From Singapore to Dubai

Capping the Dubai experience with this

2012-01-04T13:11:00.001+08:00

The incidents in this TNP story happened after we have left Dubai - fortunately. I am not one bit surprised with them at all. The ang mohs were the vanguard. Quietly other nationals must have suffered quietly, but when they happend to ang mohs, it is hard that it do not leak and get reported. Now there are enough Singaporeans who are caught in the web of Dubai official stupidity and incompetence.

I am reproducing the AsiaOne article because SPH cannot be counted on to keep it available indefinitely.

http://www.asiaone.com/print/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120104-319727.html
Singaporean family detained in Dubai cell with criminals

A Singaporean family was prevented from boarding their flight at a Dubai airport and detained for 14 hours. The mother and her daughter were kept in a cell with other criminals. -TNP

Teh Jen Lee

Wed, Jan 04, 2012

The New Paper

Dubai spelt danger for several innocent Singaporeans after authorities there arrested them for reasons that were later proven to be false or unsubstantiated.

Including the latest case of a family wrongly detained on Christmas Eve, there have been three other cases from 2010 to last year.

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In one case in January last year, a Singaporean, then pregnant, and her husband were arrested at the airport in Dubai on charges of holding forged passports.

They spent nine months in jail, during which the woman suffered a miscarriage because of the jail conditions.

In the Christmas Eve case, the family was prevented from boarding their departing flight at the airport in Dubai and detained for 14 hours in a case of mistaken identity.

It was a nightmare because the wife and her 13-year-old daughter were separated from the husband and made to spend the night in a crowded police cell.

In response to media queries, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said the family was detained at the airport by Dubai immigration authorities on Christmas Eve last year.

Their mobile phones were confiscated and they were not allowed to contact their relatives or the Singapore Consulate-General in Dubai for assistance.

After being held at the airport for about three hours, the family was then taken to the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department Headquarters, where they spent the night in separate holding cells.

The spokesman said: "At no stage was the family informed of the reason for their detention nor were their questions addressed by the police personnel.

"The daughter was also kept with her mother in a cell with about 40 other females of ill-repute, despite her young age."

The following morning, the husband and wife were interrogated separately.

After the questioning, the Dubai police finally acknowledged that they were mistaken and had detained the wrong people.

The family was released on Christmas Day.

MFAsaid that throughout the detention of 14 hours, the family, especially the daughter, was put through considerable distress.

Not informed

"Furthermore, the Singapore Consulate-General in Dubai was not officially informed of the matter," said the spokesman.

"The MFA takes a very serious view of the incident, which involved the failure to allow for the detained Singaporeans access to consular assistance."

The MFA called in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) interim Charge d'Affaires last Friday to formally register their "grave concerns over the wrongful detention of and treatment of the Singaporean family".

MFA has further requested the UAE Embassy's assurance that such incidents do not happen again and reiterated the responsibility of the UAE authorities to promptly inform the MFA representative in the UAE whenever a Singaporean is arrested.

Said the spokesman: "Our Consulate-General in Dubai has also taken up this matter with the concerned authorities in Dubai to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future."

Economic ties have been flourishing between Singapore and the UAE.

Singapore established diplomatic relations with the UAE in 1985 and trade between the two countries has grown from $5 billion in 2002 to $13.9 billion in 2010.

The UAE ambassador to Singapore, Mr Mohamed A Al Qubaisi, said about 300 Singapore companies are represented in the UAE, with the number rising each year.

The Business Times reported that the Emirates airline will start daily Singapore-Dubai flights from February.

Many Singaporeans have been visiting Dubai, drawn by its mega-malls and resorts.

And it isn't just the Singaporeans who are visiting the city.

Last year, Dubai was the only Middle Eastern city that made it to the top 10 list of the most-visited destinations worldwide in a Euromonitor International report.

Singaporeans detained

June 2010

A Chinese Singaporean man living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was detained at the airport in Dubai after he was seen helping two women who were suspected of carrying forged Taiwanese passports.

He had met them while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Manchester, UK, that transited in Dubai. He helped them when they encountered language difficulties at the airport.

Little did he expect to be penalised for his good deed.

He was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and accused of using a forged Singapore passport.

Despite the Dubai Consulate-General's insistence to the Dubai authorities that he was holding a genuine passport, they detained him until his case was heard in December 2010.

He was cleared of all charges and finally released.

January 2011

A Chinese Singaporean man and his pregnant wife, both in their 40s, were on a flight to Rome that had a transit in Dubai.

They were chaperoning four children as a favour to a friend.

The couple was suspected of holding forged passports, detained, and charged with human trafficking.

The woman had gone on the trip to visit places of worship in Rome and offer prayers for the safe delivery of her child.

But due to the conditions in her detention centre, she had a miscarriage.

The couple was detained for nearly nine months as it took eight months before their case was heard.

They were given a suspended three-month jail sentence each.

The Singapore Consulate-General in Dubai found out about the case only when they were contacted by the couple for emergency travel documents.

This was at the end of their period of detention as the authorities had misplaced their passports.

November 2011

During the Hari Raya Haji holidays, a Singapore Indian full-time national serviceman was detained because he was accused of photographing an Egyptian lady who was with her husband.

The Singaporean had merely been taking general shots of a mall.

The Dubai Consulate-General was initially able to get the Egyptian couple to withdraw the accusation.

However, instead of an amicable settlement, there was a stalemate when the Dubai police sided with the complainants, who wanted compensation.

After sustained pressure, the Dubai Consulate-General managed to get the Singaporean released after he spent one night in detention.

The man had been held at the notorious Bur Dubai police station, where a British national was previously beaten to death by the officers.

Other nationalities detained in Dubai

Dubai maybe one of the most-visited cities in the Middle East, but it's a place where you have to watch your step.

1) An Australian man claimed he was tortured and forced by police to admit his alleged participation in a jewellery shop break-in in Dubai, reported newspaper Gulf Today last week.

The 32-year-old S.H. denied his involvement in the 11 million dirhams (S$3.9 million) burglary last July, saying that the charges were "wrong, groundless and unfounded".

The Australian and a man from Afghanistan were sentenced to three years' jail last month for keeping the stolen gold with them.

2) One of Britain's most successful businessmen, Safi Qurashi, after paying £43 million (S$86 million) for a man-made island in the Gulf in the shape of Great Britain, was found guilty of signing two cheques with insufficient funds and cancelling another, reported The Guardian last February.

He claimed he was denied access to a lawyer and was handcuffed to a chair for 16 hours after he and his business partner were arrested in January 2010.

Qurashi is now serving a seven-year jail term in Dubai.A former Metropolitan police chief claimed Qurashi was the victim of a criminal conspiracy and had been wrongly convicted.

3) Two Australians have been detained in Dubai since January 2009 over a property deal gone wrong.

As verdicts of not guilty are almost unheard of in the United Arab Emirates, the British charity Detained in Dubai has written to Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to seek his "urgent personal intervention" in the case, reported the Sydney Morning Herald last month.

Australians Matt Joyce and Marcus Lee have been detained in Dubai since January 2009 after the Gold Coast developer Sunland claimed it was duped in a multi-million dollar property deal.

But Sunland's chief operating officer in Dubai, Mr David Brown, has admitted in a separate Sunland action in the Victorian Supreme Court that he gave incorrect evidence to Dubai prosecutors.

4) Former Australian soldier Sun McKay, 32, was arrested for allegedly swearing at an airport policeman in Dubai last month.

Mr McKay said he later apologised, but was taken to a room and interrogated for three hours, reported news.com.au His passport was confiscated and he is barred from leaving Dubai as he awaits trial on charges of using insulting and inappropriate language to a police officer.

5) German national Cat Le-Huy, 34, said an airport guard at the airport in Dubai found some melatonin tablets, used to combat jet lag, in his bag in January 2008, reported The Independent last April.

The guard claimed he found 0.06g of hash, which is lighter than a grain of sugar.

Mr Le-Huy spent 24 hours in holding cells at the airport, 12 of which were in solitary confinement.

He was eventually thrown into the airport detention centre and later an"outhouse" of the Dubai central prison, Al Wathba.

He was released two months later without charge.

jenlee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.

My final blog entry

2009-07-26T11:37:00.000+08:00

We have been back in Singapore for about two months now. For a while I have been thinking about writing my final blog entry. Ann Hussien song (see below) gave me the opportunity.

In the things that are transient and do not matter, Dubai is like Singapore and even surpasses her in some ways. In the things that do matter, Dubai has a lot to catch up with Singapore. Unfortunately after reading the latest survey of the Middle East in the Economist, I am not optimistic. For their sakes, I don't mind being wrong. Forecasting has always been a hazardous art.

Singapore is a paradoxical place, almost completely man-made to be politically correct, but I believe exists and thrives by God's grace. Most of us are very good second class citizens. Quite a few of us tend to forget that if we were to be first class without the foreign talent (many not good anyway but a huge net positive overall) we would be very poor first class indeed. I saw this at first hand in the Emirati-first policies in Dubai. I am afraid they would be sunk for it. If you disagree with me, I recommend Alan Beattie new book, "False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World"

Police Cars

2009-06-30T12:13:00.003+08:00

Below is a video I shot in March but decided against blogging it here for obvious reason.

I was tailing a police patrol car for several minutes. At the red light, I decided to prepare my camera and took this video. The whole time the police vehicle had its hazard lights on for no good reason.

This is only I have got on video. On several occasions I have witnessed how reckless the police vehicles in Dubai were. Also once they stopped my Learner's car and asked my driving instructor for directions! I suppose it is not unusual if you call the police in an emergency and they could not find you.

DEWA is deaf and blind

2009-06-30T12:05:00.002+08:00

I just got another bill from DEWA to pay the utilities and municipality tax. I have informed them several times already to start the last bill process but they never did. Anecdoctal evidence suggest that you must make a trip personally to their offices to terminate the services. The online service to do this is a sham. I wouldn't do that as that could mean they could cut off my electricity and water before I vacate my premises.

I just shot them another email to do the necessary conveniently ignoring the fact that they are deaf and blind.

The positives and negatives in Dubai are quite extreme.

