An official from the Madina Labor Office has returned the personal gift of a brand new Toyota Avalon from the city's Chamber of Commerce and Industry saying that it could only be accepted as a contribution to the organization as a whole and with the explicit consent of the Ministry of Labor. According to a Chamber member who wished to remain anonymous, Madina Labor Office Director Abdul Khaliq Al-Ateeq's rejection of the SR120,000 vehicle goes back to Chamber of Commerce and Industry efforts to obtain from the Labor Office greater privileges for its members in the form of a private staffed department to process paperwork, for which Chamber members initially proposed a payment of SR10,000. The source said that the initiative later developed into the offer - approved by former Chamber chairman Saleh Al-Siheimi - of a vehicle which would serve the Labor Office in the “transportation of guests”. On the legality of the gift, Muhammad Al-Fadhl, Chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said that chambers were permitted to offer “symbolic gifts such as commemorative shields to notable individuals, organizations, and government departments only on certain occasions”. Al-Fadhl, speaking from abroad, said that the chambers were, however, allowed to involve themselves in work beneficial to the business community, and cited JCCI premises at the Passports Department for the handling of businesspersons' paperwork and entirely funded by the business community. Al-Ateeq's refusal to leave himself open to any questioning of his integrity means the destiny of the white Avalon will remain unresolved until the Chamber of Commerce board meets at an as yet unspecified date.
