Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1525812
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 AUGUST 2024 Identitàgate is not about a few isolated incidents Editorial A fortnight ago this leader said that Byron Camill- eri's silence on the Identità scandal was deafening. Things have not changed much since then. The Home Affairs Minister, who is responsible for the agency, has not uttered a word except to rebut statements issued by the Opposition. The issue has not gone away but rather become even more complicated and worrying but to the government it only becomes a problem when the Opposition speaks. If Camilleri's silence is the result of prudence not to disrupt any ongoing investigation, he should say so clearly face-to-face in a press con- ference. Identitàgate is not about a few isolated incidents of stolen identity but a big problem that can pose a veritable security risk to Malta and so the min- ister has an obligation to inform the people what is going on. Identità's only reaction so far has been to say that it conducted an internal investigation and passed on its findings to the police. Three police arraignments concerning Egyptian nationals who obtained a residency permit on false pretences were the result of this investigation. But while two of the three Egyptians admitted wrongdoing and were sentenced to jail without proof having to be submitted in court, the third man pleaded not guilty and the case is ongoing. It is concern- ing that the magistrate in the latter case even or- dered the police to investigate two officials from Identità over suspected perjury after they gave conflicting testimony in court. But the problem goes much further than the ar- raignment of three migrants who benefitted from what is evidently a racket involving officials with- in Identità. The three Egyptian men obtained 'valid' ID cards from the government agency. They did not falsify ID documents. This is why somebody from the inside must have been involved. So far, no official from the organisation has been charged and we now have a magisterial inquiry that will be doing what the police should have started do- ing long ago. The inquiry, requested by former MP Jason Azzopardi, will probe all the accusations he has been making and the numerous cases that have since surfaced of Maltese individuals receiving mail at home addressed to foreigners they do not know and who have never lived with them. The minister has a duty in these circumstances to say something, especially now that the scandal appears to have taken a more sinister twist. People are now coming forward with hospital appointments they were never expecting. The conclusion is that somebody used their identity details – including name, address and ID card number – to access public healthcare services. Some of the stories could be absurd, if they were not so scary, such as the instance when a person who went for a regular check-up and was told the hospital system is flagging them as dead. There may be a perfectly innocent explanation for the mix up of medical records, which could include inputting the wrong ID card number when entering the patient's medical records. But when several such cases are flagged and in circumstances where address theft on perfectly legitimate ID cards is going on, the odds of this being a genuine mistake start dropping. The Data Protection Commissioner is inves- tigating the latest incidents involving the use of someone else's identity on hospital patient records. Hopefully, the investigation will shed some light on what is happening in the health- care system and the vetting processes that take place. Patients need assurance that their details are not be abused. But this is only one aspect, albeit a very sensi- tive one because it involves health records, of a much bigger problem that has at its root the in- side workings at Identità. If thousands of ID cards were issued to non- EU foreign nationals on a fraudulent basis – the Egyptians used false marriage certificates to say they were married to a British woman thus en- titling them to a 10-year residency permit – or using somebody else's home address, the mat- ter has serious implications for national security because it shows that no proper vetting process was undertaken. It means the authorities cannot guarantee that they know who these foreign na- tionals are, what their intentions are, where they are living and what they are doing. This leader hopes that the inquiry into this scan- dal moves fast enough to secure computers, mo- bile phones, electronic systems and logs, which can provide crucial evidence. Getting to the bot- tom of this mess is of paramount importance. Quote of the Week "I was told I had been dead for three months." A man in his 30s who visited a health centre for a check-up and was informed that according to public healthcare records he was supposed to have died three months earlier. The case is one of many others where unsuspecting people are likely to have fallen victim to identity theft. MaltaToday 10 years ago 24 August 2014 Merkel 'most popular', Israel and Russia shunned, Chinese welcomed FIFTY years after Malta gained its place in the international community of nations as an in- dependent state, a MaltaToday survey explores how the Maltese view the rest of the world and finds local admiration for austerity-driven Ger- many and its Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Maltese also display openness towards China, with 60% approving the partial sale of Enemalta to a Chinese government-owned company. The survey also shows strong disapproval of Israeli and Russian foreign policies. When asked to express a preference be- tween six world leaders the Maltese prefer German Chancellor Angela Merkel to US President Barack Obama, Italian Prime Minis- ter Matteo Renzi and UK Prime Minister Da- vid Cameron. Vladimir Putin is the least liked, surpassed even by the less known Chinese President, Li Xinping. Despite the Chancellor's bad reputation in neighbouring Mediterranean nations, German foreign policy gets a 70% approval rating here. The Maltese are also most likely to side with the West in Ukraine and largely disap- prove of Russian foreign policy. But despite a general western orientation in their foreign policy choices, the Maltese strongly disap- prove of Israeli foreign policy, which has been traditionally supported by the West. Moreover despite the West's traditional support for Israel, only 7% support Israel in the current war in Gaza, which received luke- warm support from the US, whose foreign pol- icy is only deemed positive by 41%. The Mal- tese are also lukewarm towards China's foreign policy, approved by only 38% of respondents, but are open to Chinese investment to the ex- tent that 60% approve an agreement through which a Chinese state owned company would buy a 33% stake in Enemalta.