Funding the key to singing sheikh

It could not be more entertaining to follow the news about United Arab Emirates' Sheikh Ali Al Maktoum.

Is the young man really one of the many princes of the Dubai royals? Or is he just a singer who has become famous in the Philippines due to his linguistic talent and exceptional vocals?

Or could he be actually both, a young royal who wants to lead an exciting life like many of his age?

Many politicians had a colorfully offbeat image before rising to the heights in politics. For example, who - when he was still a co-producer of The Apprentice - would have predicted Donald Trump would become president of the United States?

It would be imprudent to judge the young sheikh one way or another simply because of his love of singing.

There is only one thing that has shocked me: an apparent difficulty in ascertaining Sheikh Ali's identity despite so many days of media coverage.

So far, no one seems to have been able to say categorically whether or not the 28-year-old is a Dubai prince.

Let us assume Sheikh Ali is one of the many young members of one of those big Dubai royal families - it is probable that even a member of his age might not be personally rich in spite of the family wealth.

Could it be the case that, having seen him perform as a singer, senior family members thought it time for him to return to serious business and promised to give him initial capital of US$500 million to produce a business plan to prove himself so that he could be trusted with a more important role as he matured?

It is not uncommon to see such an arrangement for someone who is from a rich family and has many siblings who will have to compete with each other before they can be assigned to key roles in the family business.

Alternatively, if Sheikh Ali were neither a prince nor a member of the royal family, it would warrant police intervention.

Nonetheless, what is curious is that the UAE consulate has opted to remain silent, not making a statement to clear the cloud over the man's identity.

If someone pretending to be a prince from their country has made such a major fuss in this part of the world, should UAE diplomats break their silence?

This does not make sense since the longer the silence is maintained, the greater the credibility given to the man's identity claim.

Rather, it may be more curious to note that, except for Sheikh Ali himself, all leading members of the "family office" are Asians - none are from the Middle East.

It would be too easy to accuse the government of not performing due diligence to check Sheikh Ali's background before committing to high-level meetings with him as the SAR is desperate to attract capital from the Middle East.

This can also be a challenge for officials because, first, royal wealth in the Middle East is opaque and, second, the government lacks expertise in the Middle East.

The chief executive should urgently include in his think tank someone who genuinely understands the Middle East.