A beautiful sunrise

2009-06-11T07:58:00.003+08:00

Just took this picture with my trusty Casio pocket digital camera less than half and hour ago. Welcome to another day of very hot and humid weather and lots of unpacking. I hope we can finish the job today. The children is getting a first hand lesson on shopping - Don't. One of them kept repeating, "please don't buy any more..." Well, this unpopular attitude they say would be bad for the economy, but I suspect we will think up many better things to do. The problem is too few people want to explore this.

One round trip - Container arrives

2009-06-10T16:01:00.002+08:00

I had pictures of the boxes being loaded up to the truck last year. Now this a a photo of our boxes from Dubai being unloaded yesterday. It has been very fast. We arrived in Singapore on the 27th of May and our stuff are already here by sea on the 9th of June. The air freight portion was expected sooner but for some reasons I cannot fathom, it didn't fly out until the 5th. So by air and sea, they came at the same time.

What Recession?

2009-05-31T12:47:00.000+08:00

The photo above was taken from the East Coast Park this morning. The Singapore port appeared very crowded. What recession? The numbers in the papers had been going down for many months now but the sight on our waters is so different from the recession of '85, where there were very few ships.

The trade numbers are not wrong. The major difference is the size of the Singapore economy. It is much larger than it was almost 25 years ago. Despite this, the parking space at sea hasn't changed much. This is the same with the people thronging the malls and various eateries. Singapore is at a different level now. Trade to GDP ratio may be in excess of three times. Our dependence on the external world has increased but counter-intuitively, we have become more able at absorbing external shocks.

So what recession? This is actually the deepest recession for us since becoming independent. It is just less obvious on the street now. Remember, we all laugh together but cry alone. The affected residents are staying away.

Durian dinner

2009-05-31T12:42:00.003+08:00

Daisy and I decided that we will do something exceptional for dinner on friday - We would eat only durians. We bought two the first and smaller one was much better than the bigger second one. You can find durians at Carrefour in Dubai, but they look like they were fallen from the tree last year. Who will eat them? They should be offered to the decomposers, i.e., the bacteria and fungi.

National Geographic Shop

2009-05-31T12:34:00.003+08:00

We were in Vivocity on Friday to restart our cable TV connection when saw the National Geographic shop. It was a real treat to the eyes except for the price tags. I especially love the bags, and I always thought this sort of thing is a woman's obssession. Daisy is always eyeing bags and she thinks I am quite good at picking out the nice ones.

If you were wondering if we bought anything? Non. Money sits in my pocket better than elsewhere most of the time.

I will window shop there again and again and buy nothing unless there is a big sale. I will never be tempted, and has had more than 20 years of training already.

Very hot in Singapore

2009-05-31T12:28:00.003+08:00

This is the wall clock in our living room. The only interesting data was 30.3 degrees celsius. No wonder so many people have been complaining to me via email when I was in Dubai that it is unbearably hot here. More than once, my sister said she was melting.

I remembered the e-mercury rarely exceeded 29. It has been consistently above 30 since we got back.

In our Dubai apartment where we have 24/7 air conditioning, we usually set the thermostat to a pleasant 24. My desk top clock thermometer would typically read 27. Now above 30 and with almost perfect humidity it is very difficult not to turn on the a/c.

Return to a dearly missed place

2009-05-29T12:22:00.001+08:00

"Verging all Teens" occupies the top floor of the Jurong Regional Library. One day after we landed in Singapore, we too the girls to the library, one of their favourite places. We had in Dubai unsuccessfully tried to find any facility that would fill this void.

This photo was taken on a comfy bench as I sat there waiting for the rest of the family to get their books. On my lap is my reserved copy of, "Prisoner of the State" translated from the audio tapes dictated by the later Chinese premier Zhao Ziyang.

Two cities skyline

2009-05-28T22:00:00.003+08:00

The last time we approached Dubai International Airport, Lin took a photo shot of the Dubai skyline, I told myself I must also take a shot of the approach when we go back to Singapore. I had hoped to get a photo of the Singapore CBD but discovered that we were on the wrong side of the aircraft. I have here is the picture of Pasir Ris HDB estate in the distance and Changi Village near us.

My point? We are so blessed to be in the tropics where nature is on our side if we want to green the city. Dubai is less fortunate. Theirs is an endless battle with the sand, pitting technology and money against nature. Even Abu Dhabi cannot do much better.

On the way home

2009-05-28T21:49:00.002+08:00

30,000 feet above the Indian Ocean in the morning of the 27th and waiting for my bread roll to arrive. All of us have slept most of the journey home, i.e., skipped a "Gordon Ramsey" supper. This is our last trip from Dubai to Singapore. No plans to go back unless it is a different Dubai. Also no plans to fly business class unless forced to do so. We rather fly coach and pocket the difference. Due to the hard times, the Raffles Class ticket to Singapore was absurdly cheap anyway. Yes, we are grateful that for once, we did need to board the bus to our plane. We had the aero bridge this time!

We arrived in Singapore's Changi airport at 11:20am. The midnight temperature in Dubai was 37C compared to 29C at Changi.

Last sunset in Dubai

2009-05-26T22:09:00.002+08:00

We have just returned our rental Accord, the equipment from Du and also had a quick dinner. While riding in a cab back to our apartment I took this picture of our last sunset in Dubai. We have booked a cab to the airport for 8pm; more than enough time to shower before we leave.

Dubai is facing a very serious debt crisis which I am convinced from talking to some senior executives here is understated. US$80 billions owing over five years of which about US$ 13 to 17 millions are due this year, the numbers are far too small. One developer I know already owes at least a few billions and there are so many of them!

Dubai cannot be sunk so easily. No country can and furthermore it is located strategically in the most important oil producing area in the world. Dubai will rise again, I explained to people countless times but many of the expats will not be here to ride the next wave.

We are among the few fortunate ones with a choice to remain or leave with benefits. We have chosen to leave for the sake of the children's education.

Our favorite Thai stall

2009-05-25T17:23:00.003+08:00

This was our favorite Thai food outlet in Dubai and the MOE. We were hoping to savor it one more time before we return to Singapore. No such fortune, they are closed and undergoing renovation. Seems to me that the stalls here are taking turns to do this. Unlike back home, they take their time to come back.

Visiting Babu @ Burj Dubai

2009-05-24T14:51:00.002+08:00

Yesterday I tried to visit Babu after leaving a remote control for a friend I had forgotten earlier. Babu I was told from numerous emails sent to me works on a crane at the very top the world - The Burj Dubai.

I didn't manage to get up there and I think you can guess why. I was told it was dangerous to approach the top too even on no lightning days. Rumors had it that toilets are not provided at the top.

By the way, Babu doesn't exist, at least not in the cabin up there. One day, when the building of the Burj Dubai becomes a documentary on National Geographic or Discovery Channel, we will get to know who this "Babu" was. Till then, keep your fingers crossed. Let a hundred rumors abound. No worries, the truth up there will be revealed.

The Dubai Mall Fountain

2009-05-22T14:54:00.002+08:00

Had a wonderful chicken curry dinner a the place a fellow singaporean family last night. Their condo faces the Dubai Mall fountain and here is what we enjoyed after the makan!

Pride of a once Great Developer

2009-05-22T14:49:00.002+08:00

Drove by this place in Jebel Ali yesterday afternoon and was surprised to see perhaps a kilometre of once proud flags of a key developer in Dubai torned. Some of the flag poles have even collapsed on the ground. They should never have allowed this to happen. Much better if they had removed them.

Future Blog entry - The Dubai Mall Fountain

2009-05-18T15:36:00.004+08:00

This is an unusual blog entry because I am going to describe something that has not happened for us yet. We have been invited to an apartment with a frontal view of the new Dubai Mall fountain. We are likely to see more than what I am sharing with you here, which is taken off the Internet.

Here is probably the most popular video of the "musical fountain" which clearly outsize and outperform Singapore Sentosa island.

More abandoned cars

2009-05-18T00:59:00.004+08:00

The last time there were five abandoned cars downstairs of Shatta Tower. They have all been removed. Two to three weeks ago I began noticing this two rental civics from Thrifty parked at the same place. I might have developed the "Blink" ability for such things. Yesterday, these two cars were caked with dirt and dust. I believed they have been abandoned by their hirers. Thrifty must be missing them.

A great mini-notebook deal

2009-05-18T00:53:00.002+08:00

First saw this being offered for 1099 AED or about SGD 440 on friday. Daisy was tempted but we thought probably as good an offer is also available back home.

Saw a more modest version of this machine in ST on saturday morning going at SGD 599 and only with a 16GB SSD (the one above is equipped with a 120GB hard disc).

We decided to pick up one on saturday. While in the queue to pay, there were a few others like minded purchases. One of them tried to jump queue a lady and I had to shoo him off. Yes, people here are less shameless about such behavior.

More Liberalisation

2009-05-15T14:48:00.002+08:00

"The government is currently working on a number of laws and regulations that will reduce procedures and lower licensing and business registration costs and make Dubai a more competitive place to work and live in,"

Hamad Bu Amim, Director-General of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview.

Once liberalise you cannot look back. Often you have to liberalise even more aggressively when the economy hits a speed bump, which is what has happened to Dubai. This place doesn't have a choice. That is why those who are patient and careful will reap the benefits.

This how Dubai works. It is like the tides. The expats come and go in waves. At the moment we are experiencing the tide going out. But with each cycle, the emirate must learn to build something that can be built upon in every cycle. This round they have over done it but they should be able to recover. The ones who take the pain are the labourers and expats. The locals as consumers do not matter but the quality of leadership is crucial.

The Global Wealthy

2009-05-14T12:24:00.002+08:00

Where do the rich like to live? Here is how they polled as reported by Bloomberg.

The following table is a ranking of the world’s top centers for “mobile wealthy residency,” compiled by Scorpio Partnership.

1. Switzerland
2. London
3. Singapore
4. New York
5. Hong Kong
6. Jersey
7. Cayman
8. Isle of Man
9. Monaco
10. Dubai
11. Guernsey

And here is a report on the same news by Emirates Business 24/7, "Dubai preferred city by mobile rich" Well "prefer" here means ranked number 10? Work hard, they might go up the totem pole, but the media here likes to over play their hand in putting a positive spin on Dubai's achievement. The pun on "Gulf News" is the good news paper. All major papers belong to this club.

