By sacking the Civil Service Minister on Saturday for abuse of office, the state has sent a clear message to the public to comply with its zero-tolerance policy against corruption. King Salman's order on Saturday dismissing Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Araj from the post of civil service minister has been welcomed by the public, who had been outraged by the sacked minister's comment some months ago that civil servants in the Kingdom work only an hour a day. Under the order, a ministerial committee is to be formed by the Royal Court to initiate an investigation into the allegations against the minister, including showing favors to relatives. The sacked minister had sparked a controversy in October last year when he claimed in a television talk show that the productivity of a Saudi civil servant was barely an hour a day. The remarks were described as "outrageous" at the time. On October 26, a Saudi citizen registered a complaint against him with the National Anti-Corruption Commission for appointing his unqualified son to the post of Director of Projects on a monthly salary of SR 21,000. The complaint led to the investigation of abuse of power, including nepotism and favoritism, against a number of parties.
