Saudi Diyar Consultants Business Conference 2012 (4.2.2012)

 

The company had just concluded the first ever business conference after 27 years since its emergence in the Middle East having its main office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The event was held at Al Bilad Hotel in Jeddah Corniche.

 

Prior to the occasion, I personally had an idea as to what are the things that are going to be tackled though it was Diyar's first ever bizcon so to speak. My expectations didn't miss!

 

In my personal point of view, all aspects that need to be tackled were being addressed. The core values underlying our work:  how we interact with each other, and which strategies we employ in fulfilling the company's mission/vision.

 

I personally commend the company for its innate desire about  sustainability. Building excellent projects with great commitment to environment, economic and social dimensions. One example is the vision of building a structure along the red sea coastline without threatening the coral reefs, a vision of development in harmony with ecosystem. No doubt the company's building office at 24 North Jeddah is leading to a gold LEED certification.

One of the  speakers from our higher management bravely addressed the challenges the company is facing internally. It is of my belief that with their leadership the company is heading toward more success. I always believe in the idea of recruiting qualified talents within the organization since it is both rewarding and beneficial  for the employees and the company as well. 

The company need not recruit from outside market which is more costly and tedious if talent from within is available. Hiring from within encourage loyalty of the employees. The challenge lies on human resource department to institutionalized the department by mapping out who needs what specific training. Trainings that are not just technical but also soft skills which includes personality development, conflict management, negotiaion skills, and the like. 

 

Summing it up, we are heading towards more success in our future directions :)

The list of 50 things that make people happy: 
By Indo Asian News Service, IANS

Programming was one of my most hated subject way back in college, but now I'm enjoying simple visual basic formulas that  is helping me in my day-to-day work. It is not as hard as I thought it was before. It's cool!

Translating Amount in Figures into Words

 Option Explicit

 'Main Function

Function SpellNumber(ByVal MyNumber)

    Dim Riyals, Halalas, Temp

    Dim DecimalPlace, Count

    ReDim Place(9) As String

    Place(2) = " Thousand "

    Place(3) = " Million "

    Place(4) = " Billion "

    Place(5) = " Trillion "

    ' String representation of amount.

    MyNumber = Trim(Str(MyNumber))

    ' Position of decimal place 0 if none.

    DecimalPlace = InStr(MyNumber, ".")

    ' Convert Halalas and set MyNumber to Riyals amount.

    If DecimalPlace > 0 Then

         Halalas = GetTens(Left(Mid(MyNumber, DecimalPlace + 1) & _ "00", 2))

         MyNumber = Trim(Left(MyNumber, DecimalPlace - 1))

     End If

     Count = 1

     Do While MyNumber <> ""

         Temp = GetHundreds(Right(MyNumber, 3))

         If Temp <> "" Then Riyals = Temp & Place(Count) & Riyals

         If Len(MyNumber) > 3 Then

             MyNumber = Left(MyNumber, Len(MyNumber) - 3)

         Else

             MyNumber = ""

         End If

 

        Count = Count + 1

 

    Loop

 

    Select Case Riyals

 

        Case ""

 

            Riyals = "No Riyals"

 

        Case "One"

 

            Riyals = "One Riyals"

 

         Case Else

 

            Riyals = Riyals & " Riyals"

 

    End Select

 

    Select Case Halalas

 

        Case ""

 

            Halalas = " and No Halalas"

 

        Case "One"

 

            Halalas = " and One Halala"

 

              Case Else

 

            Halalas = " and " & Halalas & " Halalas"

 

    End Select

 

    SpellNumber = Riyals & Halalas

 

End Function

 

    

 

' Converts a number from 100-999 into text

 

Function GetHundreds(ByVal MyNumber)

 

    Dim Result As String

 

    If Val(MyNumber) = 0 Then Exit Function

 

    MyNumber = Right("000" & MyNumber, 3)

 

    ' Convert the hundreds place.

