As a child I was brought up to respect my elders and those in authority. I hold in high esteem those men and women who chose to defend and protect all of us. Their uniform is a constant reminder of their commitment towards us and the respect we should have for them.
Unfortunately, our political past gave the men in uniform a bad name but 25 years of PN governments restored dignity and trust, particularly in the police corps.
Now, things are backsliding again.
Recently, a newly appointed police major, with the specific duty to provide security for all members of parliament, deliberately used aggressive and insulting language towards me on Facebook.
Not exactly something to help me feel safe and secure with the very person who is supposed to make me feel safe.
The Speaker was asked to look into the matter. His ruling? Simply that the post on social media was placed before the officer knew he would be appointed to Major!
How insulting. Is dignity and respect something to be restricted to the upper ranks?
By any professional and ethical standard, this ruling is totally unacceptable.
I refuse to be intimidated by someone in uniform who thinks he can bully and insult me on social media just because he happens to wear a uniform and just because he also happens to be a strong PL supporter.
The barest minimum should have been an apology. Certainly not a quasi-absolution by the Speaker of the House, which almost gives the green light for lower-ranked police officers to have a go at any MP they happen to dislike.
As I put pen to paper, the Opposition Whip, David Agius, has formally requested the acting Police Commissioner to remove the Major in question. While I really appreciate the strong position taken by the MP group I proudly form part of, I wonder if Joseph Muscat will put his money where his mouth is and tackle good governance “head on” starting with this case.
Sorry seems to be the hardest word
It is now official. Joseph Muscat is the only European Union Prime Minister whose left and right-hand-men are directly and personally involved in the world’s largest scandal, the Panama Papers. And, as the saga continues to unfold and more details emerge, what does Joseph Muscat do? Of course he flies off to London to address the Commonwealth/Transparency International conference on anti-corruption.
How surreal is that?
The cheek to think that, just because you are a key speaker at an event like this, the whole issue will simply vanish into thin air. We all know that Muscat has not changed but he seems to think we’re a bunch of fools who haven’t realised that his mask has fallen.
Knowing what we know now makes this absurd move all the more insulting. Any average person with an iota of decency would avoid this topic completely and make an effort to show the slightest sign of remorse, not at being caught, but at approving of this immoral behaviour.
His choice of words at the summit make the whole situation even worse. Muscat said that Mizzi was “mentioned” in the Panama Papers. “Mentioned”? Are you serious?
Konrad Mizzi was an important feature in the Panama Papers. Not just in Malta. In every paper that showed a line-up and mug shots of politicians and public servants caught with companies in Panama, he was there. In the shorter list of ministers with Panama companies, he was there. He featured so prominently that The Guardian made a point of mentioning him again, this week, when it reported that Muscat would be a keynote speaker at the anti-corruption conference.
The second Panama Papers revelation continues to highlight the infamous “third company”, Egrant Inc. To date we still don’t know who owns it but speculation continues to grow since it was set up on the same day as the companies owned by Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri.
The simple timeline of the facts sends shiver down your spine.
Just five days after getting into power, after spending nearly 25 years in opposition, the first thing that Muscat’s closest aides decide to do is to set up trusts and companies normally used to evade tax and stash away money generated from illicit business.
I guess it must be very hard for our Prime Minister to say sorry. All he said was, “It wasn’t nice” and he was referring to the Panama Papers, the uncovering of the act, not the act itself. That makes my blood boil.
It is particularly striking that, on this international platform, Muscat never mentions that there is anybody involved from the PN side. He knows that these people will not buy it. Pity he thinks less of us here in Malta.