Outspoken Labour MP Marlene Farrugia was met with applause and loud cheering as she showed up at a Nationalist Party-organised activity in Żonqor, Marsascala, to protest plans to develop an “American University of Malta” on undeveloped land.
The PN has emphasised that while it organised the event, it stressed that it was not a political activity but one open to all people of goodwill.
Dr Farrugia flanked PN leader Simon Busuttil in a short walk to the site, where a number of speeches are being made.
People held various placards reading “Save Żonqor,” “Żonqor is not for sale,” and “iż-Żonqor tagħna lkoll,” (Żonqor belongs to all of us) echoing Labour’s general election slogan.
In her intervention, Dr Farrugia said that she attended the event because she loved Malta, and described its natural heritage as the most priceless inheritance left by its ancestors.
The MP said that as those present had shown their faces had done, everyone needed to tell the country’s leaders that they wanted Malta to be first in the Mediterranean. She said that she feared that if people did not speak up against those seeking to “sell our country,” Malta and Gozo risked losing their identity.
Busuttil takes up Labour MP’s challenge
Dr Farrugia stressed that when she was invited to attend by Dr Busuttil, she insisted that he promise that his commitment to the environment would remain when his party is returned to government. She also insisted that he apologises for the environmental damage carried out under the watch of the Nationalist Party she had been active in in the past.
She added that she wanted the government to translate its “Malta tagħna lkoll” promise into practice, and also warned the public not to be deceived by promises of a natural park, noting that the entire area already belonged to them.
In his intervention, Dr Busuttil said that the Labour MP made a huge challenge to the PN as a party and an opposition, as she did not simply ask it to be different to the present government, but also different to previous PN administrations.
“If we made environmental mistakes in the past, we must be the first to recognise them and learn from them so that we do not repeat them,” he said, later adding that in contrast, the present government took past mistakes and made them worse.
He said that if in the past, increasing amount of land were being sacrificed to development, the time had now come to protect undeveloped areas, stating that they should only host developments that cannot be developed anywhere else.
At the beginning of the speech, he said that the activity was organised because the PN wanted people to see for themselves what was at stake. He said that the Maltese had a right to enjoy the area, but also a duty to preserve it for future generations.
The PN leader stressed that once lost, the natural beauty of the site could never be regained should anything go wrong or the proposed university fail.
Dr Busuttil said that he did not only object to the project for “obvious” environmental reasons, but also because of the lack of transparency surrounding it.
He questioned why Żonqor was picked over many developed and even neglected sites, questioning whose interest the government was defending it.
Educational credentials questioned
Dr Busuttil also expressed concern about the project’s educational credentials, and said that the PN would ask for a parliamentary debate on the legal notice changing the requirements for institutions to be recognised a university.
Similar concerns were expressed earlier in the day by professor Josef Lauri, from the University of Malta’s Department of Mathematics, who said that while many rightfully spoke about the environmental aspect, one also had to worry about the effect on the reputation of Malta’s educational institutions.
He said that if the American University of Malta develops a reputation that it is not up to standard, the reputation of the University of Malta, MCAST and any other educational institution offering degrees in Malta.
Żabbar native Jane Caruana, an athlete and environmentalist, said that the land had a value that no Maltese, American or Jordanian could meet.
She also emphasised that Maltese localities each had their character, and that if Marsascala ended up as intensively built as Sliema, there would be no reason for tourists to go there instead.
Farmer Wistin Pulis, who cultivates land in the area, dismissed the government’s arguments that the land is unproductive and only fit for wheat, pointing out that in any case, wheat farmers should not be treated as second-class citizens.
He urged the government to choose farmers over “the people of concrete.”
Marsascala resident Thomas Bugeja said that if Marsascala needed any regeneration, this could take place through investing in tourism, including through the redevelopment of the Jerma site.
But he said that giving up undeveloped land for an American University of Malta that was “neither American, nor a University nor of Malta,” as it was meant for “Middle Easterners paying for a European visa,” was not acceptable.