 

    If Mid(MyNumber, 1, 1) <> "0" Then

 

        Result = GetDigit(Mid(MyNumber, 1, 1)) & " Hundred "

 

    End If

 

    ' Convert the tens and ones place.

 

    If Mid(MyNumber, 2, 1) <> "0" Then

 

        Result = Result & GetTens(Mid(MyNumber, 2))

 

    Else

 

        Result = Result & GetDigit(Mid(MyNumber, 3))

 

    End If

 

    GetHundreds = Result

 

End Function

 

    

 

' Converts a number from 10 to 99 into text.

 

Function GetTens(TensText)

 

    Dim Result As String

 

    Result = ""           ' Null out the temporary function value.

 

    If Val(Left(TensText, 1)) = 1 Then   ' If value between 10-19...

 

        Select Case Val(TensText)

 

            Case 10: Result = "Ten"

 

            Case 11: Result = "Eleven"

 

            Case 12: Result = "Twelve"

 

            Case 13: Result = "Thirteen"

 

            Case 14: Result = "Fourteen"

 

            Case 15: Result = "Fifteen"

 

            Case 16: Result = "Sixteen"

 

            Case 17: Result = "Seventeen"

 

            Case 18: Result = "Eighteen"

 

            Case 19: Result = "Nineteen"

 

            Case Else

 

        End Select

 

    Else                                 ' If value between 20-99...

 

        Select Case Val(Left(TensText, 1))

 

            Case 2: Result = "Twenty "

 

            Case 3: Result = "Thirty "

 

            Case 4: Result = "Forty "

 

            Case 5: Result = "Fifty "

 

            Case 6: Result = "Sixty "

 

            Case 7: Result = "Seventy "

 

            Case 8: Result = "Eighty "

 

            Case 9: Result = "Ninety "

 

            Case Else

 

        End Select

 

        Result = Result & GetDigit _

            (Right(TensText, 1))  ' Retrieve ones place.

 

    End If

 

    GetTens = Result

 

End Function

 

   

 

' Converts a number from 1 to 9 into text.

 

Function GetDigit(Digit)

 

    Select Case Val(Digit)

 

        Case 1: GetDigit = "One"

 

        Case 2: GetDigit = "Two"

 

        Case 3: GetDigit = "Three"

 

        Case 4: GetDigit = "Four"

 

        Case 5: GetDigit = "Five"

 

        Case 6: GetDigit = "Six"

 

        Case 7: GetDigit = "Seven"

 

        Case 8: GetDigit = "Eight"

 

        Case 9: GetDigit = "Nine"

 

        Case Else: GetDigit = ""

 

    End Select

 

End Function

 

 

Attaching Strings of Text

=concatenate

 

Deleting Strings of Text  on Left  or Right Side

=left (A2(LEN(A2)-2)

=right(A2(LEN(A2)-2)

 

Current Date

=now()

 

Extracting Text Portion

=mid

Setting Spinner

Developer/Insert/Spinner Button

Format Control

CV=1

Min=1

Max=30000

Increment=1

 

Transposition (vertically or horizontally)

Copy the source cells 

Paste to location (paste special, then select transpose)

Summation IFS (will sum up BL06 as example)

=SumIF(B5:B230, "BL06", J5:J230)

 

 

 

 

The Alchemist (Portuguese: O Alquimista) is an allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho first published in 1988. It follows Santiago, a young Spanish shepherd, on a journey to fulfill his Personal Legend. It has hailed as a modern classic. The plot is inspired from Jorge Luis Borge’s short story: Tale of two dreamers.

The Alchemist was originally written in Portuguese and has since been translated into 67 languages, winning  the Guiness World Record for most translated book by a living author. It has sold more than 65 million copies in more than 150 countries, becoming one of the best-selling books in history.

...you will not stop  once you started reading it!

