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Gulf News reader Kazmi, with driver Shah, who returned his lost wallet with its contents intact. Kazmi said Shah could have made a couple of months’ salary in a few minutes; instead he chose to be honest and returned it. Image Credit: Imran Owais Kazmi/Gulf News Reader

I was pleasantly surprised when taxi driver Niqab Shah returned my wallet with all my identification documents, credit and debit cards, which I had lost after Friday prayers outside a mosque in the Meadows.

Many people in today's cut-throat world would think "all is fair in love and war" when it comes to honesty, as it is a "war" for survival. For most of us, being honest costs money — like if the driver had decided to keep the wallet, he could have made a couple of months' salary in a few minutes.

This is a great opportunity to show our appreciation for the people who go out of their way to return forgotten possessions and will encourage others to do the same. And it does not apply to just taxi drivers. Other companies should adopt a similar system to encourage honesty throughout their organisations.

 

— The reader is a chief thinking officer based in Dubai