Dear Hani Salah,

I wish to thank you for selecting my country for your intended substantial investment. Your faith in our government as well as in the hospitality of the Maltese nation will be hugely reciprocated by our appreciation and cooperation.

Henceforth, your dream to set up a private American university housing 4,000 students in the beautiful South of Malta, will also be our dream and objective and we will not rest until we see the first few black hats thrown high up in the air, to the sound of sheer delight and hearty, emotional  congratulations!

We are indeed looking  forward to welcoming more people from as many nations as possible, future global leaders, mothers and fathers, innovators, scientists and artists, into an educational experience that exposes them to an opportunity of immersing themselves wholly and wholeheartedly into the epitome of the Mediterranean's rich, diverse, culture, tradition and chequered  history.

Having rushed through these first few lines you are now probably wondering who it is that is writing and why would this person be addressing you directly and not your representative and why this person is using a newspaper article to try to reach you and speak with you.

Very briefly, I am a backbencher on the government side, an MP elected from the South of Malta, and the Chairperson for the Permanent Parliamentary Committee for the Environment and Development Planning. I learnt about 'a' project from a Parliamentary Group meeting held last Thursday and the first few details including your name from a Sunday newspaper.

I wish to share some ideas with you before it is a fait accompli. It is my duty to my country and my countrymen to speak out  if I believe that things can be done better and  with more benefits to all, including to our natural environment which sustains us and is in very short supply in my country.

Therefore the aim of this communication is not only to thank you for your upcoming investment, but to ask you to consider a group of even more challenging, unique , inspiring   venues for your five colleges. As you know Malta is inundated with magnificent forts, coastal towers and buildings of huge historical significance and heritage value which it never had the financial means or will to restore and put to good, sustainable use. Suffice it to say that in the lovely area on which you have set your eyes, there is Fort Ricasoli, Fort St Leonard, Fort St Rocco, Fort San Salvatore, Cottonera lines and other buildings which if restored and conserved can provide you with the necessary footprint you require for the built up part of the campus.

Integrating these beautiful buildings into your noble project will bring their infectious glory back to life, reward you with a project that deserves acclamation even from UNESCO, make your project amenable to partial funding from EU, inspire your students with the uniqueness of their surroundings, and turn our beautiful Three Cities, Kalkara and Marsascala into historical University cities reminiscent of Oxford and Cambridge.

Moreover , dear Mr Salah, we can thus conserve the beautiful tract of unspoilt virgin land between Xghajra and Marsascala, preserve the splendid coastline, resuscitate the dying agricultural activity in the area and avoid developing the little unspoilt land we have in the region. I’m sure that my government  would be more than ready to discuss how your students( our guests) and the Maltese people can share the enjoyment of open countryside, quaint rubble wall  bordered footpaths, terraced fields and open sea views accessible to all.

And then Mr Salah there is the issue of a grand University Library... which makes a university a real University, and again I would  humbly direct you to any of the government owned Knights armouries or palaces in Neighbouring Birgu for instance or to a magnificent privately owned  heritage house which is for sale in the heart of Marsascala...

I rest my case here Mr Salah but before I close this encounter I wish to thank you again for  choosing my country, for choosing the South of our Islands and for considering to help us preserve our historical and natural  heritage while showcasing it and sharing it with the rest of the world.

Yours Sincerely

Marlene Farrugia MP