 

An Essay: The Knowledge Economy In the Eyes of Innovators

(December 27, 2008 : The Saudi Arabian Knowledge Economy In The Eyes Of Innovators' Competititon, Jeddah Saudi Arabia)                       

For centuries we tend to  assumed that economic growth resulted mainly from the interplay between capital and labor. Today we know that these elements are outweighed by a single critical factor: innovation.

Innovation is the source of  economic leadership and the foundation of  competitiveness in the global economy. Government should invest  much in research, strong intellectual property laws and efficient capital markets.

But government’s lone effort is not enough to attain success in the knowledge economy.

Government and private sectors plays a very vital role in succeeding in a knowledge economy.

Private institutions should advocate a strong education policies and should work with schools to foster interest in science and mathematics and to provide an education that is relevant to the needs of the business.  Government, on the other hand, should work with the educators to reform schools and improve educational excellence.

To become competitive in the global economy, the government has to commit an ambitious national agenda for the education.  Schools should focus on math, science  and problem-solving skills of the students.

Education  has always been the gateway to a better life. But in educating citizenry, almost all nations of the world are facing difficulties. In underdeveloped countries like the Philippines, public access to high standard education system is a big challenge. Government tend to focus more on its various political affairs while giving less attention on the upgrading of its educational system.  Heartbreaking is the fact that Philippine  public schools specially in  far provinces has no access to information systems like the  internet and are deprived the use of computer systems.  Public schools should be given  access to information technology because through information and awareness, knowledge is increased and more ideas are developed. Who knows, these students we deprive of these basic rights, might one day, be a world leader in  innovations that would be beneficial to the world as a whole.

Still in the Philippines, another culprit in the inaccessibility of the students to high standard education is due to the  migration of qualified educators. Excellent education professionals preferred to work abroad for better earnings since the government seem to neglect their needs for better salary schemes. In this scenario, a strong political will of the government towards education system plays a very vital role.

In general, government should encourage excellent educators to stay and ensure better remuneration program. It should reach out to the under privileged citizens  who wanted to pursue higher education in the field of sciences through government subsidized scholarship grants. It can also offer “study now, pay later” programs  so that there would be no more additions to unemployment statistics  in the future. Government should also introduce special tie-up programs  with the private sectors to grant scholarships to deserving students. To acknowledge the contributions of these private institutions, they must be recognized;  appreciated;  and be given special privileges like endorsements from the government that they should be  patronized by the public as they are sharing part of their earnings and expertise to the education of the less-privilege yet deserving students.

Being innovator, inventor, pacesetter, or whatever term we call them---is not made out of pure luck.  We cannot negate the fact that education is the main formula why they become one. And in educating them, support groups are very important.  Parents should give full support to the education of  the children. But when the family is not capable of doing so, government  plays their part in giving them access to government-sponsored education.

There should also be a law allowing  foreign-born scientist and engineers for an equal privilege to work for local companies, in Saudi Arabia, to be specific.  So they don’t need to go out of the country to look for better working opportunities. We should not let them just fly-out after we educate and train them. They can share their knowledge and expertise for the benefit of the nation. Intellectual property rights of inventors should not also be taken for granted. Government should have a stiff protection over their works to maximize its returns by way of economic revenues. Research and development in various fields of sciences should always be well-supervised and at par with international standards.

Saudi Arabia, being  the world’s number one oil producing country, its people are lucky  to have access to low-cost price of petroleum products. But we seem to deny that aside from oil, this country is also very rich from other source of energy. This country, while still enjoying the vast supply of oil, should look into converting the ample supply of sunlight all-day, all-year long into a source of clean energy . The government should encourage its people to make inventions that would  require the use of solar power.  It’s not  right to spend much while we have a lot. It is much wiser to save while we have a lot. At the same time we can share each of the nation’s call for cleaner air act by way of minimizing the use of fossil fuel at the same time ensuring that there is enough reserve for the country in the future.

