Dubai Customer Happiness rating and the UAE push for EVs: our editors comment on the top stories of Jan 19

DUBAI’S GOVERNMENT SERVICES DEMONSTRATE A PROVEN EXCELLENCE: The approval of the results of the 2022 customer and employee happiness index, with a rating of 86 per cent and 88 per cent, speaks volumes for the level of government services in Dubai. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, who revealed the scores, has made it clear that Dubai’s goal is always to be at the top. Government teams, no doubt, will now be motivated to work harder to further upscale their benchmarks of excellence. (By Sharmila Dhal, UAE Editor)

EVS ARE GETTING THE CHARGE IN THE UAE: On electric vehicles, the UAE has been laying down the marker, in terms of target setting for EVs to be integrated into public transportation. The belief is that individual car owners will start buying their own EVs. That’s happening. In Abu Dhabi, a new joint venture is creating the support infrastructure to speed up EV adoption rates. E2GO brings together ADNOC Distribution and Taqa to create EV charging stations in Abu Dhabi — and then push the process into the other emirates. In Dubai, DEWA is already going full tilt at developing the EV charging network. These efforts will pay off, in time. All that the EV movement needs in the UAE is a spark. Or should that be a charge? (By Manoj Nair, Business Editor)

ARDERN'S RESIGNATION OFFERS A LESSON FOR POLITICIANS: 'Politicians are human'. This statement by outgoing New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern holds for all politicians around the world — the powerful, the weak, those on their way up the ladder and those who have been around for decades. But it takes tremendous will to step down from a position of strength. And Ardern has done just that. From running a country during Covid and taking some momentous decisions to keep the borders closed at the height of the pandemic and keep the toll down to record lows, the prime minister has led from the front. She campaigned passionately for women's rights, and an end to child poverty and economic inequality in the country. And now that she wants to step down, to spend more time with the family, it is a decision that must be respected. (By Alex Abraham, Senior Associate Editor)

A NOVEL BOLLYWOOD PR STRATEGY? Shah Rukh Khan’s much anticipated action-spectacle ‘Pathaan’ will release on January 25 globally, but the makers and the actors — including Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham — have adopted this unconventional method of promoting it. Do zero press interviews/conferences and that’s relatively unheard of in India where actors go on a promotional blitzkrieg ahead of their films’ release. Khan seems to be speaking at platforms where he has complete control of the narrative. And with reason. Anything he does seems to be stoking controversy, and he realises that he cannot afford more controversies, which must have prompted to avoid media interaction. It’s sad that actors — who are cultural soft powers — have been reduced to this situation. (By Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Entertainment Editor)

SHUBMAN GILL GETS WINGS TO FLY HIGHER: Indian opener Shubman Gill has once again proved his class. At a time when there is a stiff competition for the opener’s slot, the 23-year-old Punjab batter raised his game, scoring back-to-back centuries. Despite scoring 1,102 runs in 19 innings in One Day Internationals, he came under pressure after Ishan Kishan struck a double-century against Bangladesh. Returning to the Indian line-up, Gill lifted his game to score a half-century, a century and a double century in four games. He has the technique and temperament. His purple patch would have given the confidence too. Now he can soar. (By A.K.S. Satish, Sports Editor)