Al Arabiya chief says he is not quitting

The manager of the Saudi satellite TV station Al Arabiya was quoted on Friday as saying he has suspended his decision to quit the company after his resignation was rejected by the management.

Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, Director General of Al Arabiya, said he had received a telephone call from the Group’s chairman, Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, telling him his resignation has been formally turned down.

“I have suspended my resignation and will stay within the Group…I now need time to think and contemplate and work,” he told the Saudi Sahafaonline paper.

Rashid, a Saudi, said he regretted attempts by some to use what he described as unintentional mistakes in a TV programme to “hurt the image of Al Arabiya.”

“The nature of my work round the clock, including live and recorded work, could carry mistakes,” he said in a reference to a recent controversial programme aired by Al Arabiya and was considered as anti-Islam.

Rashid denied press reports about mass resignations in Al Arabiya, part of the Saudi Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC).

Rashid’s resignation on Tuesday followed reports that he was stopped from writing articles in the London-based Arabic language newspaper Alsharqalawsat.

Rashed took over as manager of Al Arabiya a few years ago with more than 20 years media experience behind him.

Before joining Al Arabiya, Rashed was the editor-in-chief for the pan-Arab Alsharqalawsat newspaper for five years and was known for his daily columns that frequently sparked debate in the Arab world.

Press reports said last week that he had stopped writing articles in Alsharqalawsat but there was no confirmation by the paper. Some of his articles had drawn sharp criticism from Islamic groups in the Middle East
 

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