There must be a continuous consensus efforts from all sectors of the society to keep on educating the people through the aid of innovations in succeeding in a knowledge economy. Because a knowledgeable economy is indeed a powerful economy.

 

By: Seargeoh San Diego

 

 Nutra-Sweet

        by Michael Tivana 1991 / 2004

            "The wisdom of nature is wiser than the wisest of men, especially if they are driven by greed."

It looks like sugar, tastes like sugar, feels like sugar and yet it's not. It doesn't rot your teeth, has not been proven to cause cancer and the advertisements say it’s as natural as a glass of milk and a banana. So how can you doubt it. The food industry wouldn't sell you something that would harm you would they?

Nutra Sweet is not natural, it is a chemical additive that many diabetics and healthy minded people use to get away from the effects of sugar. Many people even think they will lose weight if they drink diet soda containing nutra sweet. Now that is good marketing. People by the millions are switching to it for their sweetener, due to its highly addictive nature and a $100 million advertising budget by the makers of NutraSweet, G.D. Searle. It was birthed into the marketplace in 1984 and today it is found in 9,000 products including: baked goods, all diet soft drinks, diet foods, pudding, cereals and children's aspirin and vitamins. It is found on every restaurant table, and in every grocery store aisle. Aspartame is now a part of Americana.

Nutra-Sweet is the trade name for aspartame. It is composed of two amino acids and Methyl alcohol, or Methanol. Methanol? Does this mean that my car can run off Diet Pepsi? After entering the body, the components of aspartame are rapidly released into the bloodstream. Methanol, a deadly metabolic poison, is the first to be released. It can cause serious tissue damage, including blindness, and even death. Methanol is toxic to the body because the body lacks the enzymes to detoxify it. Therefore it has to be converted to Formaldehyde (used to embalm corpses), then formic acid (used to strip urethane coatings and used as an ant poison), and ultimately to carbon dioxide before it can be eliminated. It takes up to 6 months to rid the body of Methanol and is seen by the Environmental Protection Agency as a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion.

Another ingredient is Phenylalanine. This natural amino acid is known to be toxic to the brain in large unbalanced doses. Dr. Wurtman, a professor of neuroendrocrinology at MIT, has raised some serious questions about the sweeteners safety. He says that a typical adult that drinks four or five aspartame sweetened drinks a day, for a period of time, is chancing the introduction of enough phenylalanine into the brain to affect the brain’s neurotransmitters. This interference with the brain’s normal functioning leads to moodswings, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, migraine headaches and depression. There are even reports that Nutra Sweet causes MS - multiple sclerosis.

While in some people that have a genetic deficiency known as PKU (1 in 15,000) it can cause siezures. Phenylalanine and aspartic acid, the other amino acid and third ingredient, are natural, but are ten times stronger in aspartame than in real food. Dr. HJ Roberts, MD, says that "there are profound differences in the degree of absorption and the rate of digestion depending on whether these amino acids are derived from food or from aspartame". These amino acids, when consumed in food are buffered and balanced by other amino acids. But when they are consumed in aspartame, especially through soft drinks, the body is suddenly deluged with large amounts of these amino acids, which cross into the the brain unbuffered and cause significant disturbances of the brain’s neurotransmitters and the body's endrocrine functions.

Dr. Roberts has published (1990) his findings of more than 500 cases of aspartame induced illnesses in his book "Aspartame Is It Safe?" In his preface, he states "aspartame is potentially dangerous and may produce a wide variety of physical and mental symptoms, most of which now go unrecognized or are misinterpreted as a serious illness. These misdiagnosed cases are often treated with a host of drugs, often adding harmful side effects to the body. Dr. Roberts has catalogued these case studies to show a wide variety of symptoms from a common cause - Nutra Sweet.