Blooming Trees

2009-05-10T17:53:00.005+08:00

This particular specie of trees are in bloom right now. Very beautful and some are so full of flowers, you can hardly see the leaves. The next event to behold must be when the flowers are being shed. It would be a wonderful experience to stand under one of these (if it is not too hot!) like I try to do sometimes back home.

Google on Mother's Day

2009-05-10T12:18:00.004+08:00

Today is Mother's Day, and this is Google for the UAE today.

Now this is from the Google page from Singapore.

I got the idea to compare them when I saw how beautifully created the Singapore's Google landing site was. Google in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia also have this same face.

"Peachicks"

2009-05-06T23:31:00.003+08:00

Our inumerable visits to the Mandai Zoo, we always bump into the peacocks and peahens but never their young. It was a pleasant surprise for us to discover these "peachicks" (they should just be called chicks) this morning in the office compound next to the Palm Jumeirah.

I took several shots of the mother and her chicks to share with our girls.

Desert Diplomacy from Singapore

2009-05-06T20:47:00.003+08:00

Below is an article from Business Times of May 5, 2009 by Mr. Wong Wai Hon. I am inserting here to bring more balance to my blog posts. Whether you like this place depends very much on your circumstances. If you are young, single and free like this chap, you would like it better. Dubai is positioned to attract the yuppies and dinks. For us we have to strike a balance of how we can successfully return school going kids to the Singapore system.

Outwardly both cities appear successful and prosperous but they cannot be more different. The electricity works and the water flows without fail from the tap but the similarity might just end there. I forgot, you can find domestic help as easily here too, but not doctors. The corporate culture is completely different and to me the greatest contrast is Singapore was built on savings but Dubai on debt. It goes without saying that how you spend your savings and borrowed money is very different.

Desert diplomacy

LETTER FROM DUBAI
Wong Wai Hon International graduate for priority banking, Standard Chartered Bank

ASALAMALAKUM! In Dubai it is common to hear this as a form of greeting and it has certainly helped me to interact with the locals.

I was given the opportunity to work for Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai after my graduation from Singapore Management University in July 2008. Ten months have gone by and I love every moment of my time here. The fact that I had never been away from Singapore for more than a month during my travels, and the thought of working overseas and meeting people from around the world, only made the journey here more exciting for me.

The first thing that struck me when I arrived in Dubai was the high number of expatriates living here. In fact, you will find more expatriates than locals in almost any part of Dubai. On my very first day of work, I was introduced to my fellow international graduates from 12 different countries. I now have friends from over 30 countries and I continue to meet new people every day.

Food is a major draw here, especially for Singaporeans, and I for one explored my options and enjoyed every minute of it. Dubai offers a wide variety of cuisine ? Korean, Japanese, Chinese ? you name it and you will find it here.

My first gastronomical adventure was at a Lebanese restaurant recommended by my Lebanese colleague. I was virtually blown away by it. I ordered chicken tikkas and my colleague taught me to eat the tikkas with hummus, Lebanese bread and fresh vegetables. This particular dish has become a favourite that I enjoy at least once a week.

Driving luxury cars is no longer a dream here in Dubai and many Singaporeans living here have bought cars that they usually would not be able to back home. It is not uncommon to meet up with a group of Singaporeans who are all driving BMWs!

Weekends in Dubai are never boring as there are all kinds of activities. The Desert Safari tours are a must for the adventurous. For racing fans, the auto dome is hugely popular as well. Sports lovers can look forward to great tennis matches in January and the inaugural F1 race in Abu Dhabi in November 2009.

Working in Dubai has its fair share of challenges, and being fresh out of university, I was eager to learn and put my best foot forward. The interactions with clients and staff were fruitful and I learnt that the key to doing well is to be responsive, both towards clients and colleagues. Doing so has helped me build better relationships and trust with them.

I was fortunate to have great support from my bank, as well as fellow Singaporeans living in the UAE. That helped me to settle down in Dubai fairly quickly. It was then I realised that when you are abroad, it is essential to lend support to fellow Singaporeans who are moving over.

That is the reason why I founded the SMU Alumni Chapter in Dubai in 2008. Just as I have benefited from having a network of Singaporeans helping me, I hope to help people adapt to the local culture during my stay in Dubai. For example, students who are here on internships and graduates who have taken up postings in Dubai. To date, I have helped two student groups.

My parting advice to those who are coming to Dubai would be to keep an open mind and venture out of your comfort zone. Only by doing this was I able to adapt quickly to the local environment. It has made my experiences in UAE a memorable chapter in my life, and a great story to tell my children in the future.

Dr. Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi: A forthright Arab/Emirati

2009-05-06T19:26:00.003+08:00

Just read this article and thought I shared a few things from it. I have also excerpted from it the following.

Source: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/business/?id=31862

“The Arabs claim they understand everything but they do not read; if they do read, they do not understand; if they understand, they plan but do not implement.”

“Unfortunately, we stick to our pride, which certainly reflects on development in our countries. Our economy will not progress because we are in the midst of an economic environment built on the findings of science, research and experience and not pride.”

“We do not drink oil, we drink water, and water is our everlasting problem in the Gulf region because our terrain is but dry desert. We rely on desalinating water from the Gulf, albeit at a high cost."

He emphasizes that water supplies will only meet the needs of 67 percent of the Gulf’s population (with the exception of Oman) by 2015. He quotes UN reports and calls for “considering with caution the cost of relying on desalination of Gulf water, which would near US$25 billion by 2010”;

Dr. Al-Suwaidi compares the Arabs to Israel and noted that the Arabs has failed to invest in creating their own intellectual property. Pride is a real stumbling block to their development and economic progress. If I may add, the Arab attitude is the exact of Singapore and many societies in Asia.

Nothing stands still, for example the Arabs face a looming water crisis which they are yet to do anything about. We know nature will impose its solution if we do not prepare our friendlier alternatives sooner; but before we get to that, wars over water may be what they are staring at. Singapore has been much more far-sighted with our water needs.

The Arabs must learn that oil doesn't save them. It only give them time to find a more sustainable model to build an advanced and prosperous society. Living here, I have am increasingly drawn to the conclusion that even as they diversify their economies, they cannot diversify away from oil in the true sense. That black gold subsidizes their uncompetitive diversification. The same "gold" pays for their unsustainable water resource. As for Dubai, she understands the magical powers of debt as a servant but not its harsh brutality as a master.

Pay cuts coming

2009-05-04T14:15:00.002+08:00

An upcoming big event for Dubai I am expecting is significant pay cuts for expats working in government affiliated companies. As usual, you hear the wind carrying it to you first. Most times you can't tell where it blew from. A couple of days in Arabian Business, the hint becomes even stronger. Let me quote a paragraph from the interview with carried by the paper with Dr Omar bin Sulaiman, the vice-chairman of the central bank.

Efficiency is one of the big things that is happening in Dubai over the last few months. Government agencies, semi-government agencies and other sectors came under pressure and started improving their efficiency. We looked at the way we do things and the cost of doing things

Cooking lunch

2009-04-29T20:29:00.002+08:00

I decided to finish the remaining brussel sprouts for lunch. Looking at them boiling in the pan was such a beautiful sight (the photo doesn't do justice), I just have to get a snap shot of it.

My meals are very simple especially if I only need to prepare them for myself. You can easily guess what I have this sprouts with. After I have removed these cute green bulbs, I threw in a package of maggi noodles.

Vehicular Traffic

2009-04-28T12:27:00.003+08:00

Looks like I was on the right side of the road isn't it? Just yesterday a friend here commented if I have noticed that the traffic is building up again. I replied that it seems to be so after Sheikh Mo declared that the worst is behind for Dubai. Good for them, but history has not been kind to those calling the dawn too early. As I write this, the situation on the swine flu crisis is still unclear. The world financial system is still on life support.

It is good to be optimistic, but it is wise to be prepared that we might be wrong. We will always have our hits and misses. What is important is we are still in the game.

I hope the worst is behind us, but let's make sure we can survive if it turns out to be a false dawn.

Responding to Swine Flu

2009-04-28T09:17:00.005+08:00

Above what Singapore's MOH disease outbreak response plan. Haven't seen anything equivalent for Dubai or the UAE but the Gulf News has the following.

From an article which headlines itself as, "Health Ministry says swine flu poses no real threat to UAE", I quote from it.

A circular has been issued to doctors in the UAE asking them to be fully prepared to deal with any potential swine flu cases, Jamal Al Turki, technical director, preventive medicine, Ministry of Health (MoH), said on Sunday.

I bet the doctors would be asking among themselves, "What are you talking about?" How to fully prepare? Who is going to organize us?

And then I can't believe how Al Turki went on to contradict himself.

Al Turki said: "This particular type of flu can be transmitted by being close to pigs; so in this regard there is no real threat in the UAE. The disease is also not transmitted through the food chain."

"We are also keeping a close surveillance on people coming from the infected part of the world based on the slightest flu like symptoms. There is a potential for this flu to turn into an epidemic because this particular virus changes its genetic composition. It can infect pigs but human-to-human transmission does not take place," he added.

Well Al Turki is right that as a flu virus it cannot travel to you via the food chain. Countries banning pork products from affected countries are doing so for social and political reasons. It is not a public health issue.

Hot weather finally here

2009-04-27T19:06:00.008+08:00

Much of April was a contest between the cool and hot weather. Until November, for now hot has won. I just came in and decided what was the temperature outside: 39 Celsius. The next few days look OK but could well surprise on the upside.

Humidity is 41%, which is quite uncomfortable.

Parking the back side?

2009-04-26T19:23:00.002+08:00

When translating from one language to another, I will always remember this example. The computer was asked to translate from the Bible, "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". In Russian, the computer spewed out, "the vodka is strong, but the flesh is rotten".

I took this photo yesterday from across the Noodle Bowl restaurant. It should have read Park Behind instead of "Parking the back side". Well, at least I know how it reads, and not funny of course in any Middle Eastern or Asian language.

We have no problem getting around Dubai with just English. Such comical experience with public signages only tell me that there is another unfamiliar and perhaps larger world in Dubai that I am not aware of. A world where the folks do not use English, and if they are so well hidden from us, they are probably the poorer segment of the society here.

