I know Saudi Arabia is a ghastly regime, no excuses, but I would gladly invite you to read the following excerpt taken from Wikipedia's page on Saudi politics:

"In 2005, candidates tended to be local businessmen, activists and professionals. Although political parties were not permitted, it was possible to identify candidates as having an Islamist orientation, a liberal agenda or reliant on tribal status. The Islamist candidates tended to be backed by public figures and the religious establishment and won most of the seats in the Saudi cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, Medina, Tabuk and Taif. Candidates with "Western sympathies or any suspicion of secularism" lost out heavily to "hardline conservatives who were endorsed by the local religious establishment." This demonstrated to some that rather than being a conservative force holding back the country, the royal family was more progressive than the Saudi population as a whole."

The population has been fed with so much propaganda for so long that they now reject even the most basic Western values. The mindset is so backwards the Government wouldn't never defy the public opinion to accept a more secular view of the world. It is essentially being held hostage by the lunacy of its people.

"It serves them right", some might say, "cut off your ties with the regime", others may claim, but then I ask you: what happens if you destabilize the Saudi Arabia? Another Yemen in the Middle East? But with enough money and power to cause real destruction? I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to see that...