RIYADH—Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah returned to the kingdom Wednesday after a three-month absence for medical treatment and introduced a number of nonpolitical reforms amid regional uprisings that have toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and infected neighboring Bahrain.
The social and economic overhaul, estimated to cost around 145 billion Saudi riyals ($38.7 billion), include housing support, funding to offset inflation and guarantee of payment for students overseas, according to a series of royal decrees published on the official Saudi Press Agency, or SPA. They come as political upheaval continues to sweep the Arab world.
"The measures are paying particular attention to housing, unemployment, education and helping the brunt of Saudis who work for the public sector be better protected from cost of living pressures. The unemployment benefits are the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia," said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi. "The message from King Abdullah is that he's aware of the challenges facing the economy and steps are taken to address immediate and more medium-term issues."
King Abdullah, believed to be 86 years old, left for New York in November for treatment on a slipped spinal disc, which caused blood accumulation that put pressure on some nerves. He subsequently moved to Morocco to recuperate.
During his absence, mass unrest unseated the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt, while protests have rattled regimes in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria and Iran.
The king's half-brother, Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, told BBC Arabic last week that the oil-rich country could be harmed by the uprisings sweeping the Arab world unless it speeded up political reforms.
Analysts say that some reforms were delayed due to the king's absence— such as the long-awaited mortgage, which has been in the planning stage for almost a decade—and a reshuffle of the cabinet to put some new faces on board.
"Saudis want more from the king and his regime. They want more political and social freedom, more rights for women, better education and more job opportunities," said a Saudi businessman who declined to be named. "The region is changing rapidly and the Saudis want to feel this change in their country too."
The oil-rich kingdom so far has escaped the sort of mass unrest unleashed in Egypt, Libya or Tunisia. But there have been signs of domestic discontent since Tunisia's popular uprising last month. There have been street protests in Jeddah over inadequate flood defenses, small demonstrations in Riyadh for increased women's rights and social-networking posts demanding more democracy. These follow some small-scale sectarian clashes last year between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
A few hundred Facebook users called for a "day of rage in Saudi Arabia" earlier this week, demanding more political freedom and an elected leader. A few Facebook pages called for protests on March 11 in the Arab world's largest economy, but it was too early to judge if these demonstrations will take place.