who got it right - siri 2

majlis pengkebumian..
president, sheikh atau orang besar-besar
di UAE ni, negara kedua terkaya di dunia
(selepas Saudi dan bersama Qatar)
hanya dalam keadaan sederhana..

kerandanya dibuat daripada papan,
kain menutup jenazah dan keranda juga,
hanyalah kain pelikat dan tikar plastik biasa..

tidak ada upacara perarakan jenazah,
jenazah hanya di bawa ke tanah perkuburan
menggunakan ambulan hospital sahaja..

perkuburan juga tidak dihiasi,
malahan tidak bertanda
dengan batu nisan marmar pun..

pendek kata nothing fancy..

ini juga boleh dilihat,
semasa pengkebumian Raja Fahd Saudi,
dan Amir Al Sabah Kuwait..

now, bandingkan dengan apa yang selalunya
dilakukan di Malaysia?

one may wonder,
dari BUDAYA manakah asalnya,
cara masyarakat yang BERAGAMA ISLAM kita
menguruskan jenazah, pengkebumian dan kubur..
terutamanya, apabila melibatkan
orang-orang kenamaan dan pembesar negeri..

who got it right - siri 1

di UAE, Qatar, Oman dan Bahrain
pada musim sejuk, akan bermula juga
musim Lumba Kuda dan Unta..

well.. it's not like our Lumba Kuda..
kat Serdang or Ipoh tu..
no betting is allowed, OFFICIALLY...

yang menarik adalah pasal Lumba Unta..
sebelum ini, i mean 2 years ago..
these countries had agreed to ban the hiring
of under-age boys as the camel jockeys..
due to immense internatinal pressure
i.e. ILO, WHO, WTO, etc..

the boys were used
for the same reason as in the horse race;
they are small and light..
so will make their camels go faster in the race..

now, no more..
so.. these kids..
who were 'kidnapped/smuggled' from India, Pakistan
or Bangladesh, when they were very very small in age..
have to be 'returned' to their native countries..

that created another problems;
finding the original families among others,
which finally led to these kids being put at
the orphanage or shelter home for the children...

the interesting fact is that..
the races still go on..

by substituting the jockeys..
with Robot Jockeys..
yupp.. you heard me right..
ROBOT that look like a kid..

common rules and sense

nak ambik gambar..
bangunan, orang or scenery kat UAE,
boleh but kena hati-hati gak..

especially, jangan terambik gambar..
bila ada local-Arab ladies lalu lalang...
banyak dah kes gaduh, kena marah
and dibawa ke balai polis, berkenaan isu ni..
kalau masa meeting ke.. nak ambik jugak,
kena mintak permission dulu..

constant learning process

di UAE.. penduduk boleh subscribe or own..
either to cable TV or satellite disc(s)..
for their home entertainment viewing..

cable starts at 70 dirham monthly
satellite starts at 600 dirham one-off..

UAE has about 6 free-to-view local channels too..
in english and arabic..

internet connection is good.. cheap... kot?
since, there is only one telco company to compare to..
ETISALAT..

dial-up internet rates..
is AED1.80 = RM1.85.. per hour..
DSL and broadband will cost,
minimum from AED 149 monthly for 256 kbps..

good news though.. next June..
they have allowed and gave license,
for a new/another local telco company,
to provide such services..
could expect better services and rates..

well.. as they say..
competition is always good for customers..
but, not for the businesses/companies..

censorship..
local free channels... do censored..
but differs..
some allow kissing scene..
some allow further.. while some not at all..

for cable TV... macam Astro kita..
always controversial..
nonetheless.. there is Star World/Movie
and other related to Star..
showing in Middle East..

but, for satellite... needless to say more..

internet censorship..
ETISALAT will block such websites and domains..
so, no need to worry..
about your kids (or even yourself) stumbling upon,
those kind of sites...

good system?
tepuk dada.. tanya selera and iman..

ni pasal naik gaji..
ealier this year..
the govt has raised
the local gomen servants' salaries..
25 percent... that's right...
and non-local gomen servants... gets 15 percent..

this also adds up
towards the inflation rate in UAE..
so far.. officially it's 3% - 5%..
however.. reports claimed that it's actually over 10%..

for the locals.. tak la rasa sangat..
but for the expats...
yang kerja buruh kasar and bergaji kecik..
memang teruk and hard knock life..

well..
as the opportunity cost in economics defines..
the increase in income,
has promote other/related price indexes,
to increase as well..

tak banyak..
but, yang paling ketara is sewa rumah..
has increase by at least.. 20%..
not directly linked though..
but, due to lack of supply..
not many choices available is the market too..
demand is high for accomodation really..

reports had predicted that.. by 2007..
when the under progress housing development completed,
it will regain its stability..

but, hey...
mana pernah harga rumah ..
akan turun balik.. ye dak?

at least that's the case in malaysia..

notwithstanding the above,
they do take Malaysia's experience as an example..