One case that stands out is that of Tammy, a 16 year old girl was referred to Dr. Roberts for convulsions that failed to respond to conventional treatment. He diagnosed her as severe reactive hypoglycemia, and placed her on a hypoglycemic diet. Her blood sugar level was normal, but her mother mentioned that she had eaten her mid—afternoon snack, aspartame sweetened pudding, two hours before her last seizure. Dr. Roberts tested his aspartame theory by serving Tammy another portion of pudding in his office. Two hours later, she again showed signs of a seizure. The same pattern developed: muscle contractions, facial grimacing, and severe confusion. By abstaining from aspartame, Tammy has since been free from seizures.

From his research, Dr. Roberts has found that the interval between the introduction and use of aspartame and the beginning of complaints and symptoms varies.The initial time lapse before the development of symptoms is usually several weeks to months. However, many who improved after avoiding aspartame products suffered severe recurrences within hours or days after resuming NutraSweet. A 19 year old woman was seizure free after avoiding Nutra-Sweet for 11 months. When she took a piece of sugar free gum at a baseball game, multiple gran seizures recurred within minutes.

Severe depression was common in his case studies as was nervous tension and anxiety attacks. These symptoms often became severe enough to cause extreme irritability, headaches, sweating, rapid heart action, dizziness, fatigue, and thoughts of suicide. In all cases the symptoms went away after avoiding Nutra-Sweet products.

In 2008 it is reported by the National Institute of Mental Health that over 40 million Americans suffer from Anxiety Disorders. The treatment includes anti-depressants and now the United States is seeing a rapid rise in the prescription and use of anti-depressant drugs. With 125 million Americans eating the drug aspartame that causes depression, to prescribe an anti-depressant can only be seen as a classic case of misdiagnosed symptoms on a massive scale.

How did such a drug find it’s way into our food chain? In short, money and politics. In the early eighties there were two studies done on aspartame at MIT. Their recommendations to the FDA were not to approve its use. The drug’s manufacturer, Searle, had their own studies done. The FDA was under strong pressure $$$ from food industry lobbies and political pressure from the Reagan administration to permit the new sugar substitute to be quickly introduced into the marketplace. The Reagan appointed FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, went against the public board of inquiry and gave it approval in 1983. Soon after, Hayes left the FDA to be a paid consultant with Searle's public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.

The man that steered the approval of aspartame was Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld was CEO of G.D. Searle & Co. from 1977 to 1985. Searle hired Rumsfeld to handle the aspartame approval difficulties which were viewed as a legal problem rather than a scientific problem.

A former G.D. Searle salesperson, Patty Wood-Allott, revealed that Rumsfeld told his sales force that, if necessary, "he would call in all his markers and that no matter what, he would see to it that aspartame would be approved that year." (mgold, Gordon, US Senate Record)

The FDA had refused to approve aspartame for 16 years because it triggered brain tumors. But with Rumsfeld's political clout aspartame was approved.

How does this poison stay in America's diet. If not eating Nutra sweet removes all these illnesses why don't people just stop eating it? Well the makers of Nutra Sweet want you to keep eating this nasty drug and the FDA is happy to continue their license to sell the poison so then it boils down to a marketing game. They are able to keep Nutra Sweet in the diet by changing the name. To avoid Nutra Sweet you must avoid eating: aspartame, aspartic acid, or phenylalanine in the ingredient list. The brand names are Equal, Tropicana Slim, NutraSweet, Pure D’Light, Spoonful, Benevia, and Canderel.

"With aspartame (NutraSweet) humans are involved in a large scale experiment. We are testing aspartame on 125 million people in the US alone. We will have to wait and see how many it harms", says Dr. Wurtman.

The good news is that you don’t have to drink it or eat it. If you must use a sweetener, a truly natural and healthful alternative is the juice from the Brazilian shrub, Stevia Rebaudiana, or "sweet leaf". Stevia is 30 times sweeter than sucrose and has been the preferred sweetener in South America for centuries. It has now (2004) been in use in Japan for over 40 years. Japanese safety studies state that Stevia has no harmful effects. On the contrary, it has been found to be health promoting and is used in South America to treat Hypoglycemia and Diabetes.

