Tuesday 11 / February / 2025
Muscat: The late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimour and his achievements for Oman will continue to live long in our hearts, say Omanis in the country.
10 January, 2021 will mark one year of the passing of the late His Majesty, who placed Oman firmly on the path of progress when he ascended to the throne in 1970.
Younis bin Ali Al Mandhari, the head of the Youth and Human Resources Committee of the Majlis Al Shura, said the late His Majesty did plenty to build a modern nation and set Oman on the path of Blessed Renaissance. “Our late Sultan built a country based on laws and institutions,” he said.
“His unique leadership, which is rarely found elsewhere, helped develop the various sectors in our country, in such a manner that they expanded gradually to help us reach where we are today. During his reign, Oman experienced a renaissance across all the sectors of the state.
“If you were to travel across the country, and look at the difference in development that took place over the 50 years of his reign, from the time he came to power in 1970, you will see a stark difference across all parts of the Sultanate,” he added.
“This is because the late His Majesty cared deeply about providing services to all the citizens in our country, whether living in cities, villages, up in the mountains, by the coastline, or even in the desert.”
Al Mandhari went on to say, “He was very keen to hear of the opinions of people from various parts of his country. He would travel across the governorates, and listen to the sheikhs, the elders, the youth, and the government officials there to help meet their needs. This is why our services and infrastructure has kept pace with the changes in industrial and economic development around the world.”
Hilal Al Badi is the deputy director of communications and media at Sultan Qaboos University, a place of learning founded by and named after the late His Majesty to provide quality learning to people in the country to help develop and drive Oman forward.
“The late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimour made sure the efforts he took for the country would continue to benefit all even after his death,” he explained.
“He made the right recommendation in selecting his successor, the person who would continue building our renaissance. The late Sultan was not just the leader of Oman, but the ruler of our hearts as well. He was a man who solved disagreements through wisdom and skill, one who dedicated his entire life to our country,” added Al Badi. “This earned him the respect of countries and organisations around the world.”
Saleem Al Badi, a native of the Wilayat of Saham in North Al Batinah, was inspired by how Omanis who had settled elsewhere returned to the country to contribute to its development on hearing of the intentions of the late His Majesty to build a modern state.
“We considered him our father, so when we called for us to unify and work for the homeland as one, all Omanis heard him,” he admitted. “We must credit him with taking action towards the construction and development that took place under his wise vision that was with him from the time he became our leader.
Al Badi joined the Royal Army of Oman in 1974, serving as a soldier in the Dhofar Governorate for five years, taking part in military operations, before joining the Ministry of Health in 1979, where he continues to work to this date.
“At a regional and international level, he developed his unique policy of friendliness towards all, which was designed towards achieving peace and security,” he said. “At home, he made sure the Omani people were both the centre of, and the pillar on which the renaissance took place.”
This was an agreement shared by Nawaf Darwish, a student at SQU, who praised the late His Majesty for developing the country’s industry, education, commercial, service, and leisure opportunities to ensure everyone can achieve good standards of living.
“The late His Majesty has not faded from our memory: in fact, he is present on every street, in every building, and in the hundreds of projects to which he gave his blessing to build our country,” he said. “He was always keen to provide us a modern state with well-developed education facilities so that all of us could serve the country according to our specialisation.
“I want to thank our late Sultan for building so many schools and universities, because these gave us the opportunity to study,” added Darwish.
Explaining how the actions of the late His Majesty continued to guide her, Maimunah Al Shebani, the founder of The Retail Agency, said, “he will always be in our hearts, as I am comforted by memories of his wisdom, achievements and everything he has done for Oman.
“I have so much respect for the legacy he left behind for our beautiful country and all future generations, she added. “Even after his passing, there is still so much we can learn from him, and it is wonderful to see His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik carrying on the task of enabling our country to progress.”