They say the rich and the poor the world over are the same. That is probably right. It is in the middle class that one society is different from another. There is no middle class in Dubai, a least a large one that you cannot miss. Dubai is unreal. It is filled with so many foreign expats that has arrived only recently.

Go up fast, come down faster. Come in quickly, rush out faster could well be the story of expats in Dubai. I shudder to think of such a scenario here. I hope it doesn't come true. EFG Hermes predicted that Dubai would lose up to 17% of its population this year. UBS put down their number at 10%. Do they grasp the implication of such numbers?

Good bye my Ikea bag

2009-04-26T19:16:00.003+08:00

It was just a paper bag, what is the big deal. I have been using this bag I took from Ikea to fill with empty water bottles for recycling every week. This time I have to leave it behind because the bin as you can see above was filled to the brim. Silly to be sentimental over a paper bag isn't it? Well I still have one more bag and I don't think I would so unfortunate to have to leave it behind the next time. I could always take the bag back with me and come back another day right? So much for being sentimental.

Singapore Day not in Dubai

2009-04-26T15:46:00.003+08:00

Above picture from ST April 26, 2009

The government threw a party costing $6 million dollars for overseas singaporeans in London. It must have been a very good party. Singaporeans even travelled from the continent to soak in the fun and the recreated Singaporean atmosphere. It was clever too. If you can get the people to laugh at the ERP gantry, how angry can they be to pay the ERP charges?

As a realist, we cannot expect the same in Dubai but eventually I believe they will do the equivalent of London in Shanghai or Beijing. Why? If you come to Dubai, most of us just want to make our money and go home. In Europe and the USA, singaporeans there might not want to come back. Therefore you double your efforts to keep up your link with them. Create some event to remember and if possible even smell like Singapore. Actually Singapore doesn't smell any more. It used to, and very badly too when I was a kid. She has come a long way.

If you ever get an offer to come to Dubai to work, make sure that they pay you very well. You are likely to get into situations that cost you plenty here. Some have regretted coming here as a result. E.g., with more than 20 years experience on the road in various countries, I had to cough up quite a few thousands equivalent of SGD, not to mention time to take driving lessons, and the most ridiculous driving test to drive on Dubai roads legally. Fortunately that has recently changed, but as always they will find something else to burn a hole in your pocket. We could have bumped into another such scenario, but that is another story.

I am editing this post because earlier I forget to add that we do organize events for Singaporeans in Dubai but it is almost always a non-government initiative and of course from our own financial resources. The government helps us economize by opening the consulate grounds for such events. It is a good start but will it stop here? May be they will do better at the Abu Dhabi side. The embassy was involved in organizing a driving trip to Al Ain recently.

The Iranians also carried this story

2009-04-26T08:37:00.006+08:00

I think this is the third time I have seen this report carried in three different newspapers. This time, I read it in an Iranian publication. They have a large commercial presence in Dubai. My landlord is also Iranian. I imagine it could also be translated into Farsi and my landlord could have read it too.

We are unlikely to finish our lease of this apartment. A couple of days I called him to tell him that. I am not sure if he understood me, and we could not get in touch with the bilingual real estate agent as a go between. We are even wondering if she is still with the agency.

Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92499&sectionid=3510213

70 pct price falls loom for UAE real estate

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:00:54 GMT

The Swiss banking giant UBS has downgraded the real estate sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Wall Street Journal reports.

The main drivers for the downgrade are seen as the massive oversupply of properties,expected price falls of up to 70% and prospects of widespread defaults.

Property prices in Dubai have nosedived since September 2008, when the effects of the US-triggered world financial crisis and falling crude prices caught up with the property boom in Persian Gulf sheikhdoms.

The UBS research note, released on Tuesday, goes on to say: "We believe the recent run up in equities with positive global market sentiment, U.A.E. government bailout as a backdrop is unsustainable,… We don't yet see fundamentals improving, hence we view overall systematic risk as mispriced."

With many of the migrant workers and experts leaving the emirates due to rocketing unemployment, exploitation and maltreatment, the UBS report foresees a population drop of up to 10%, further reducing demand for residential properties leading to a sector vacancy rate of up to 30% by the end of 2010.

As a result, the UBS report forecasts the average house price to fall to as much as 500 UAE dirhams ($136.1) per square foot ($1465 per square meter) from a peak of AED1850 ($503.6) in the fourth quarter of 2008.

And the worst may be yet to come, the Swiss investment bank believes. Its note says: "In our view we are still in relatively early stages of the property down cycle in the U.A.E.,… We believe risk-reward profiles are not yet compelling for investors to consider market reentry hence continued price declines are expected."

According to UBS, although property prices have already fallen by an average of 25% to about AED1400 ($381.1) per square foot ($4,102.1 per square meter),the spiral is likely to continue.

"In our view we are still in relatively early stages of the property down cycle in the UAE," the research note said. "We believe risk-reward profiles are not yet compelling for investors to consider market reentry hence continued price declines are expected."

As a result, although share prices in Emaar Properties, Dubai's Union Properties and Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties rose by 33%, 40% and 84% respectively over the past month, UBS downgraded Emaar and Union Properties to sell, from neutral rating and Aldar to neutral, from buy.

The property freefall has forced major developers to put the brakes on major projects, in order to survive the current crisis.

The Swiss bank believes that some $300 billion worth of projects, or 60-70%, of new projects have been either delayed or canceled altogether.

The note explains: “With ramping job losses and loan-to-values of various properties rising above 100%, implying negative equity, we believe mortgage default rates will pick up over the coming quarters, potentially in the mid to high single digit range.”

UBS said that Dubai has a total of $112 billion in liabilities, which include a $42 billion cost to finish all residential properties.

Last year, the sheikhdom had an exposure to mortgages equal to about $30 billion, and the Swiss bank forecasts a higher figure next year.

"With ramping job losses and loan-to-values of various properties rising above 100%, implying negative equity, we believe mortgage default rates will pick up over the coming quarters, potentially in the mid to high single digit range," it said.

This follows an earlier statement by UBS which forecast a default of up to $25 billion by investors and home buyers in the emirates for part-completed properties.

In a February 15 interview, the Dubai-based UBS real estate and construction analyst Saud Masud said: “We believe delinquencies on payment terms will be a growing concern over the next few years…. In our view investors are and will continue to default as per individual risk profile.”

AAM/RE

Sunrise

2009-04-22T10:24:00.003+08:00

It is about 6.30am. I saw this beautiful view beyond my apartment window. Can't resist taking a few shots for keeps.

This is also a way to remember that as summer approaches, the day starts earlier too. What is most unforgettable is seeing the sun sets at 9pm in the cold New Zealand summer. It is something you remember forever.

Dubai doing just fine, says ruler

2009-04-21T12:51:00.004+08:00

Recently, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai engaged journalists in a question and answer session online. The transcript is available from the new website of the PM (he is also PM of the UAE) here.

I decided to write something here this event after reading a Straits Times report of it.

I am sure Dubai will survive this financial crisis but at heavy personal costs to the many foreigners working here. There will be huge invisible costs too. They cannot be easily spotted: For emiratis eyes and years only. In many instances, only for the emirati elite.

Since I returned after a two week break in Singapore, the traffic has become even lighter. The five abandoned cars at the bottom of the office tower have been removed. It will take a while to see which ones (if any) would accumulate dust and thus shout that their owners have ran away.

The most important word in Dubai also begins with a big "D" - Debt. The emirate owes USD 80 billion, but that is not the most meaningful number. What is crucial are the maturities of these obligations. About USD 12 billion would have to be paid this year or be rolled over.

The other worry is the risk of further impairment to their assets which could effectively raise their debt burden. The elites here think the worst is over and this give them the confidence to speak publicly and louder. I think the worst is still ahead of us. Just look at America and the woes of Dubai's customers and investors.

Sheikh Mohammad is wrong to think that the foreign media wants to help do in Dubai on the way down. Imagine that Dubai had gone up rather than down. The media would have sung its praises to high heavens.

The media like debt is a good servant but a bad master. Dubai was courageous or some think reckless to ride on tigers. Nevertheless I think they will live to fight another day. May be at that time it would be impossible to distinguish between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. You will have to come live here to know such things, and not make the silly mistake like SIA CEO Chew Choon Seng suggesting that Emirates Airlines enjoyed subsidised jet fuel. Filling up my first full tank of petrol back in September, I already know that petrol sales here is profitable to the government. It is even more profitable for the Singapore government! Now should I discuss DEWA versus Singapore Power? What is the secret of Singapore's budgetary surpluses?

Road Trip to Al Ain

2009-04-19T16:21:00.002+08:00

Made a road trip to Al Ain on Friday morning. Not the best day to drive as the strong winds were blowing up the sand. The weather is also beginning to turn hot here and this will be our last long distance road trip.

A quick tour of Jumeirah Beach

2009-04-19T16:04:00.003+08:00

With a couple of hours to kill before collecting the children from school, we visited the Jumeirah Beach last week. This place is very near to the school.

Everyone is asleep

2009-04-16T01:32:00.002+08:00

It is not even 10pm but they have all turned in for the night. I am on Facebook using the less powerful Netbook hooked up to an external display in the master bedroom. It is very quiet and peaceful now. I shouldn't stay up too late either since I am usually up well before 5am. I am told the locals here are night owls, adapting to the desert clime I suppose.

Burj Dubai from the air

2009-04-16T00:47:00.003+08:00

Photo by Lin from SQ plane approaching Dubai International Airport almost a week ago. Very hazy weather probably due to as usual the wind blowing up the sand. In the distance faintly you can see the outline of the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai.

Camel Racing

2009-04-14T19:32:00.002+08:00

Guess what, camel racing on TV again. I have been telling you guys about these jockey-less races during my recent visit home. You can see the SUVs racing alongside the camels. Not so clear in this brief video, but from these vehicles, they control the camels running.

ATM Robbery

2009-04-14T19:13:00.002+08:00

Got this video clip from a fellow Singaporean in Dubai. Can't find any newspaper story of it to support its authenticity. For what it is worth, I think it pays to be more vigilant in Dubai now. Low crime does not mean no crime.

Visiting the East Coast Park

2009-04-13T16:47:00.003+08:00

Some photos I took of the East Coast Park on our two week break in Singapore. These were some of the familiar morning sights we used to enjoy on our bikes every weekend.

