Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/236916
11 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 JANUARY 2014 erviews Edward Scicluna – His hands on the cash register I don't mind picturing them as parasites: people who want to ride without paying. But when in government, I don't like that kind of morality. I ask myself: is a person getting away with it? Who is making it easy for him? I'd blame myself. Reuben Balzan – Law and disorder It is undeniable that the law courts lack the resources to cope with the caseload... look at it this way – Luxembourg, which has a population comparable to Malta's, has 188 judges and magistrates. Malta only has 42... Marie Louise Coleiro-Preca – Change from the bottom-up It's like we are creating ghettos, and it defeats our purpose. We should be developing communities, where neighbours look out for each other. This is the sense of community I believe in. (On placing vulnerable people and families all in the same block) Joseph Cuschieri – What happens in Strasbourg I think it would be a disservice if we had to put across the idea that MEPs exist only to get people up to Brussels [on holiday]. I think it would be better if it didn't exist anymore. Steve Micklewright – Last chance to stand up to bullies They [hunters] have created a very clever fiction that their lobby can swing the outcome of an election. In a sense I can't even blame the politicians... it can't be easy to face the sort of pressure from that kind of lobby. Mgr Charles Scicluna – Silence is not an option The defining element of marriage as a union between a man and a woman is in a simple word, sex. Jason Azzopardi – Faustian choices We cannot accept turning citizenship in to a commodity... from China to Chile, the news [the sale of Maltese citizenship] has taken the world by storm... we have been turned into a laughing stock among other countries. Simone Mizzi – Marching against Mistrafication Why should someone be acquitted because the police got the time of the offence wrong? Is it perfectly okay to rape someone, so long as you do it at 4:30 instead of 2:30? dum on minority rights... just imagine if someone were to propose holding a referendum on Islam. How would the Imam react? Chris Said – Turning the PN into a 'factory of ideas' My argument with Arriva is that it is in their interest to avoid fines and that in this case, we either succeed or we fail together. Yes, I did lose the election. But look at where the country is. And word to the wise... what we have is not guaranteed to last, and this government should not take anything for granted, because the financial storm is still upon us. Slogans used in electoral campaigns are bound to come back to haunt party leaders. Helena Dalli – Much harder to change a culture than a law The easiest thing I could do is simply go to parliament and force the necessary legislation through. But that will only change the law. It is much harder to change a culture, a mindset. Cyrus Engerer – Of rights and referenda I could never agree to a referen- Joe Mizzi – Minister at a bus stop Franco Debono – Gonzi must acknowledge that he was wrong, history proved me right It is evident that Gonzi was held hostage by these ministers... it was he who chose the Cabinet which suffered the greatest electoral defeat in Maltese history. Sandro Chetcuti – Poacher or gamekeeper? I was the victim of character assassination... I was a victim of a frame up. Therese Comodini Cachia – Facing a constructed crisis The way political discourse on migration is being framed is perpetuating an 'us against them' scenario that is also creating a social divide... it is not the big crisis that the prime minister makes it to be. Karl Schembri – Live through this I could give you cabinets of facts about the Palestinian question, about the way Palestine is being shrunk by the occupation. But facts don't move people. Syrians living in Malta – A normal life and a hidden hand Abdul Dibo, a 40-year-old construction worker: When Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafez, committed other massacres in 1982 he could cover up his crimes and nobody moved. Now he cannot lie anymore because people have mobile phones which can record these crimes. Nidal Binni, a 47-year-old Syrian-born businessman: The time for dictatorships is over. This is the century of democracy. Tony Zahra – Too chummy for Labour? I am chummy with any government, but I will always say it as it is. This is a worrying time for Malta's environment. Martin Balzan – Who's the boss? Normally when a report is published it means that the government agrees with it. In this case, it seems that after its publication government either had second thoughts or it miscalculated. Mario Farrugia Borg – A Muslim from Qormi God forbid that we have different laws for different religious groups. All people are equal and should be judged according to the same law. Michael Falzon – Fighting fireworks with fireworks Accidents will happen. Human error will always be a factor whatever we do. We can try to minimise danger – which is what this policy aims to do – but we cannot eliminate it altogether.