Further Research:

Aspartame - History of fraud and deception - David Icke Medical Archives

Tales of the Nutrasweet Scandal

 

 

Odd, that....

         (27 Oct 2008)

 1. Non-issuance of NOC has been a long-frightening issue for expats (in Mid-East) who wanted to go on exit and find another employer. Well, in fact it was already been ratified in the New Labor Law. Law was made, specifically Labor Law to protect not only the interests of the employers, but employees as well. Thanks for the people who gave us clearer view on this issue. (see related article below this page)

 2. Surprised to see how big was the "ukay-ukay" market in Riyadh. As big as one low-cost subdivision in Laguna where you can shop from designer shoes to toilet-bowl-sink. Name it, they have it!

 3. Police and Mutawa (church leader) can just drag/bump into your doorstep without any search warrant. Luckily, our flat's door is tougher than the police' kicks. And thanks to continuous reminders we got from fellow OFWs not to open the door to people you don't know, even to authorities, unless they are accompanied with search warrant with your landlords. What a nerve-breaking experience, whew!

 

 

Broadway Coffee & Tea Company

 Never had a taste of coffee since I was diagnosed with migraine. But Broadway coffee is irresistible! 

Enjoy its international hospitality and the very warm-relaxing ambience located at the 5th Floor, Skytowers in King Fahad Road overseeing the city skyline, and at the waterpond side, 1st Level in Riyadh Gallery Mall in Olaya Road.

Broadway coffee, simply superb!

 

 

 On Kim Samsoon TV series...(19th August 2008 GMA Pinoy TV-KSA)

Watching 'Ako si Kim Samsoon', I can't help but laugh while getting teary-eyed on Regine's "lamon" scene.

Samsoon was so depressed realizing that her feelings toward Cyrus ( Mark Anthony) will not be reciprocated. Since it was only a make-believe!

On the scene, she turned into eating alot of food: pizza; spaghetti; cake, etc. Her face has a lot of mess like a child.

Indeed, Regine is not only a good singer. She is  far-off-better than any seasoned actors.  She can make people laugh and cry on one specific scene.  Adding to the effectiveness of the scene is the undeniable comedy 'powers' of Tessie Tomas and the young-talented Jenica Garcia.

Congratulations to your show. Though I already watched Kim Samsoon's Korean version in the Philippines, I could say this is more enjoyable to watch.

Keep it up!

 

 

'Pier 16' ( excerpt from www.gma.tv)

I watch i-Witness' episode last night (GMA Pinoy TV-23 Aug 2008) entitled 'Pier 16'. I feel pity for the people who live inside Pier 16. Some of them are staying for as long as 15 years. They sleep under the trucks and on empty trailer vans.

I feel much pity for the children who got sick due to unsafe environment; also for the children who weren't able to go to school because their parents cannot afford to.

One mother's defiance is admirable.  She  sends her child to school.  Her son's ambition---simple and yet pinning through heart: to have a house (because they  never had slept even in a bed); to ride a ship (because he wants to go province); and a truck (because it is his present home).  I can't help but cry.

We can make a difference for our neglected countrymen. Stop corruption. Let our taxes build their homes; buy medicine and support their education.

 

 

 

 On Pokwang's Aswang Issue (Eat Bulaga-GMA Pinoy TV, 22 Aug 2008)

 

Who can't forget Vic Sotto and Jose Manalo's famous duet line  "la la la la lala, la la la la la la , lala la la la la la la ... sing a song"?

I hear Joey de Leon's version. Singing like a gay. "Swing a swong". Then later sounds like "swing a swang".

It was intended for Pokwang of ABS' Wowowee. Teasing her as "aswang".

Pokwang should not take it too seriously. A lot of comedians make fun of their insecurities. And they made a lot of money by doing so. 

Allan K is our "pambansang ilong".  Ai-ai de las Alas is our "pabansang baba".  Diego is our "pambansang bading".  To name a few.

