media shouldn't focus on the negative side. It means that it should focus on constructive and objective criticism. The Emir made the remarks during a meeting with the senior staff of Okaz Organization for Press and Publication and Okaz newspaper. The Okaz team included Dr. Waleed Kattan and Aziz Al-Sehli, Director General and Deputy Director General of the organization respectively, Dr. Hashim A. Hashim, Okaz Editor-in-Chief, and Dr. Ayman Habeeb, Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Prince Khaled talked about the giant development process going on in the Kingdom in general, and the Makkah region in particular. He also praised strong national solidarity, Islamic principles and adherence to Shariah in helping the country avoid the turbulence seen in other Arab countries. “Our strength is in Islam,” he said. He also talked about the future vision of the region and the projects being implemented to serve and comfort citizens. He said new universities will be built with science schools and state-of-the-art laboratories in Al-Laith and Qunfudah governorates. These will provide citizens with high-class education and save them the trouble of traveling to big cities for education. He said that over the last two years many projects have been implemented as planned. He said: “We're determined to implement the remaining projects according to the plan.” Dr. Hashim thanked Prince Khaled for receiving the senior Okaz staff. “We at the Okaz,” he said, “will always support the progress, development and stability of the country and are fully aware of the turbulences that have caused economic, security and social damages in some countries. It's our duty to play our role in the development process.” Dr. Waleed Kattan also expressed his deep gratitude to Prince Khaled for receiving them saying that “Okaz and Makkah Emirate are partners.” __