April 7, 2009 at about 8 am.

Sunrise

2009-04-12T13:39:00.001+08:00

First work and school day after returning to Dubai. Greeted by this beautiful sunrise at 6.30am in the morning. It was first spotted by Daisy.

Budget Terminal Again

2009-04-11T16:51:00.001+08:00

Like many Singaporeans we have visited many foreign cities by air. Trundling up and down the stairs to and from a plane was something I did as a kid or if you are flying from a budget terminal. So far all our experience with Dubai airport is recreating the budget terminal experience. We have returned to Dubai like we left for Singapore two weeks ago. I hope we get the aerobridge the next time.

Dubai always look like a jewel from far. Only from afar.

Cookies from Tansy

2009-04-11T11:48:00.002+08:00

Tansy gave us two bags of home made cookies when she came with Isaac to send us off at the airport. These are big thumbs up cookies. Thanks very much!

Checking in SQ flight to Dubai

2009-04-10T07:29:00.000+08:00

We checked in via the Internet late thursday afternoon. Look at the number of available (green) seats on our flight in economy class.

The journey back to Singapore was packed with filippinos transiting at Changi on their way home. This return flight to Dubai shows that for most of them it had been a one-way flight. Dubai isn't hiring, so the human traffic isn't flowing towards there any more.

I have never been on an SQ flight that is so empty. I bet it would be far worse in business class.

Burj Dubai as lightning rod

2009-04-03T18:27:00.000+08:00

An old friend from Singapore sent me this. Another one told me she saw some of it while driving in Dubai.

Dubai Milk

2009-04-01T10:40:00.001+08:00

I am posting this from Singapore. I have been drinking Magnolia milk as a kid. I think their Hi-Lo is better than Marigold's and Daisy's. In Dubai, even their full cream milk taste like they have added 50% water. Consequently, I have abandoned my regular breakfast of cereal with milk. It was such a pity as the cereals I like from Marks & Spencer are so much cheaper than back home.

Now back home for a couple of weeks, unless I have to meet people for breakfast, I am on cereal and milk. Cereal from M&S of course.

We really missed our libraries

2009-03-30T06:33:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, visited the Bishan community library after lunch with the extended family at my brother's place. I was hoping to check out "Factory Girls" but it was unavailable at this branch but got "The China Price" instead. The NLB libraries are one of those things we really miss when in Dubai. Every trip we took to Dubai Mall, we never missed Kinokuniya. I hope they succeed as the traffic there is so much thinner than their Singapore Ngee Ann City outlet.

Gone up from $1.35 to $1.70

2009-03-29T22:47:00.002+08:00

This was S$1.35 before I left for Dubai. Seven months later it has gone up to S$1.70, meanwhile I just saw a one-for-one deal at Friends@Jelita just earlier this evening. Chicken rice at Ghim Moh hawker centre is still starting at $2.50 per plate. Prices at high end outlets are falling while the lower end in some ways is trying to reach for the sky but of course like chickens they can take off only briefly or there will be social instability.

Unlike in the past, this is one recession where the rich get hit big time. We can expect this one to be long and recovery to be slow.

Terrorism Risk: Why Singapore and not Dubai

2009-03-29T11:03:00.003+08:00

For sometime I have been trying to find out why was Singapore targeted but not Dubai. Even Saudi Arabia wasn't spared. Today I found a possible reason why; Al Qaeda needs Dubai. It is a lifeline of sorts for them. See "Al Qaeda in the UAE"

Note there is a major error of fact in the article which I felt the author shouldn't have made. He had confused the Al Nahyan family which runs Abu Dhabi with the Al Maktoum which governs Dubai. Well, for what it is worth, it is quite interesting.

15% discount at Soup Kitchen

2009-03-27T07:58:00.003+08:00

Arrived in Singapore Changi Airport around noon yesterday. It was truly wonderful for Peter, my old pal to come meet us at the airport. We can order more food with one additional person.

Soup Kitchen won over the Food Court, but not for long. We were given 15% discount something which is still very rare in Dubai. I know hotel rates there have been falling but the prices at the restaurants and food courts, at least the ones we go to remain stuck a high prices. Why are they not adjusting. We know some of the leading and biggest companies in Dubai have already laid off half their employees.

Gotta to run, got to run downstairs to buy the family local breakfast, e.g., "black sauce carrot cake with chili"

Budget Airport

2009-03-27T07:48:00.002+08:00

We left Dubai for Singapore late last night. I took this picture as I disembark the bus, before I ran up the stairs to the SQ Airbus. You wouldn't get a chance if you were in Changi because you would be well cocooned inside an aero-bridge. Dubai International Airport has been like a budget terminal to us. We arrived with Emirates months ago, we had to take a shuttle bus to the terminal. Leaving for Singapore, we have the double fortune of doing the same. I thought air traffic has fallen considerably, why can't we have the convenience of an aero-bridge? As the bus trundled its wahy to our parked plane, I could see many unused aero-bridges. I am not surprised. This is the way Dubai does things so often. The people who make the big decisions there ride in private planes. If they know what the rest of us live with (not that bad actually, you musn't compare with Changi) riding commercial planes, perhaps the airport would be better. What the decision makers don't see they can't manage.

3,000 abandoned cars?

2009-03-24T15:18:00.003+08:00

I have lost count the number of times the newspapers here and overseas reported that there are about 3,000 abandoned cars in Dubai.

Yesterday Daisy was delayed, so I got out of the car and snap the above photos of the cars parked downstairs of the office tower. All the five cars were very dusty and obviously not been used for sometime. There are some more cars like these at my housing estate. Perhaps someone could tow one of them to this place to make six and the photo above more complete.

So are there 3,000 abandoned cars around Dubai? You bet there could well be more now.

Mom would have been 69 today

2009-03-24T14:45:00.003+08:00

Had she lived, she would have been 69 today, but she went home to the Lord on Valentine's Day six years ago. A few months later from the slideshow I created for her since she cannot be out there enjoying flowers and nature, the Inspirational Flash Movies websites came into being: InspiringThots and InspiringWord.

This is pure speculation, but I wonder if John thought often of his brother James who was beheaded in the early days the young church - "This one is for him!". InspiringThots and InspiringWord are for my mom because Amazing Grace was given to her at the end of her time here. They are the proof of that Grace.

From 10 Dhs to 12 Dhs

2009-03-24T14:33:00.004+08:00

Marble Slab will be part of my girls' memory of this place as Swensens' ice-cream had back home in Singapore. Their ice-cream is good and they have some of the best prices too. They are so competitive, they could rise the price of a regular cup from 10 dhs (S$ 4) to 12 dhs. I discovered this yesterday.

Here is my earlier blog entry of our experience with them.

I met George Mueller today

2009-03-22T20:33:00.002+08:00

Today I had lunch with a new friend and had the wonderful opportunity to hear his Dubai story. I told him that his story is like a script borrowed from parts of the life of George Mueller, the guy who by faith ran several orphanages in Bristol in the 1800s.

I look forward to meeting more George Mueller types in person. There are quite a few of them, but I didn't expect to find them here in Dubai. The amazing invisble that we are occasionally privileged to glimpse at only. Some day such hidden beauty would be completely revealed. You want to have a part in these scripts.

A flash movie for Asian Expats

2009-03-22T14:17:00.006+08:00

I received a beautiful poem from my States side friend and decided to turn it into a flash movie for the asian expats working here. If you want the version with music, use this link: http://inspiringthots.net/movie/note-miles.php

No need to worry about the jet set upper class of expats here, but I often imagine what it must be like for the others who cannot make home visits as much as they would like to. Their mobile phones and for some the internet connected PC must be terribly important to them to stay in touch with their families and friends back home.

Don't tell me, I know there is an even larger group of construction workers who have had to rely on the old fashioned pen and paper. I can only wish that we keep improving until they also get elevated to a higher standard of living. I hope that they are less forgotten. What I try to do for them is to stop the car for them whenever they try to make it across the street. I bear in mind that I almost never need to cross the street here. Wheels take me every where, for them it is their legs.

International Day (Singapore and Malaysia)

2009-03-22T13:58:00.004+08:00

Yesterday the girls' school celebrated International Day. It was an important annual event on the school calendar and truly reflect the multi-national nature of the place. There were so many booths representing so many countries. Many of their national costumes were just awesomely beautiful, and it really hit you that we have no national costumes like many other countries.

The Singapore booth was most unique. It was a joint effort between the Malaysians and us. Indeed outside Singapore and Malaysia, we see each other as one. Unlike the reception for President Nathan the night before, I was told the food here is more generous and much better quality too. Lin and I enjoyed many sticks of satay. It was truly yummy. Thanks!

Look at the state flags hanging side by side above. Should I forgive the MFA for refusing a Singaporean friend from bringing her Malaysian fiancee to the reception? They solved the problem when the guy decided not to attend. So often politics divides, but culture unites, yeah?

Mother's Day

2009-03-22T13:53:00.003+08:00

Now I know one place to find the important and commercially valuable dates is Carrefour here at MOE. How quickly Norooz has been succeeded by Mother's Day (yesterday I think). Like Teacher's Day, Mother's Day apparently is celebrated on different days across the world.

The young lady in the photo, I was waiting for her to go away before I snap this picture. I gave up waiting for her. She is truly an unintented inclusion.

Happy Norooz

2009-03-20T21:47:00.004+08:00

Happy Nooroz to Taleb and Ansari. Taleb is our landlord and Ansari is the lady from Hamptons that was very helpful with arranging for us to be in our present apartment.

The above shot was taken surreptiously at Carrefour MOE. I stood there for a very long time admiring the beautiful narcissus and other roses. There was an exceptionally beautiful bunch of yellow roses which I didn't manage to get a shot of.

The humidity keeps getting lower

2009-03-18T10:38:00.003+08:00

Looks like the humidity keeps getting lower. I set the humidifier at 50% for the children. Usually it will pause sometime during the night but this morning despite working through the night the display reports: 46%. The one in my room is worse: 42%

Day trip to Abu Dhabi

2009-03-11T20:06:00.002+08:00

We took a half day trip to Abu Dhabi last saturday. Left Dubai at about 10am and came back around 3pm. Overall, we find the capital a prettier place than Dubai, which is still like one giant construction yard.