(Kidding aside, let's officially give Pokwang the title "pambansang aswang", and she will zoooom like "one" in her magic broom)!

I admire Joey's wit more than his personal attacks. He "strikes" fast. He is clever. He is smart.

On the other hand, I hate Willy's style of cranking a joke. He comforted Pokwang on the "aswang" issue. He said "walang makakagalaw sa'yo hangga't nandito ako". Then suddenly followed-up with "ako lang ang gagalaw sayo".  

My advice: (feeling ko babasahin nila ito kasi sikat na ang website ko...hehehehehe)

Willy, change your style. "Wala sa ayos". "Paturo ka kay Bitoy-cover sya ngayon ng  Reader's Digest".

Pokwang, accept the title. It's for your own good. You see you are now very popular in YouTube!

Joey, keep it up.

 

(trivia: wit, comedian and intelligence has synonymous meaning)

 

 NOC or No Objection Certificate

"Excerpt (from Dave's ESL Cafe) is a very useful info for OFW's like me who went on exit, then return with a new visa to a new employer. Take note that NOC is not required for you to come back to the Kingdom without time limitations. Exceptions is on, if you bound yourself and undertook in writing not to return, for a certain period" (Articles 8; 83; & 244).(http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=448223) Taken from The Law and You dated August 26, 2006 Please let us know, as per the New Labor Law (NLL), after going on final exit, when may an employee come back to Saudi Arabia for work in a new job with a different employer, in case one does not have NOC. NLL has canceled all provisions and official circulars within the Old Labor Law for non-return periods of one or three years to new assignments. Now, a person does not need an NOC, and may return immediately for a new job, unless the employee has bound himself and undertook in writing not to return, for a certain period. Name withheld I worked as dental surgeon for the Ministry of Health for one year. When I returned from vacation, I was informed that I have been transferred to another place, a remote desert location, which lacked even basic amenities. When my request for a transfer to a different place was not taken into consideration, I had no option but to resign. I would like to know the terms and conditions for my return to Saudi Arabia again to work for a private polyclinic, which is willing to give me a visa. I was told that I shall not be given NOC and will not be allowed to re-enter Saudi Arabia for two years. Please let me know the exact legal position and also the issue concerning NOC. The New Labor Law has abolished the general obligation for any period before return after terminating service, unless it is specifically stipulated in the contract. If the contract does not say anything about a period of return after termination of service, then you may return at any time and does not need NOC. Worth mentioning that without serving for at least two years, an employee isn’t entitled to end of service benefit. Law and You by Mohammed Jaber Nader taken from Arabnews.com dated Sept. 3 2006 M. Z. and others In a recent reply in the “Law and You”, it was mentioned that the new labor law (NLL) has abolished all time limits and bars for an employee to work for another employer unless the person himself has undertaken that in writing. It was also mentioned that under the new labor law, NOC is not needed for processing a new visa to work with another employer. Please let us know which article provided for that. There is a paramount rule that no law, decree, circular or regulation whatsoever may conflict or be inconsistent with Shariah or the law. In response to queries by people who have asked me to send them the actual texts that deal with this, I am translating here these articles. The official translation of NLL has not yet been distributed. I am chasing the Ministry of Labor to do that. I hope they will do it soon. There are three provisions in NLL pertinent to this subject. These are Articles (83), (244) and (eight). Article (83) translates as follows: “If the work assigned to the workman allows him to know the clients of the employer, or to see the secrets of his work, the employer may put in a condition that the workman shall not, after the termination of the contract, compete with him or divulge his secrets. For this condition to be valid it must be written and defined, in time, place, kind of work and within the necessity to protect the legal interests of the employer. In all cases the period of the agreement must not exceed two years from the date of the termination of the relationship between the two parties.” Article (244) stipulates the following: “This law replaces the Labor and Workmen Law’ promulgated by Royal Decree No. (M/21) dated 6/9/1389 H. It annuls all provisions that conflict with it. Work shall continue in accordance with the bye-laws and decisions issued before the effect of this law until modified.” Article (eight) of NLL stipulates: “Any condition in contradiction with this law is considered null and void. Any waiver or settlement regarding the rights of the workman originating from this law during the validity of the contract, are considered void, unless it is more beneficial for the workman.” On this basis, any previous instructions limiting the freedom of a workman not agreed by himself, limiting his freedom of work and contracting are in conflict with these two articles. At the same time there is a paramount principle that no law or regulation may be inconsistent with Shariah Law. An employee comes to work in Saudi Arabia and is surprised to find that there is some regulation that he must continue work with his current employer; otherwise he has to leave the country and not return for another employer before at least one year. That is illegal and against Shariah and the Law There are two more provisions of Saudi Law pertinent to this matter. Article (7) of the Basic Law (Constitution) stipulates: “Rule in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia derives its Authority from the Book of God and Tradition of His Prophet (pbuh). They are the two Rules above this Law and all Laws of the State.” The Law of the Judiciary, M/64 dated 14/7/1395 H. (23 July 1975), Part ONE, Independence of the Judiciary and its Guarantees, Article 1, stipulates: “Judges are independent and, in the administration of justice, they shall be subject to no authority other than the provisions of Shariah and laws in force. No one may interfere with the Judiciary.”

