It is not acceptable that a few people with money use politics and criminals to hijack the country and use it like their own private business, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo says.

Writing on Facebook, he said he wished that Republic Day, being celebrated today, is used to show that Malta is a civilised country where national ceremonies take place with dignity while allowing for civilised protests to take place.

He was referring to celebrations connected with Republic Day and the call from NGOs for people to turn up with whistles at the ceremony.

Bartolo has been the most vocal among government ministers amid a crisis that has forced the resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in the wake of investigations that have linked the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia to his office.

Malta should be a republic built on work, and not greed, Bartolo writes today.

The time has come for a second republic to be built for the country to be led by stronger institutions that are separate from each other and see that Malta is administered with more justice and equality.

Republic Day is being celebrated in difficult circumstances, he said, from which we need to emerge with a new way of doing politics – not as a slogan that has been abused by many but with honest people from different walks of life who work together for the general well-being.