Our second visit to the Doc

2009-03-11T16:16:00.003+08:00

Back at the expensive and relatively empty American Hospital once again. This time it is Zhen that needed to see the doc. No choice, but to come here as the symptoms refuse to subside after several days. Diagnosis: Bronchitis.

We had a light snack at the cafe after seeing the doc (picture of the cafe above). Only two tables were occupied. Prices were similar or lower than Costa - read OK prices. The choc croissants were quite nice. Zhen opted for hot chocolate.

Klacid for seven days, 500mg/pill to be taken after meals once daily. Thankful it wasn't the foul tasting liquid version.

It Rocks!

2009-03-11T16:07:00.002+08:00

This happened late afternoon yessterday.

Yes, it rocks! but not like youngsters these days use the word. This big fellow perched on the big truck was unstable and rocking. I was driving right behind it and trying to keep a safe distance. The steel cables, no it was steel chains holding it down didn't inspire confidence at all. As you know, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. I thought they would have used cables instead. I was thinking of the awe inspiring cables of the Golden Gate, at least a more modest cousin.

Well I lived to tell this story. No newspaper story today that it fell off. Might not be so lucky next time.

Phoenix: A Chinese Supermarket

2009-03-06T20:40:00.000+08:00

This is our first visit to Phoenix supermarket. It is located in International city in China City among apartment blocks A3 to A5. International city is just next door to Dragon Mart.

You can get China imported vegetables here which we enjoy in Singapore but is hard put to find any where else in Dubai. The green tea we enjoyed at Lam Kwai Fong, which I could not find any where is available here.

Ready for moving in

2009-03-05T20:00:00.000+08:00

It is so delicious to be kay poh. The photo above was shot more than a week ago. I took it from my bedroom window. It was exciting because the apartment block across is finally ready for moving in. Since then, I have not seen lights turned on in the evenings in this unit. It is impossible to see into the house in the day so night time is watching time. In the day, the glass windows of this apartment block is useful as a mirror of sorts to watch for congestion on the SZR freeway. Since the downturn, the roads are much less congested, and we have also stopped this traffic check.

Lunch at Jebel Ali Club

2009-03-04T20:52:00.002+08:00

Located near Ibn Batutta Mall, this is a nice place safe the houseflies which are clearly the most dominant species of insects in Dubai. We came here after our very frustrating meeting with the HSBC folks at Jebel Ali. HSBC had botched up our big funds transfer to our US account. With the evidence laid clearly before them, they still refuse to admit liability.

Pork knuckles (so haram!) is available here. I opted for a safe seafood pizza and Daisy had carbonara. Our lunch was interrupted by a call from our HSBC relationship manager. I was really upset and told him to get the details from the officer at their Jebel Ali branch. At this point of writing the money has not yet been returned to our account. It is has been almost two weeks already! Like they say, this is Dubai!

As always Dubai looks like the prettiest pearl from far away. Come and live in the pearl and you will understand that beauty is indeed only skin deep. Even as I write, this porcelain beautiful skin is peeling from want of moisturiser (liquidity) under the scorching sun.

The air here has been too dry

2009-03-04T19:53:00.000+08:00

This is our second humidifier, a cool temperature one. We had bought a high temperature one from Westinghouse earlier for Daisy to use. For the winter months, the humidity has consistently been in the 40s or lower. The one you are seeing above is for the girls' room.

We set the humidity at 50% and usually when I enter the room to wake them up for school, it is no longer blowing its gentle mist. This mist is finer than what the Cool House in the Botanic Gardens back home.

The girls' best lunch for school

2009-03-03T19:44:00.000+08:00

Except rice, which is of course life's food, we are very small eaters and usually cannot finish the generous portions Jasmine gives us. It is not unusual for us to warm up the food the next morning for the girls to bring to school for lunch. All we need to do is steam some rice in the morning.

OK, now they are nicely packed into the thermos containers. The one of the left belongs to Lin. Zhen has the larger black one. These two were bought at Taka in Singapore. When Daisy got them, I thought this was going to be a wasted purchase.

You may not take pictures

2009-03-02T19:37:00.000+08:00

I was waiting for Chua to bring the sumptuous dinner Jasmine has prepared for us, and I decided to take a photo of our community mosque. The security guard walked up to me and objected to it. I tried to explain to him that this is ridiculous. Shortly Chua appeared and we tried to explain how unreasonable he is. Since as tenants we "out ranked" him we just walked off and have our chat before entering the building to pick up groceries from Choittram.

Waiting for the Flyover

2009-03-01T19:30:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken on the 26th February. This is a very useful viaduct for us. It spans across the SZR freeway to the other side where Media city, Internet city etc.,So much progress they have made in about three months (see photo below). When completed, it would cut down substantially time taken to drive to work and school.

Steamboat once more

2009-02-28T23:18:00.000+08:00

The last steamboat dinner we had wasn't very successful because we couldn't get thin beef slices. This time round it was much better. We came upon these thinly cut ribeye slices at Waltrose in Dubai Mall. The only reason ever we are at Dubai Mall is Kinokuniya. Since Daisy was thinking of cooking dinner, we went to the basement 2 supermart to see what we might pick up for cooking. It was very good we manage to find these.

Dubai Mall Aquarium: Then and Now

2009-02-28T22:08:00.001+08:00

If you can't or refuse to pay, you may not approach the aquarium. I took this photo yesterday. See the barriers. Here is the one taken from my December 29th post.

We have noticed that the mall has been very quiet. It has not succeeded at drawing crowds away from the more established and older malls. They could also be desperate for cash. Times in Dubai are getting harder.

Hokkien speak brings us home

2009-02-28T19:48:00.003+08:00

This just came in the mail from a new friend in Dubai. They are also from Singapore. I am putting this up so that one day we will remember that hokkien jokes are especially fun when you are away from so many hokkien spouting friends back home!

Dear Hokkien-speaking friends,
Laugh until you kee siao!

Dr. Quek made a routine house call to Mr. Lim, one of his elderly patients. He asks, 'And how are you doing today, Mr. Lim?'

Mr. Lim replies, 'I feel just fine, doc. But you know, it's the strangest thing. Every night when I get up to pang jio, the bathroom light goes on for me automatically when I open the door!'

The doctor is worried that the old man is getting senile, so he phoned the man's son, and the son's wife answers.

The doctor tells her, 'Mrs. Lim, I'm a little concerned about your father-in-law.
It seems that when he gets up to urinate at night and opens thebathroom door, the light somehow goes on....'

At which point, Mrs. Lim yells, 'Aiyoh, Ah Seng! Ah Pa pang jio in the fridge again!'
______________________________

QUESTION: How do you know frogs are Hokkien?
ANSWER : Because when it's cold, they go 'kwah, kwah, kwah'.

QUESTION : How do Hokkien prawns laugh?
ANSWER: Hae hae hae (Hokkien for prawns)

QUESTION: How do Hokkien fish laugh?
ANSWER : Hoo hoo hoo (Hokkien for fish)
And here is a classic .........

QUESTION : What's the difference between Ang-mor and Hokkien fairy Tales?
ANSWER: Ang-mor fairy tales begin with 'Once upon a time...'
and Hokkien fairy tales begin with 'Lim Peh ka li kong...' ?

Comparing Waste Disposal

2009-02-25T21:50:00.002+08:00

Every floor on our 35 storey aparment has a shared chute to throw our rubbish. I have always wondered where it all empties into. Well, they are terminated as shown in the photo above. It is a manual and laborious system. If there is no one to watch it, you can guess what happen. I am sure they have to use several a day because I see so many of these bins outside the condo each day waiting to be collected. Labour here must be so cheap that they do not bother to invest in automation. On the other hand when the metro comes online it would be driverless? Why?

I think it is because you can boast of the metro as being very advanced to the world. Who cares about refuse collection and disposal? Yet it is in the things that you do not want to show off that reveals who you are. Remember my post on the sewage disposal here?

Condo Parking: When it gets too good

2009-02-25T17:39:00.003+08:00

Parking lot 461 is probably one of the best at my condo. It is my parking lot. Yes, unlike back home, we are assigned our places to park, and no, the parking space above isn't mine. It is just next to the entrance to the building and supposedly one of the best. Anyone who gets allocated one of the four lots here would feel that way until you discover to your dismay those who aren't suppose to use them are fond of taking it when you are not around!

The photo above was shot from inside my car. My lot represents the best balance between safety, distance and convenience. Except one time, I have not needed to call security over an unwanted car in 461.

Yes, the car in the photo is not supposed to be there. Lucky for him his tire was not deflated as a lesson taught. From hard experience, that is what one might suffer back home right?

Unsafe school buses

2009-02-25T14:15:00.002+08:00

Should I let the girls ride the school bus to and from school? Aside from charging us shylock rates, I still recall my research sitting in front of my tiny Acer Inspire One PC in our serviced apartment the horrible statistics of children killed by their school bus. I had no mood to blog about it then. Something tell me I will read about such criminal acts again. That day has come too soon. It was not even four months ago.

It is a miracle, and if you are a believer, it must God's grace that not more people die on the roads here. If I want to, I can just have a blog dedicated to traffic incidents here.

Here is the tragic story from Gulf News.

4-year-old girl run over by school bus
WAM Published: February 24, 2009, 23:04

Ras Al Khaimah: A kindergarten bus ran over a four-year-old Palestinian girl student in Al Rams area. She was pronounced dead at the ICU of Saqr Hospital. Medical sources said that the girl had suffered serious injuries in different parts of her body and acute bleeding in the brain.

The victim, Huda Ali, was on her way back from the kindergarten in the bus driven by a 30-year-old Yemeni driver and the bus supervisor accompanied her to a safe place near her house and returned to the bus to drive other students. Colonel Hassan Al Jeeda, Chief of Traffic Section at the emirate's Traffic and Licensing Department said that the girl suddenly remembered that she has forgotten her jacket in the bus and returned to collect it.

One for One dinner

2009-02-25T12:18:00.003+08:00

Last night we left the kids at home with their simple dinner so that we can go and get our higher class dinner. Our dinner options expand greatly once we do not need to find a place acceptable to the girls. Daisy and I took the opportunity to go to Ruby Tuesday, a restaurant at the JBR. The food was very good but this is not the point of the story I want to tell here. I am more excited about the one-for-one we got here and else where.

