By Ashfaq Ahmed, Gulf News Staff Reporter

Dubai:

“My work and my hobby are plants and I believe I cannot live without them,” said Mohammad Nazir, a Pakistani gardener, who won a Dubai Government Excellence Programme Award.

Nazir, 63, was among 25 government employees who were dubbed “unsung heroes”.

A composed and calm Nazir had never imagined that he would ever stand next to His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to receive an excellence award.

“My joy knew no bounds when Shaikh Mohammad held my hand and raised it in the air. I feel so proud and elevated,” Nazir told Gulf News yesterday.

Initially, it was difficult to track down Nazir for an interview because he does not use a mobile phone, but the task became very easy because apparently everyone knows him - from gardeners to the higher officials of his department.

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“I have a mobile phone but don’t know how to use it. I keep it in my room and use it just to call my family. My colleagues dial the number for me to make a call, but of course I know how to receive calls. But I do not like to use the phone while at work,” he said with a broad smile.

He works from 6am to 2pm to make Dubai green. He lives a very simple and content life. “I get offers from people to work extra time at their homes for extra money but I always turn them down because I consider it dishonesty with my official work,” he said.

Nazir, who joined Dubai Municipality as a gardener 27 years ago in December 1979, was planning to resign in March this year but his supervisor advised him to complete his visa validity period ending in October 2008.

Nazir played an important role in landscaping

Nazir was selected for the award because he never shirks work, said Ahmad Mohammad Abdulkarim, Director of Public Parks and Horticulture Department.

He said Nazir never missed work in 27 years and never used sick leave as an excuse to take off from work. He has played an important role in the landscaping and beautification of the city’s major roads.

“We will give him a promotion and will also award him,” said Abdulkarim, who yesterday called Nazir to his office to congratulate him. “It is a big honour for the department.”

Sometimes it takes a simple man to show us how to earn respect. Today, Pakistan is proud of Mohammad Nazir for working hard in the UAE and earning respect for the country we call home. If you get a moment, stop by the Gulf News website and see the wonderful comments for this Hero, but don’t let that stop you from congratulating him here also!

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