Two reactions to Abu Dhabi property law

Readers comment on the effects of the new Abu Dhabi property law upon rental rates for beachfront apartments on the Corniche.

I refer to the front page news article Property law gives new power to landlords (March 11). This is fantastic. It will finally give me the chance to get the flat that I want because I know a lot of people who are renting cheap in nice towers on the Corniche. If rents go up on them, they'll simply have to relocate, which will make space for others who can afford to move in. If landlords attempt to do this with very high prices, they will be shocked to see that there aren't that many people willing to pay such silly high prices. So the market will find a new balance. Decent properties will fetch a premium, and lower-end properties will become cheaper. Right now, there's no differentiation because people in the premium properties won't move because they're protected by the 5 per cent cap, forcing others to accept whatever they can get. Take away the 5 per cent cap and let the market regulate itself. I have an old rent contract and I pay a lot less than market rates. So personally I will be negatively affected by this, but at least I'll have more choice to select from a wider variety of properties if I don't like the new rent in my place. Ziad Q, Abu Dhabi

This is yet again a benefit for the owners of properties. Rental prices have increased way beyond what anyone could have imagined a few years ago. There's something very wrong with the system. It's basically a way for landlords to easily get rid of existing tenants for no particular reason, so that they can get new ones in for higher rents. I thought things were supposed to get better when it came to the rental market. All very confusing. Chris M, Abu Dhabi

I refer to the article Two years after this ... still they crash in the fog (March 11). Unbelievable! A driver travels at 140 kph in fog because, with seven foggy days a year, "it is very rare". So is death - it happens to us just once. No doubt drivers like him are highly skilled at handling their vehicles, but either appallingly ignorant or just lacking common sense. How can he avoid hitting an obstacle he can't see?

This country should consider checking the driver as well as the vehicle with each re-registration. An annual eye check and brief quiz over traffic rules, stopping distances, child safety, etc could prevent many casualties. Of course, each driver must not only know the rules, but follow them to drive defensively in all conditions. Surely, no driver sets out planning to kill or be killed. Yet traffic accidents kill at least one person every single day in the UAE. Weather doesn't cause accidents; drivers do. Let this horrific accident be a wake-up call. Molly Kirk, Abu Dhabi

I would like to make a comment on the letter published under the headline Illegal acts not often obvious (March 10) in which the writer reports that she gave her maids the freedom to own a mobile phone and one day off a week. I am an Indonesian citizen living and working for a British firm in Abu Dhabi. This is for everyone's information: a mobile phone is not a privilege or luxury in Indonesia. Everyone owns mobile phones. They cost nothing. I find it bizarre too that she gives the maids "freedom" to own a mobile phone and a day off. Freedom? I am puzzled. Also, one day off? I get two. This is compulsory, not to be given. What makes someone think it's a gift? Evi Puspasari, Abu Dhabi

In reference to Shoba Narayan's opinion article India shamed as its greatest painter is driven abroad (March 10), it takes courage to speak out as boldly, and forthrightly, as Ms Narayan has done about Maqbool Fida Husain, a modern-day Picasso, a prophet without honour in the home of his birth. What a shame! Vernon Ram, Hong Kong

If MF Husain really loved India as he claimed, he should have lived in India and fought the forces inimical to him as every other Indian citizen would do. While Mr Husain may be remembered in the history of India as a great painter, he will also be remembered as one who deserted his motherland because of a perceived threat to his life. Citizens are willing to lay down their lives for their country. Husain has just laid down his citizenship. Nobody is the loser. Not India. Not Hussain. Dr KB Vijayakumar, Dubai

The death of Sheikh Muhammad Sayed Tantawi, a prominent voice of the Islamic world and head of Al Azhar, the highest religious authority in Egypt, is a great loss to the Islamic world. He has given many fatwas on relevant issues faced by the Muslim world and was one of the most respected religious figures among Muslims. Mohammed Sadullah Khan, KSA