Sheikh Zayed’s Personal Secretary

Sheikh Ahmed bin Mahmoud Al Balushi was Sheikh Zayed’s first secretary and his representative when he ruled AlAin. After Sheikh Zayed moving to Abu Dhabi, he remained with him, and moved to stay with him in the palace of the fort, and the first request from Sheikh Zayed to him was to write to the people of Abu Dhabi living abroad to return to their children and country which is waiting for them. After establishment of the state Butti Bin Bishr AlYassi AlMarri became the secretary of the Head of State. Butti Bin Bishr, One of Shaikh Zayed’s personal secretary, recalls what life was like when a driver was considered an extremely important person. Butti remembers when a man who knew how to drive a car was given pride of place in Dubai. Bedouins would prepare a feast for him each time he came visiting. Besides being known for accompanying Shaikh Zayed as his personal secretary, Bin Bishr is a well-known figure among the national community for his philanthropic work and support of youth. He was also close to Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

“I was a friend of Shaikh Saeed Bin Shakbout, Shaikh Zayed’s uncle. He used to call me when he used to head to Al Ain for recreation. I used to go to him in Abu Dhabi in my car and then we used to head to Al Ain or sometimes I used to meet him in Al Ain directly from Dubai.

In 1966, Shaikh Zayed went on to become the ruler of Abu Dhabi. “On December 25 of the same year, we had New Year holidays. As we were heading to Al Ain to spend the holidays, we spotted military cars near an oasis, so we knew that Shaikh Zayed was in the area. We went to greet him. At that time, he asked me: ‘Where is your bag?’ I said it was in my car. He ordered one of his guards to take my bag from my car and put it in his. It was then that he chose me to be his personal secretary.”

About the personality and nature of Shaikh Zayed, Bin Bishr said: “Shaikh Zayed used to encourage people to be educated despite the hardships and the lack of materials. He was a loveable person and had good relationships with everyone. He was very down-to-earth.”

Bin Bishr also recalled how Shaikh Rashid, when he became the ruler of Dubai, first focused on education.

“He used to take the youth from the UAE and send them off to study abroad but in a way that they could come and teach others here,” he said. The curriculum back then was religious and used to start with memorising the Quran, according to Bin Bishr.

Bin Bishr was the first to excel in using the typewriter back then.

“I used to hold the first place in typing in Arabic at that time. I used to type 75 words per minute. People would come to see Bin Bishr type on the typewriter,” he recalled.

Also, he said about life in Dubai back then, people used to have two meals a day, lunch and dinner, while the breakfast was a cup of tea and some dates. Some people would even skip dinner. People used to spend most of their time at work, which required a lot of travelling — whether for trading, fishing or diving. They used to spend winters in the Al Shindagha area and in summer, they used to move to Bur Dubai, which was a forest of palm trees and farms and the temperature would be low, compared to other areas.

“Allah has blessed this country with leaders who worked hard to provide stability and security for citizens. All sectors, from trading, fishing and other jobs, were encouraged and they also flourished, especially because there was no tax on traders or businessmen,” he said.

[Gulf News]