One of the best advice we got coming here is to invest in the "Entertainer" book of discount coupons. It costs a hefty 295 AED but it is worth it. There are easily hundreds, may be more than a thousand coupons inside. That night we ordered a stead for 80 AED and got the other one free. We still have two coupons left that we can use here.

Culture Shock Humour

2009-02-24T14:42:00.005+08:00

I just got this in my inbox, dropped what I was doing and posted it here.

A disappointed salesman of Coca Cola returns from his Middle East assignment. A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Arabs?"

The salesman explained, "When I got posted in the Middle East , I was very confident that I would make a good sales pitch as Cola is virtually unknown there.

But, I had a problem I didn't know to speak Arabic. So, I planned to convey the message through three posters...

First poster- A man lying in the hot desert sand...totally exhausted and fainting.

Second poster - man is drinking our Cola.

Third poster- Our man is now totally refreshed. Then these posters were pasted all over the place

"That should have worked," said the friend.

The salesman replied "I didn't realize that Arabs go from right to left"

Cash crunch for the schools?

2009-02-24T14:10:00.002+08:00

To me, the cash crunch in Dubai has finally gotten to the schools. Forget about the US$10 billion the Dubai government just raised. That is meant for paying down debts to banks and honoring bond obligations. It is not their Job Credit Scheme to protect jobs. That's right, forget about the "Development" bit some of you read about in the papers here. The Emirate is still short of about US$5 billion for 2009 alone. It wants to raise 20 billion bucks. The 10 billion will buy them many months (not years) to figure out something.

The rally in the stock market is understandable but certainly unsustainable.

The private schools here are likely to lose many of their pupils. Even in Korea where education is highly valued, parents are pulling their children from tuition centres. Ditto Singapore.

The article quote the words of some parents. By now, I can even picture what some of these parents might look like - very different from Singaporeans, who would have complained differently. We would have asked to understand the reasons first right?

Khaleej Times

It’s an ‘Unfair’ Practice
Staff Reporter

24 February 2009 DUBAI - A number of parents who received letters from their children’s schools in Dubai demanding advance fees have called the practice ‘unfair’.Some of them contacted Khaleej Times complaining the practice unfair.

“My son’s school, Raffles International School (RIS), has sent us a note asking for a deposit of Dh5000 payable within a few weeks while the full fees for term one must be made next month along with post-dated checks for term 2 and term 3,” said a parent.

“This payment scheme locks parents into the school until June 2010. The government law means that if you are made redundant, you must leave within a month or two. Like many parents, we now have to find this extra money by tightening our budgets, and paying in advance is something that not possible,” she added.

“We were asked to pay the new academic year’s fees by May. This is putting an awful lot of pressure on parents especially at a time when there is so much uncertainty. Families with two or three children will find it even more difficult. Schools should not be allowed to squeeze parents this way,” said a parent, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

The parent, whose children study at the Wellington International School, said that last year they were given time until September to pay.

Wellington International School, which is managed by the Global Education Management Systems (Gems), said “a note was sent to parents reminding them that tuition fees were due in June for the following academic term, which is September.”

Emaar Education, which manages Raffles International School, said, “the school is in discussions with KHDA regarding re-registration fees and will inform parents accordingly.”
preeti@khaleejtimes.com

Real fog and academic fog

2009-02-24T12:41:00.003+08:00

The fog this morning was heaviest at the girls' school, aptly describing how we feel about the future of their schooling here in Dubai.

I have just begun discussing with the school their academic programs for next year. I am worried that they might not be able to offer the subjects Zhen wants. We might be forced to move her to another school or even return both of them to Singapore. It is also possible we might all be going home soon as victims of the burst bubble here. Truly foggy, truly uncertain.

Daisy and I have come to accept the much lower academic standards in this country. Except for Arabic, which Zhen is exempted because of her dyslexia, and Lin has absolutely no interest, they do very well otherwise. The alarm bells go off for me when Zhen topped in English despite her learning disabilities. Anyway in a surprise spelling test, which I believe is not a regular feature for grade eight, she did poorly scoring only 3 out of 10. Therefore she is still dyslexic and hasn't figure her way around it.

Right Direction?

2009-02-24T12:03:00.002+08:00

In writing this blog, I often try to stand outside myself and imagine what the "typical" Singaporean might feel about this place. There are no "typical" Singaporeans, only some major or common features, which a limited writer like myself isn't capable of describing.

I have earlier read the WSJ op-ed "There's No Reason to Gloat Over Dubai's Fall," It is as usual the completely western point of view. Who are they to tell the UAE what is right or wrong direction? If the UAE becomes more like a western society, that is right; otherwise it is wrong? Well those societies just led us into the financial and economic crisis of the century. Haven't they learnt their lesson in Iraq, trying to transform an ancient society? Intolerable arrogance and hubris.

As far as I can understand this, the Singaporean approach is to identify and then grow our common space. We might disagree, may be even quarrel with each other in the process of increasing that space but that is fine. It is based on mutual respect.

I am not totally sure what is right, and I think most of the time we are better able to ascertain what more right or "righter" than what is absolutely right. Such pride always goes before a fall.

So Right is a journey and not a destination. Even as I believe in salvation by grace only through the incarnate and ressurected God-Son, I am still learning and continually amazed by that bottomless grace we are welcomed to drink from. I grow not because I am right, but because I am getting "righter". By being unsure all the time, I am sure.

Meanwhile we are watching but also suffering together with the West being taken to the cleaners so that he learns not to be so sure of his ways. He does not and never had the monopoly of what is Right.

We Should Encourage The UAE's Progress

I strongly concur with Zvika Krieger ("There's No Reason to Gloat Over Dubai's Fall," op-ed, Feb. 20). Having just returned from a visit to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I had the opportunity to see the situation firsthand. As Mr. Krieger says, we can find plenty of reasons to criticize the United Arab Emirates, including the recent visa denial for an Israeli athlete. Yet the fact remains that these emirates are making tremendous progress in reforming their societies. They are moving in the right direction and they deserve our help and encouragement. Let us save our criticism for those nations that are clearly moving in the wrong direction.

Vahan Janjigian New York

Local Makan once more

2009-02-24T02:32:00.003+08:00

Jasmine is back in Dubai for a couple of weeks and she is cooking her yummy dinners for us again. We appreciate this very much! I do not know how to describe food except in the simplest fashion. We have fish, steamed eggs and chicken with vegetables tonight. We only need to cook the rice ourselves, and we use Thai Hom Mali.

Finally support for Dubai from the UAE government

2009-02-23T03:20:00.003+08:00

The UAE government has casted a lifeline to Dubai. This I feel is the best way forward for them instead of going to the Saudis. It will buy time, about one year to sort things out, rationalize and consolidate...

Dubai Government Launches a USD20 billion Long Term Bond Programme (UPDATED)
2009-02-22 22:32:28

WAM Dubai,Feb 22nd, 2009 (WAM):
As part of its long term financing strategy, Dubai Government today launched a USD20 billion Long Term Bond Program, the first issuance of which, amounting to USD10 billion, was fully subscribed by the Central Bank of the UAE. The bond is an unsecured fixed rate paper yielding 4pc per annum and has a five year maturity.This issuance will provide Dubai Government with the necessary liquidity to substitute the liquidity that has dried up globally in the last 12 months and accordingly meet all upcoming financial obligations. This program will secure the necessary funding for Dubai to meet its financial obligations and continue its development program.WAM/AB

First trip to the movie theatre

2009-02-22T16:05:00.007+08:00

Zhen was at Noor's birthday party. The three of us had no where to go and so we decided on a movie - Pink Panther 2. Pink Pather 1 was good and our hunch is that this would be no less.

We have delayed making this trip to the theatre for just one very silly reason - price. Look at the ticket price, it is so much more expensive than back home but I know is quite reasonable compared to many other major global cities. You guessed right, we bought no colas, pop corns etc., into the cinema. Each time we bought, we threw away 90% of it. Why waste the money? If the movie is good, you not need your mouths to work.

So how was the movie? We recommend it! Zhen missed it. She will have to wait for the DVD to come out.

As for the picture above was shot off the screen using my Casio digital.

Second Birthday Party

2009-02-22T10:41:00.003+08:00

Yesterday Zhen attended a birthday party, her second here. She was invited to the first one with Sarah (another Singaporean girl) back in mid November last year. Why are these special? It shows that she is fitting into the system here. Back home, she hardly attend any of these functions because she was an outlier.

This birthday function has a sad side to it. The birthday girl is switching to another school. That makes two as Sarah has also returned to Singapore earlier. Who knows, we might be next given the uncertain times, but these are also times for miracles. Those in denial will experience no miracles though. We believe we aren't in denial but is living the words of "hoping for the best but preparing for the worst". Easy to say, but it requires insight to practice. We are still learning.

A night's walk

2009-02-22T00:57:00.004+08:00

We are so fortunate to have several cool months each year. I have walked here many times with Daisy. It is just downstairs of our condo, and this path lead to and from the supermart a few hundred metres away. Tonight I walked here alone, not for pleasure but to buy bread to make the sandwiches for Zhen to take to school tomorrow. Daisy was busy upstairs with the weekly ironing. Every week I had volunteered to help her, which I used to do before the children came, but she had always insisted on taking on this load. To make this less of a chore, she watched the telly at the same time. The children are happy to join her.

We used to take short walks downstairs of our apartment block in Singapore too. We can do it all year round as long as it isn't raining. Over here, I was told it would be too warm even in the evening during summer, but right now the coolness outside is like Cameron Highlands or Fraser Hills I remember long ago.

Tonight something special happened almost immediately after I took the shot above with my PDA phone. An Arab man called me from his car. I thought he needed directions since it is quite routine for people to get lost in Dubai. No, this chap was from Saudi Arabia. His car registration plate was totally unfamiliar and in Arabic only. He needed my help. With his struggling English we tried to communicate. I went away thinking Allah must have answered his prayer. I thought of the Malay friends I met here who said they would pray for us too.

Why do they have to deliver sewage this way?

