I think you'll find that ATC or the local authority would buy in if your home grown procedure infringed (for instance) restricted or prohibited airspace, Mutt. There are royal palaces quite near DXB, and Sharjah, which can be very busy itself, is only 10 miles away. I believe ATC would become very interested if your procedure had you either overflying a palace or dragging yourself through the Sharjah circuit.
Is there an ATC person out there who'd care to comment? I don't like the 'enter the hold and climb to 3000 feet' procedure for 12 either. Can't see it ever happening, so why is it the published procedure when you're almost certain to do something else? Is it ATC who insist it remains the way it is for EK, or are EK management telling porky pies to whoever it was who asked them to have it changed?