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Discuss this article (6 Comments)Simply the truth
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Sunday, 15 March 2009
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The UAE has been hit by a storm of negative press, with rumours of mass visa cancellations and thousands of cars being abandoned at airports continuing to surface. To set the record straight, Arabian Business meets the Director General of Dubai's Naturalisation and Residency Department, Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri.
As we are taking a tour of the impressive Department of Naturalisation and Residency - Dubai (DNRD) building, Director General Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri stops a random Indian man who has just collected a new visa for his family.
"How long did you have to wait to get that visa?" he asks the startled man.
The DNRD chief says in January this year, his department issued 88,423 new Dubai residency visas as against 54,684 cancellations.
"Not long. About two minutes," comes the response.
"You see that?" says the Major General. "That is what I call success. Two minutes. Look how smooth and how efficient this place is. And most of all look how busy it is with people wanting to visit the UAE."
The former policeman, who took over the running of the DNRD just three years ago, is understandably proud of what has been achieved, and how the process has been totally transformed and computerised under his leadership. And he is eager that the world should get its facts right about Dubai and the rest of the UAE.
With stories in the foreign media claiming cars are being abandoned at the airport by fleeing expats, to endless residency visas being cancelled and people being stopped randomly at the airport for holding one-way tickets, it is time to set the record straight.
"When you are successful, people never focus on your success. That is human nature - they look for the mistakes and try and find problems," he insists.
"Everyone in the world wants to know how Dubai has become so pretty, so they can copy our ideas," he continues. "But it is not easy to copy, and this is the problem. So they become jealous and they write what is complete nonsense."
Hugely charming and engaging, the Major General has no qualms going through the list of negative media allegations that have surfaced in recent months.
"People are saying that there is a list of wanted people by the banks. That is not true, absolutely not true," he insists. "Life is normal; there is no change at all. Do you think we can just stop people at the airport without an order from the court? Or that we want to? Of course not, it is rubbish.
"And then they claim that if you are leaving Dubai with a one-way ticket you will be stopped and quizzed. Rubbish. Nonsense," he says. "We have no idea at immigration whether you bought a one-way ticket or a return ticket - it is meaningless."
The Major General is also quick to dispel rumours of mass visa cancellations. He points out that in the 10 days between March 1 and March 10, 156,839 new tourist visas were issued in Dubai - proof that tourists are still heading to the UAE in huge numbers.
He adds that the DNRD issued 293,745 residency permits in the last quarter of 2008, while 118,993 residency visas were cancelled. In January this year, 88,423 new residency visas were issued and 54,684 cancelled, Al Marri informs.
"I can tell you that most of the people who are leaving Dubai are labourers who were here on temporary contracts and permits, and their work has finished so they are returning to their countries. This is normal - these are the same figures and ratios that we have every year. We have not been affected," he says.
"If you don't believe me then go to any restaurant for dinner tonight. Go to a desert safari. Go to the gold souk. Then come back and tell me, was it busy or was it empty? These are the facts - we are as busy as ever," he continues.
"We have just had a hugely successful IDEX and now a very big food festival. This is what the reality is, and not the nonsense that some people are claiming because they are jealous of our success," he adds.
"Of course there are problems, and we are not immune to what is happening around the world. But we have the right leaders with the right vision to help us meet the challenges we face."
READERS' COMMENTS
Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.
Simply the truth
Posted by WILDYUVAA, SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE on Monday 8 June 2009 at 08:01 UAE time
i don't understand like the rest of the commentators which is "Truth"
he is talking about???. Accepting the truth is not easy and simple it
requires guts to acknowledge the real problems and the expat people
are really fed up with these "bla bla blas" from these officials.
Posted by WILDYUVAA, SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE on Monday 8 June 2009 at 08:01 UAE time
i don't understand like the rest of the commentators which is "Truth"
he is talking about???. Accepting the truth is not easy and simple it
requires guts to acknowledge the real problems and the expat people
are really fed up with these "bla bla blas" from these officials.
why is it so hard to admit the truth?!
Posted by SoNotHollywood, Toronto, Canada on Thursday 9 April 2009 at 00:58 UAE time
I left Dubai on February 27th after losing my job as a stockbroker for the local Dubai Financial Market. I have watched day by day for years peoples fortunes reduced from literally millions of dirham’s to thousands and in some cases serious debt.
I still own property in the springs that I plan to return and rent out. Everyday I go to Dubizzle.com to see how much properties in my area are renting for, hundreds of listing being offered at lower prices everyday. Rent offers have been slashed by over 25% since I left a little over a month ago , don't even get me started on selling prices.