good bargain

now, in UAE.. and middle east..
and yang sewaktu dengannya..
dah masuk winter..

kat uae.. tak la sejuk sangat..
average between 15 - 25 celsius..
cebisan and serpihan,
tiupan angin sejuk mediterranian

di Dubai.. setiap tahun..
akan di adakan dan memang terkenal dengan
Dubai Sales Festival (DSF)..

sebulan je... selalunya.. mid jan to mid feb..
this year starts at 4 jan to 4 feb..

bukan la pelik sangat,
from what malaysia or other countries have..

but, one thing for sure yg berbeza..
from apa yang ada di KL..
is.. the precentage of discount during the sale..

for instance, branded items and products..
selalunya kat malaysia..
diskaun dia cuma until 30% je
but, in Dubai... during sale... up till 75%..
imagine..

musim sejuk macam ni gak..
ramai yang bertumpu and datang..
ye la... dah tak panas lagi..
golfing is nice (me not a golfer though)
shopping is good (me not a sale-freak too)

cumanya.. harga sewa bilik hotel.. perghhh...

for a standard room.. 4-star hotel..
kalau bulan biasa (pun memang tinggi dah)
is around 600 dirham = 620 ringgit = 180 dollars
during winter.. it will linger around
1000 dirham = 1030 ringgit = 300 dollars

tu baru 4-star..
bayangkan.. like Burj Al Arab Hotel..
yang the lowest category of room
is One Bedroom Suite...
bulan biasa.. it starts at USD 2000..

kenapa? tak percaya?
http://www.burj-al-arab.com/staying_with_us/

itu pun... akan fully booked..
rooms occupancy in Dubai..
selalunya.. average..
tak pernah turun from 90%..

early december... Ski Dome..
or Ski Dubai.. was opened..
yupp, 400-meter indoor-manmade-ski slope..
third of such in the world.. after US and Japan
if i'm not mistaken..
http://www.skidubai.ae/

together.. with the new mall..
Mall of the Emirates..
along with the Kempenski Hotel..

now, other than the 'routine ritual'..
of shopping spree... there is skiing plea..

hence, i better get to know
the how-what-when-hopplaass...

proud or pride

the cost of living
and standard of living in UAE,
especially Dubai
is higher than KL.. no doubt..

there is no income tax though..
the country could survive from the oil revenue alone..
which reserves.. still have another 200 years to go

Dubai.. is diversifying nevertheless...
to tourism, manufacturing and financial..
Dubai is branding itself.. as a Hub.. for the middle east..

the price of car..
has 4% tax added to its tag..
to name a few...
a Mercedes S350.. will cost you 230,000 dirham
a Toyota Prado.. cost you 120,000 dirham
a Hyundai Sonata.. costs 42,000 dirham
a Peugeot 307.. costs 48,000
a Hyundai Getz is 28,000

most of the locals... will drive those big 4wd..
like Land Cruiser, GMC, BMW X5, Murano, Porsche Cayenne..
sebab, the dessert terrain and livingstyle..

with all these big-type cars around..
even the 'usual' big car in Malaysia..
like Toyota Camry, Honda CRV or Kia Carnival
look smaller..

road condition is good...
no potholes for sure..

chinese shops is very very rare...
they couldn't beat the demand for
briyani and kebab and lamb...

welfare and social facilities are very good..
hospital kerajaan (yg untuk emiratis)..
is something like Pantai or SJMC or Assunta...
while.. private hospital (yg kena bayar)..
is something like our hospital kerajaan..

another thing...
as incentive and encouragement,
for the local men to marry the local women..
kalau local man kawin local woman..
untuk perkahwinan pertama..
the man will be getting..
70,000 dirham as a grant..
from the govt Marriage Fund

kos nak kawin bukan murah..
really good for the woman..

before i forget... in UAE..
ladies boleh driving.. boleh jalan sorang diri..
macam kat Malaysia.. plus... more privilleges...

unlike Saudi...
women could not drive
women could not go out from
their own house without muhrim..
but, Saudi has a lot of shopping malls
dedicated just for ladies.. NO MEN ALLOWED..

crime rates???..
very small... and almost unheard of..
but of late... increasing and worrying a bit...
along with the rising inflation and cost of living..
but, still much safer than KL.. that i could assure you..

again.. sad, but true..

contoh.. remember.. bila Julai to September je..
ramai Arabs yang datang Malaysia.. for holidays..
and banyak jugak kes.. curi la.. tipu.. etc.. on them..

sebab, among others... di UAE ni sebagai contoh..
kalau kita gi order makan,
and tinggalkan beg or handphone kat atas meja..
don't worry.. memang tak hilang

contoh lain.. kata la...
kita tertinggal barang kat kedai..
memang takde org akan ambik...
kalau ambik pun.. tuan kedai..
untuk tunggu tuannya datang balik ambik

'silapnya' .. these Arabs.. bila datang KL..
still 'applying' these habits and customs..
hence... being a 'skillful' malaysian...
banyak la kita dengar kes itu ini..

moral of the story;
DO NOT FORGET,
EVERYTIME YOU ARE IN A FOREIGN LAND,
YOU ARE A FOREIGNER...

higher and greener grass

there is 80% expatriates in the UAE..
they are mostly for they country's workforce..