 

 

Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:22 am    Post subject:
If this is true, then this is great news indeed! Thanks for posting. The NOC is/was an archaic regulation more akin to the days of slave labour than to the modern international work environment. Odd, that... However, as so often in these cases (and not only in KSA), the real issue is whether or not Embassy staff, employers, bureocrats etc are fully informed of the new regulations. Often there is a time lag between the announcment of a new law (or the abolition of an old one) and its being implemented on the ground, so to speak.

Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 3:42 pm    Post subject:
Likewise, if the NOC can be traced back to pre-1999 then other teachers and professionals are better informed. Mrs Jones found it MOST odd that once she submitted all documents (minus Waiver) the official did not stamp her records. The OTTS (in London) sent two emails and they failed to make a response and then delayed the signature and passed it on down the chain. She binned it but be warned. Others have also.

 

 How To Recover Excel File After A Crash

Losing an Excel document due to a computer or program crash costs time and money. Fortunately, you can locate and recover your "lost" file, in many cases with little effort, thanks to automated backup features now commonplace in Excel and many other programs. Learn a few suggestions on how to recover an Excel file following a crash.

Instructions

o    1

 

Start Excel back up and wait to see if it automatically offers to recover the document for you. Later versions will walk you through the process of recovering the document systematically. Just be sure you don't close down any windows before you are certain they are not your lost file.

o    2

Click Start > Recent Documents. Your file should be there, although your most recent changes may not be.

o    3

From within Excel, go to "Open" and choose "Recent Documents" (it may show automatically). If you see your document there, open it and you will recover the version of your document most recently saved. (In some versions of Excel, you will first need to click File > Open on the drop-down menu. On others, you will need to click the icon in the upper left hand corner and go from there.)

o    4

Go to "My Computer" and perform a search. Be sure to indicate which file type and what folders the file may have been saved to. To do this, you may have to select the option to do an advanced search.

o    5

If you are in an office, contact your tech support department or systems administrator. Many companies back up all their computers regularly, and your file may have been saved to a separate server that can be recovered by someone with the right access level.

o    6

Look in your temporary files. There are a number of ways to do this, but sometimes the easiest trick is to backtrack. One technique is from within Excel click File > Save As. (If Excel says there is nothing to save, enter a letter or number into 1 of the fields in your new file first.) In the dialogue box that opens, select "Recent Documents." Scroll around and see if your file is there. If so, make a note of the path (some computers will allow you to highlight, right-click, and save the path), close the dialogue box and go to my computer and plug in the path.