Yes we all knew this was going to happen, but no one including me thought it would happen so fast, its a spectacular crash, stocks trading at near 30 dirham’s are now trading at less than 3 Dirhams, over half the listed shares are trading at less than 1 dirham!
We all know this crash is real, weather we like it or not, things should come back to normal realistic levels.
Dubai shouldn't be one of the most expensive cities in the world, no reason for that what so ever. People moved to Dubai to save and make money, I hope this will be possible in the future, when it is, people might consider coming back, me being one of those people, for know its a waiting game.
Posted by SoNotHollywood, Toronto, Canada on Thursday 9 April 2009 at 00:58 UAE time
I left Dubai on February 27th after losing my job as a stockbroker for the local Dubai Financial Market. I have watched day by day for years peoples fortunes reduced from literally millions of dirham’s to thousands and in some cases serious debt.
I still own property in the springs that I plan to return and rent out. Everyday I go to Dubizzle.com to see how much properties in my area are renting for, hundreds of listing being offered at lower prices everyday. Rent offers have been slashed by over 25% since I left a little over a month ago , don't even get me started on selling prices.
Yes we all knew this was going to happen, but no one including me thought it would happen so fast, its a spectacular crash, stocks trading at near 30 dirham’s are now trading at less than 3 Dirhams, over half the listed shares are trading at less than 1 dirham!
We all know this crash is real, weather we like it or not, things should come back to normal realistic levels.
Dubai shouldn't be one of the most expensive cities in the world, no reason for that what so ever. People moved to Dubai to save and make money, I hope this will be possible in the future, when it is, people might consider coming back, me being one of those people, for know its a waiting game.
'Simply the truth'
Posted by paul, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 17 March 2009 at 12:47 UAE time
Did your journalist go into a DNRD department without official minders and discreetly talk to some people to get an idea of the ration of cancellations/applications? Did he find the airport security chief and deputy police chief widely quoted in the western media articles who confirmed a large number of cars being abandoned?
If you just want to interview an official and report his comments, then that is fine. But please don't insult our intelligence by putting 'Simply the Truth' as the title and implying that it is truth simply because it came from an official.
Posted by paul, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 17 March 2009 at 12:47 UAE time
Did your journalist go into a DNRD department without official minders and discreetly talk to some people to get an idea of the ration of cancellations/applications? Did he find the airport security chief and deputy police chief widely quoted in the western media articles who confirmed a large number of cars being abandoned?
If you just want to interview an official and report his comments, then that is fine. But please don't insult our intelligence by putting 'Simply the Truth' as the title and implying that it is truth simply because it came from an official.
Business as usual ?
Posted by Peter Peter, dubai, UAE on Monday 16 March 2009 at 15:15 UAE time
How can it be business as usual Mr Marri , when my business is down by 40% ?
How can it be business as usual when my friend , who early last year did not have time to sit down for a meal has had no new business for his interior design company since the last two months ?
How can it be business as usual when leading advertising agencies are not paying their suppliers , when even small invoices for a couple of thousand are going unpaid for months ?
How can it be business as usual when a friend's friend's daughter had her salary slashed by 30% by one of the leading property developers in Dubai and when the management makes everyone sign "non disclosure" agreements to keep this fact form becoming public ?
How can it be business as usual when crime is on the rise and at least two people I know have had their house burgled within one month - and this in a city where such things were unheard of ? Police admit that there are several gangs active and they are not able to get their hands on all of them.
So much as we would like to believe and hope that it is business as usual in Dubai , the fact is that it is not !
Posted by Peter Peter, dubai, UAE on Monday 16 March 2009 at 15:15 UAE time
How can it be business as usual Mr Marri , when my business is down by 40% ?
How can it be business as usual when my friend , who early last year did not have time to sit down for a meal has had no new business for his interior design company since the last two months ?
How can it be business as usual when leading advertising agencies are not paying their suppliers , when even small invoices for a couple of thousand are going unpaid for months ?
How can it be business as usual when a friend's friend's daughter had her salary slashed by 30% by one of the leading property developers in Dubai and when the management makes everyone sign "non disclosure" agreements to keep this fact form becoming public ?
How can it be business as usual when crime is on the rise and at least two people I know have had their house burgled within one month - and this in a city where such things were unheard of ? Police admit that there are several gangs active and they are not able to get their hands on all of them.
So much as we would like to believe and hope that it is business as usual in Dubai , the fact is that it is not !
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