UAE is a developing country..
with a HUGE, MASSIVE, OBSCENE, 'UNLIMITED' (so it seems)
amount of money to be spent..

most (98%) of the hard-labour..
are from the sub-continents i.e. India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan..
for about AED 500 - AED 800 per month..

NO EMIRATIS OF COURSE..

before i forget..
AED 1 (dirham) = RM (ringgit) 1.02

the locals..
will either only work
in public sectors or higher-salary jobs
or not at all..
their welfare and social security is good..

UAE has this thing call.. EMIRATISATION..
where, they will replace the expats.. with the locals
once they have the locals with the same expertise..

as for now.. still scarce and remote...
and that's why... there are still millions of expats needed
to fill up the workforce..
and plus.. remember... Arabs in general are pemalas and such..
so, the Asians are seen to be there only hardworking labour.

nevertheless... here's on salary..

for high-school leavers and diploma holders...
salary will start at 2500 dirham
for graduates... will start at 5000 dirham...

in short..
gaji between LOCAL AND EXPATS ARE DIFFERENT..
and also different BETWEEN EXPATS..

contoh... for the post of engineer.. fresh-graduate
kalau engineer tu local... 8,000 dirham
kalau engineer tu expat,
european mat salleh... maybe higher or the same
kalau engineer tu expat;
malaysian/australian/japanese and the like... rendah lagi
kalau engineer tu expat;
indian/pakistan/and the like... lagi le

sad, but true...

itu kalau fresh grad...
kalau with experience..
lagi la tinggi/tebal package dia

contoh.. for malaysians
(95% malaysian expats are with experience)

nurses... with 10 years pengalaman..
gaji diaorang ni.. 10,000 dirham sebulan..
rumah free, medical free..
tiket balik setahun sekali free...

pilots... with 7 years pengalaman
gaji... 25,000 dirham sebulan..
and plus all the package..

cost of living???
rumah memang mahal...
3 bilik apartment... 70,000 dirham setahun sewa
4 bilik apartment... 100,000 dirham setahun sewa
6 bilik villa.... 120,000 dirham setahun sewa..

barang-barang... okay la..
bahan mentah i.e. beras and others.. sama cam malaysia..
but imported from the sub-continent..
vis-a-vis.. beras basmati... sayur from india/pakistan

but... generally.. slightly mahal
inflation tinggi..
take McDonalds' meal for instance..
Happy Meal.. will cost.. 15 dirham..

for malaysians with the mentioned-package..
good deal?

faith and nature

on 4th january pagi...
UAE dikejutkan dengan berita kematian
Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai
he was 62... died while on visit in Australia..

so... seperti lazimnya..
berkabung 40 hari,
7 hari gomen sector cuti,
4 hari for private sector.

mana-mana local channels tv and radio..
akan hanya siar bacaan Al Quran,
sepanjang tempoh ni,
dan selang seli dengan berita je..
dan takkan ada acara keramaian dan hiburan..
yang ada pun akan dibatalkan...
termasuklah.. pembukaan Dubai Sale Festival..
yg sepatutnya hari tu..

adik Almarhum..
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
telah ditabalkan sebagai the new Ruler of Dubai,
Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE..
selama ni, beliau adalah Crown Prince
and also Minister of Defence..

kebiasaannya,..
Prime Minister adalah daripada Dubai..
President adalah daripada Abu Dhabi..
Almarhum was PM since 1990...

last November 2004..
was kematian the fisrt President
and Ruler of Abu Dhabi
Almarhum Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan..
he was 79.. president since 1971..
he was a legend and visionary leader..
macam Mahathir and Tunku Rahman and Razak la kiranya..
dia la yang buat UAE jadi macam hari ni..
well, actually.. it is the OIL....
but, without good management..
tak jadi jugak kan??

Almarhum Presiden Zayed,
telah diganti oleh anak beliau...
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan..
the eldest son from the first wife..
out of 4 wives and 19 sons..
anak perempuan tidak diketahui berapa.

berkabung?? sama macam di atas...

cumanya, kematian President ari tu,
lama lagi cutinya.. sebab bersambung dengan Raya Posa..
kali ni, pendek sikit.. sebab seraya dengan Raya Haji..

pendek tak pendek pun, here's the breakdown..

5 dan 6 Januari (Khamis dan Jumaat) - Cuti Hujung Minggu
4 hingga 10 Januari (Rabu hingga Selasa) - Cuti Berkabung
9 Januari (Isnin) - Cuti Hari Wukuf
10 dan 11 Januari (Selasa dan Rabu) - Cuti Hari Raya Haji
12 dan 13 Januari (Khamis dan Jumaat)- Cuti Hujung Minggu