Articles of the year 2010

Visiting Dubai after five years, I was amazed at the advancement in all the sectors of society. The malls were just one part of the expanding scene with none of the signs of the near narrow escape from the Tsunami that swept through the world economies. New buildings are coming up and it looks as if construction never slowed down. The number of cars is increasing along with the delays sitting in traffic.

And all this is taking place, a one and a half hour flight from Karachi. Where we seem to be going backwards with a brand new flyover collapsing within months of its grand opening by the then president no less. And also with a PPP federal minister baldly stating on a private TV channel that corruption was his right, and repeating the statement in the Urdu just in case the locals missed the statement. For the next one week he was seen on TV sitting next to the prime minister as if to show that he had the protection of the chief executive of the country.

Dubai is a different story with the advances being in complete contrast, to its neighbours. The 'wow' factor has been achieved by obedience of the law, quick punishment, and safety for all.

In Dubai, the leadership decided that the law would be obeyed by all, and that has been achieved. Today, one can safely say that this is the secret of their success - their enforcement of the law. This has resulted from their being recognised as one of the safest countries in the world which is no small achievement for a country with such a huge expatriate population. The locals represent only 15 percent of the total.

And all this has contributed to the success of Dubai achieved without oil, or gas or any other tangible natural resources, except for the vision of Sheikh Rashid, and his equally astute son Sheikh Mohammad who carried the vision of his father, till we have a modern bustling Dubai bubbling with energy that is driving it to become a tourist shopping haven, again without any natural sights or views or weather. In spite of which it is now an established tourist centre.

The wow factor is increasingly the must see on the menu. This factor alone has been spread by word of mouth till the numbers flocking in from far-away lands Malaysia, Thailand and Australia, which are in themselves tourist destinations. A truly remarkable achievement!

My guess is that when Dubai has established itself in the 'quality of life' strata then it will attract the more lucrative worlds such as banking and finance. For which neither weather nor view is required. Only safety and a good telecommunications setup is necessary. With the internet this is automatically in place.

The wow factor serves to reassure the new financial gnomes of the world that Dubai is in their midst, and a board meeting can just as easily be held in Dubai itself.

Being just a few hours from any other financial centre, the wow factor can make all the difference. This alone will surpass the dreams of Sheikh Rashid. However, the cornerstone of this success is the stability, and the safety of the people. Both these issues have been ably addressed by Sheikh Mohammad, and his family. There is no imminent risk of an attack from anyone from the region, and the internal threat does not exist, for there is plenty for all. It is only the ones outside the loop that could be a problem. Here all have been taken care of, and anybody outside the loop does not really matter.

The miracle is that all this has been achieved without any major hiccups, or scams. The scams have been small, and anyone caught has been put away for so long that the people have completely forgotten the names or the charges.

The enforcement of law, and the speed with which it moves, is aptly described by a worker as "we don't dare spit on the sidewalk, as the cameras take your picture, and you are on a plane home before you can say kodak." This fear of the law is so deep that the incoming passengers off a flight start to queue politely before getting out of the terminal. The body language of the passenger says it all. Even the lager lout has already sobered up long before landing. Congratulations to Sheikh Moh-ammed for creating a safe law abiding state.

It also shows how honest leadership can make the difference. While in Pakistan we have to contend with the 'democratically elected' leaders whose very eligibility is under scrutiny, apart from having serious criminal pending against them in more than one country.