Sheikh Mohammed recounts Dubai Police security preparations

Top Stories

Sheikh Mohammed recounts Dubai Police security preparations

Dubai - The Dubai Ruler recalls how he wanted to start a force with a thousand men who would be the core for tens of thousands.

By Team KT

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Wed 6 Feb 2019, 8:48 AM

Last updated: Wed 6 Feb 2019, 11:03 AM

In this chapter, Sheikh Mohammed talks about the preparations that went into establishing the Dubai Police and the defence forces. He recalls how he wanted to start a force with a thousand men who would be the core for tens of thousands. 
Sea, desert, sky and men
Scientist, philosopher and painter Leonardo da Vinci famously said: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." I am a firm believer of this principle. Simplicity is a hard mission. We can easily write about it in a long message, but it is hard to explain it in a line of poetry.
After giving it a lot of thought, I made a plan to establish a police force. This was the first step in creating a defence force that involved the sea, desert, sky and men.
We had maritime boundaries that urgently needed protection. We had desert and land boundaries that needed armoured personnel carriers, tanks and communication equipment. We had the sky, which was the most important. The hardest point was the men. Men are the most essential part in any field, whether in government or in the military.
In the late 1960s, we had very few police officers and soldiers. I wanted to start the force with a thousand men - but not just any men. I wanted to find men who would be the core for tens of thousands. I wanted the elites.
In 1971, the Dubai Defence Force was established. Hundreds wanted to join and we selected the most suitable ones. As I began my task, the British political resident in the Gulf told me: "Mohammed, you don't know anything, I will continue to handle this position. Any weapons you want to purchase should be British and everything should be done under my supervision."
The next morning, when he came to the office, I had stationed two men outside the building, with strict instructions to send all reports directly to me. By nighttime, he realised what I had done and left.
Within two years, we doubled the number of policemen and soldiers.

In what he is calling his "incomplete biography", His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has broken his latest book, Qissati (My Story), into 50 chapters, narrating 50 stories in his 50 years of serving the nation. Khaleej Times got a signed copy of the book from the Dubai Ruler and every day, we will be featuring excerpts from each of the 50 chapters.
 


More news from