Jordanian king tells his people not to spend to celebrate his birthday

Jordanian King Abdullah urged his people not to spend to celebrate his birthday on January 30, 2013, a local newspaper reported Monday.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications, Samih Maaytah, told Al-Rai newspaper that the King Abdullah didn’t want Jordanians to spend their money to celebrate his birthday but was keen to see them work to celebrate their achievements instead.

Maaytah, who is also the kingdom’s Minister of Culture, said similar to what Jordanians have been accustomed to years before, the king’s birthday is not a holiday but a working day.

Resource-poor Jordan, currently suffering $5 billion budget deficit, didn’t experience any rampant uprising similar to Arab Spring countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria.

But hike in fuel prices prompted thousands of demonstrators in Amman to protest against the king in November.

On December 11, the king ordered the release of 116 protesters jailed for their November’s rallies against hikes in fuel prices.