Al Maktoum, a Journey of Benevolence, a book brought out by the Rashid Paediatric and Therapy Centre, is a tribute to the Late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum on his 12th death anniversary.
The book, issued last year, depicts the history of Dubai, the life of Sheikh Rashid and his remarkable role in developing the emirate.
The modern history of Dubai started in 1833 when the Al Bufalssa tribe moved to Dubai. In 1912, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum became the ruler.
During this time Dubai, already a free zone for trade, became a significant commercial port, especially after the collapse of Lingah seaport on the Iranian side.
However, due to the introduction of cultured pearls, Dubai's economy faced a huge recession. The introduction of a 10 per customs tariff by Sheikh Saeed could not boost the economy, which remained in recession for a while. It was during this time - 1912 that Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum was born.
Sheikh Rashid was deeply influenced by his mother, Fatima bint Al Mur who was known for her determination and strong personality. Since his early days, Sheikh Rashid used to attend Sheikh Saeed's Majlis, which was the ruling council at the time. He gained extensive experience and knowledge, aided by his powerful memory.
Hence, his father used to rely on him to solve problems. During his old age his father let him run most of Dubai's affairs. Thus when Sheikh Rashid became Dubai's Ruler after his father's death in October 1958 he was already tackling the emirate's problems.
Sheikh Rashid was educated in Al Ahmadiya school which was established in 1912 in Deira. There, he learnt Arabic, Islamic studies and Mathematics.
The economic depression that resulted from the pearl crisis, which Sheikh Rashid saw as a child, helped him tackle various issues. His wisdom surfaced during Dubai's bitter experience of World War II.
The war had a devastating effect on Dubai as Britain besieged and controlled Iranian seaports so that no goods were sold to Iran through the Trucial coast's emirates. As a result, Dubai faced a shortage of food and its economic activities were badly hit.
To help his people overcome the economic crisis, he called the British Political Resident in Bahrain, asking him to lift the embargo on Dubai, confirming that Dubai will not intervene in the embargo imposed on Iran. The British Political Resident accepted and goods appeared again in Dubai. He then distributed the surplus among traders to enable them to develop their business.
Believing that human resources are the real power that would develop the emirate, Sheikh Rashid helped citizens to build a solid base for their economic activity.
He also strived to create the emirate's own security forces instead of having the British take care of this role. After great pressure and lobbying he managed to establish Dubai Police in 1956.
One of the important projects that Sheikh Rashid carried out was enlarging the Dubai creek. Sailors encountered problems during the 1950s as there weren't enough quays for the boats to berth and sand filled parts of the creek, thereby reducing its depth.
However, there weren't enough funds to implement the project and Sheikh Rashid had to find ways to finance the project.
He imposed a 4 per cent customs duty on imports and allocated most of the returns to implement the project. He also issued "creek bonds" which were commercial bonds to attract businessmen to invest in the project. He obtained a loan of 400,000 dinars from the Emir of Kuwait. Finally, the implementation started in 1959 and the work was completed in 1960.
In 1959, he established the Dubai Electricity and Water Department. During the same year Dubai airport was constructed and it was inaugurated in 1960.
Also, by 1960 the seaport improvement project was completed and the telephone service was started. In 1961, Sheikh Rashid decided to construct the Al Maktoum bridge to link Deira and Bur Dubai. At that time, there were only two ways to travel from Deira to Bur Dubai - via boat through the creek or by car which took almost an hour. The project was implemented and the bridge was inaugurated in 1962.
The infrastructure boosted gains. Hence, by the time oil was discovered in Dubai, it was already a business hub. However, oil led to further development.
In 1965, Sheikh Rashid thought of constructing another port. After a thorough study of the project, it was implemented and Port Rashid was inaugurated in 1971. The port was expanded in 1976.
Farsighted as he always was, Sheikh Rashid made landmark decisions that were controversial at that time. Among them were his decisions to construct Jebel Ali Port, establish the Dubai Trade Centre and set up the Dubai Dry Docks. Despite some people's opposition to these projects, Sheikh Rashid carried them out only to prove later that they were extremely beneficial for Dubai.
Apart from building infrastructure, Sheikh Rashid played a major role in laying down the foundation of the emirates' union. His efforts with those of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan culminated in the establishment of the UAE in 1971.
These invaluable works made people remember Sheikh Rashid as a man with vision and wisdom.
Gulf News 2003
