Saudi king attempts to buy off discontent by increasing spending

The measure was one of several announced by the monarch, who returned home yesterday after a three-month absence during which he underwent medical treatment in the United States.

King Abdullah ordered that 40 billion riyals, or about £6.6bn, be injected into the country’s development fund which nearly doubles the original budget.

Other new measures include a 15 per cent cost of living adjustment for government workers and a year of unemployment assistance for youths.

The steps could be meant to shore up popular support and fend off unrest, as protests hit neighbouring Bahrain, the first nation in the oil-rich Gulf to experience the region’s anti-government upheaval.

Much of the unrest is linked to poverty as well as demands for more political freedom.

A recent Facebook page calling for a “March 11 Revolution of Longing” in Saudi Arabia has begun attracting hundreds of viewers. A message posted on the page calls for “the ousting of the regime” and lists demands including an election of a ruler and members of the advisory assembly known as the Shura Council.

Other measures included a 15 per cent cost of living adjustment for government workers and nearly doubling to 15 the size of families eligible for state aid.

Debts of people who had borrowed from the development fund and later died were written off. Prisoners, most likely to be debtors jailed after being unable to pay their creditors, were also being released.