2009-02-21T00:34:00.006+08:00

I can never forget this, not only have I read about it several times but the folks here are always joking about it - The long queues of tankers carrying untreated sewage, so long that a driver has to wait eight hours for his turn to discharge his load. One of my greatest fears here is to encounter one of these on the road, probably in an accident, spilling its unwelcomed contents. You cannot anticipate the ways these things can fly out. This is not an academic risk. Look at how many there are.

By chance, we happened to spot the sewerage treatment plant in the distance on our way back from Dragon Mart this afternoon. We made a detour and took some photos. You can see the queue snake so far back, you can't see the end of it.

Past the unguarded entrance (risky isn't it?), these tankers circled upwards to the not visible discharge point. One of our Singaporean friend often remarked that you must visit in the night. The place look like a scene from the movie, The Close Encounter of the Third Kind, with the tankers lighted up against the deep darkness, welcoming Aliens visiting earth. The truth is more like they are trying to return something to the earth!

Superior Waste Bins

2009-02-21T00:18:00.005+08:00

Once a week for many weeks now I have been coming here to leave my empty plastic bottles and containers for recycling. I was suprised when I opened the lid, it was very deep and I imagined if you ever fall into one of them, you will need to call the civil defence guys to come and help you out. These bins are definitely cleaner, more attractive and usable than those we have back home. The only problem is that we don't have enough of them.

I just went to Google them ("Molok") on the Internet. I am impressed by their simplicity and the technical thought behind their design. This is finnish made.

You can see from the picture on the left that it has a deep design. The ones that are used here are deeper, at least from what I can see looking down.

Been there, but not done that

2009-02-20T16:08:00.002+08:00

This video shows quite a few places we have been in Dubai but we have not "done that", i.e., invested, splurged, lived it up like the well paid folks here in Dubai. Even if we had been here early, we also wouldn't have as we did not back in Singapore. I am comforted many Singaporeans are also not so reckless. On the other hand, I think the managers of our SWFs rated their abilities too highly. I am not faulting them on their performance but their inability to appraise risk better. This crisis was no Black Swan, if I may borrow the idea from Nassim Taleb.

Owe Money, Pay Money

2009-02-20T13:25:00.002+08:00

I thought even the loan sharks have disappeared this global credit squeeze. When Reuters first reported on the 18th that Borse Dubai succeeded at rolling over $2.5b of debt, I sat up and started monitoring.

Khaleej Times was I believe the first local paper to pick this up. Gulf News and the Abu Dhabi National were still silent. National eventually published a fuller story of the financial coup yesterday but not before a Business 24/7 article was written in such a way to raise as many questions as it answered. You know, quoting "unamed sources", "declined to be identified" sort of thing.

Dubai government paid down $900m of the debt of $3.4b falling due end of this month, but where did they get the financing for the remaining $2.5b?

The WSJ just came in with this. It is short, so I am reproducing it here.

DUBAI -- This city-state paid down and refinanced a loan due this month, easing worry about its ability to service its debt.

Borse Dubai said Thursday that it refinanced $2.5 billion of a $3.8 billion loan that it took out last year to buy a 20% stake in Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. International banks put $1.2 billion in the new facility and Dubai banks provided $1.3 billion, according to a banker involved in the deal.
Dubai government entities provided $900 million to help pay off the loan, and Borse Dubai saved $400 million in foreign-exchange fluctuations, according to an official at the holding company.

Two questions,

1. Where did the banks get the money, which will lead us to
2. Can we expect similar coups going forward, and what did the banks see in Dubai that was not privy to the investing public?

Beyond the price, what about the terms of this loan?

Further info at

Khaleej Times: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?section=business&xfile=data/business/2009/february/business_february894.xml

Business 24/7 Today: http://www.business24-7.ae/articles/2009/2/pages/02192009_a8741344f676473cbe7f1731114d4144.aspx

The National: http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090219/BUSINESS/150814564/1137

A Red Bentley

2009-02-20T12:21:00.004+08:00

Spotted this rose-red Bentley convertible on the way to school yesterday morning. Tried to get a nice photo of it but only managed three shots and this is the best of the three. I wondered if it was a man or woman behind its wheels. With three speed cameras along this road, there is no chance fo find out without unacceptable risk.

Perhaps we will spot it again sometime. At that hour of the morning, most of us were just following to our daily routine don't we?

Was I keen to ride in a car like that one? No, it was only its stand out colour that attracted me. Don't think there is one like that in Singapore. What I would like is to ride in the Mclaren F1 roadcar, which I passed up to a junior staff when I was with Shell. I had wanted to reward him for a job well done, but I also didn't like the idea of traveling to Pasir Gudang early in the morning just to spin on a race circuit for a few minutes. Cars for me ultimately are just about getting from point A to point B safely. So boring isn't it? No! But that is another story.

Middle East Geopolitical Lessons for Singapore

2009-02-19T14:44:00.004+08:00

In the year X, where X > 2020, but not sure what X exactly would be except that at that time the situation in South East Asia would be very different because somehow Indonesia manage to get its act together and become quite rich even as many of its people, like China today are poor.

In year X, Singapore finds itself in a severe financial and economic situation. I can't speculate specifically what it would be but for some reasons it would be putting herself into Indonesia's sphere of influence for mutual benefit and security - a good political marriage of sorts or worse for Singapore depending on her leverage.

Now, why am I speculating all these nonsense? It is because it has become a reasonable proposition for something similar to happen in the Gulf economies here and now, which if it happened would be very instructive for Singapore's future.

Earlier I had blogged that Abu Dhabi might not come to Dubai's aid. Furthermore I discovered a little known fact that in 1989, the Saudis helped out Sharjah when it suffered a banking crisis. What does all these mean?

I have seen concept pictures of Bahrain trying to copy Dubai building their islands in the sea like the Dubai's Palms. Doha is trying to make itself a hub of sorts too. Oman is a more interesting tourist attraction than most of the gulf states and doesn't appear to be as keen to be another "me to" against Dubai. Kuwait seems more interested to count on their oil and Abu Dhabi more circumspectly is learning from Dubai and trying to out do it.

The competition between all of them is most obvious now, not with what they have or trying to build with concrete but their airlines. Dubai has Emirates, Abu Dhabi has Eithad, and Qatar has its namesake Qatar Airways. All three had advertised themselves heavily on Singapore's TV.

The Saudis are the latecomer to the game. They are not into airlines but their bold plans and hefty investments are in the economic cities. Since all the Gulf states have copy cat economic strategies, they are likely to over invest, over build and over compete making it all very unprofitable.

This financial crisis is a godsend to the Saudis because they have been ultra conservative and kept most of their powder dry in safe treasuries and other low yield instruments. Abu Dhabi foot dragging over Dubai could hand the UAE now and eventually the GCC to the Saudis hands in the end especially if the Americans are supportive. In this crisis, Saudi financial resources can go very far. They can buy up potential competition to their economic cities for a dime and afterward expand beyond the Arabian gulf.

What is going to happen in a small place like the UAE in the immediate future has huge geo-political implication for this region. The maps could well be redrawn quite differently after the dust has settled all because Abu Dhabi failed to come to Dubai's aid, which gave the Saudis the chance step in buying much of Dubai assets and taking it out of the competition.

Look at Saudi oil reserves vis a vis her gulf neighbours. All these scenario plays may just be postponing the inevitable. All potential paths into the future for this region could end up in Riyadh, the Indonesia of this neighbourhood. History is being made in the Guld now.

Now you can guess why Singapore expends so much effort on the Saudis that my government has no time to even do more to help us get our driving licence transferrable to the UAE one. King Abdullah even flew Lee Kuan Yew back to Singapore on his personal Boeing 747 jet. Now that was first class Arab hospitality.

Time not to be shy about blogging the "d" word

2009-02-19T12:22:00.005+08:00

Sometimes I have to wait for my thoughts to be more politically acceptable before I can share them publicly. The "d" word, but not the "D" version is now safe. I mean "d" as in depression.

To the layman, recession is when your neighbour loses his job and depression is when you lose yours. I think we need a new definition - depression is when you and your neighbour cannot find jobs, i.e., this problem is taking a long time to be solved.

In a depression, the market is hell bent on only one thing - wealth destruction. Politicians cannot allow this to happen and so governments the world over will expand in size and power trying to wrest control from market forces to protect their constituencies. They will try to mitigate the pain of adjustment by spreading it over a longer time but not admitting so, as they always need to sell quick solutions. This where the Obama administration is presently at, where Singapore is doing with greater cleverness and swiftness and where Dubai and the UAE is still scratching their heads and in denial since they believe things will get better from the middle of this year.

Come the middle of this year, what if things here do not get better? Debts failed to get rolled over, the place is insolvent. Then what? This will escalate from an economic problem into a political, social and may be a security problem. By all means be optimistic and hopeful but it is prudent to have a Plan B.

Obama quoting St. Augustine in early February had the nail on its head when he said, we should pray like everything depends on God and work like everything depends on us. I believe in Dubai they pray, but I am not sure that they work. It seems like they are waiting for each other. Meanwhile at the working level, i.e., the non-decision makers, they are waiting for their pink slips.

A sad "I don't know"

2009-02-17T14:42:00.003+08:00

At Da Shi Dai restaurant last night, looking out of the glass panel, I noticed a newly completed apartment block in the distant with a large hanging "FLATS TO LET".

Daisy and I asked one of the waitress, how far away is that apartment block? Is it within Dubai Marina or across the SZR freeway in Jumeirah Lake Towers?

Her polite response is that she is not familiar, and doesn't know.

I bet, were this in Singapore and I asked a question like this, the waiter/waitress would know.

In Singapore even if it has become harder than before, you can still dream of that possibility that one day if you are smart, hard working and lucky, you could live in a nice place. Over here, such thoughts are just plain hopeless thoughts. They only want to earn, save and send money home.

It is the dreams of a people that build a place. Most of the people here are just paid, mostly meagre wages to help a small group of titled people realize their dreams.

History has it flow and ebb, and what pull people into Dubai is nothing more than narrow commercial priorities. As the tide goes out there is nothing to anchor this place. Then like bankers always discover repeatedly, those you want to lend money to, they do not want your money. Those who ask to borrow you do not want to lend. Likewise, during the ebb, Dubai will fail to attract those she wants, and those who want to remain had to be asked to leave.

Except for the very few times that it rains, every day I see sand being blown across the road as I drive. The too tiny to be seen grains of sand are just like the many people here.