Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/540322
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JULY 2015 26 Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Letters So it seems the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have been conniving behind everyone else's back on electoral reform. The information as supplied by The Times, quoting anonymous sources, talks of 'revolutionary reforms' which could lead to a national threshold and third party representation in Parliament. Were this to materialise it could certainly strengthen our democracy and would be the first step towards disman- tling our deeply entrenched tribal system. But this leader has serious misgivings about the scant but very significant detail that was leaked. First of all electoral reform seems to have transformed into a discussion between the two major parties, or rather the PM and his parliamentary counterpart displaying a better chemistry between them, excluding as it would appear the third party from the discussion table. This is a bad omen and does not respect a basic tenant of participa- tory democracy. Secondly, the proposed threshold of 7.5 per cent is an insurmountable hurdle rather than an opportunity for wider parliamen- tary representation. Electoral reform discussions resumed three to four months ago, with all three major parties represented by their topmost officials participating in the talks. Following a leaked report in MaltaToday, because leaks seem to be the preferred way of communication by the three parties on electoral reform, the talks were unilaterally called off by the Nationalist Party. It would be interesting to see if the latest leak will further bury the discussions. Electoral reform has long been a bone of contention and any step towards changing our current system is more than welcome but if the principle that all votes should be translated into parliamentary repre- sentation is to be enshrined, the proposed threshold of 7.5 per cent, amounting to 25,000 votes is unrealistic and an insur- mountable hurdle for any new party. This hurdle would simply perpetuate the present injustices and strengthens the two- party system. For all intents and purposes it is a farce. Not coincidentally, the numerical figure chosen happens to be close to the figure Alternattiva Demokratika got during the last European parliamentary elections. Equally significant is the question whether a national threshold will have any negative impact on the district threshold. If this were to be removed, ironically the new system may turn out to be even less democratic than the current system. The single transferable system allows for an inbuilt threshold of 16 per cent in every district amounting to around 3,500 votes to be elected. This looks likely to be removed with the consequence that it would exclude the possibility of independent politicians being elected. All representation will have to be party driven. This is a negation of our constitution which makes no references at all to parties. This must not be allowed to happen. […] Our parliament is in dire need of new political forces, ideas and beliefs. The present two-party system has exhausted itself. Change is long overdue. Regretfully, with what is being proposed, the two-party system will be further entrenched rather than dismantled. Threshold or insurmountable hurdle? Editorial • 10 July 2005 An unprincipled administration? Thousands of parents, pupils and students, writers and authors, translators and interpreters, journalists, broadcasters and publishers, must be grateful to the Minister of Education for his wise decision to initiate a public consultation on the future of the Maltese language, particularly in the light of so many twists and turns to which the language has been and is being subjected 'from above', as well as from below, lately. For such a small people with a vernacular language which did not have a standard orthography before the 1930s, the preservation of Maltese as a recognised literary genre is of the utmost impor- tance, nationally and internation- ally. Its descent into a pidgin by equating the spoken with the written should not be allowed, the more so when internalised and accepted Maltese words, expres- sions and forms of writing already exist. Maltese for shower has long been 'docca'; it is not 'xawer'. Last week a sign at the Mar- saxlokk market was advertising 'sordfixx' but the Maltese word has long been 'pixxispad'. Any grammatical or ortho- graphical changes to so sensitive a medium as language need a slow, mature and careful elaboration, especially if they are uncalled for. Sadly, as numerous correspond- ents have noted, we have had a number of such impositions or influences, with a presumed and probably misplaced touch of of- ficialdom, mainly by a so-called 'Council for the Maltese Lan- guage', which was set up in 2005 to offer 'guidelines' rather than brandish decrees. There is no doubt that it is time urgently to take stock of this degenerating and confusing situ- ation, and to seek to address it, if only in response to growing pub- lic criticism and frustration. Of course no language is static; it re- sponds to change if and as neces- sary; the late Professor Aquilina, who gave us a priceless six volume dictionary, once compared it to a river. But a people's language tradition with its etymology and semantics is not the monopoly of a handful of all-knowing 'lin- guists' from the same stable bent on re-inventing it, for purposes best known to themselves. Our language has a valuable corpus of literary expression by some of our greatest writers deserving of every respect. I recently was with a learned lady from a culturally-driven council in Valletta who has children at school and I said casually that Maltese sometimes risked becom- ing 'an object of ridicule'. No, she corrected me, 'an object of mockery'. All those who truly cherish Mal- tese certainly would not want that to happen. As a graduate in Mal- tese, a onetime journalist, and the author of books in the language, I am one of them. I just hope that laziness or indifference will not keep anyone from responding meaningfully to this very timely and very sincere call from the highest quarters for consultation on this vital matter. Wittgenstein once described language as 'a form of life'. It is not a fiddle. Prof. Henry Frendo University of Malta The Labour Party won the general election in a spectacular manner following a brilliantly planned and well-funded campaign. Muscat had put good governance, meritocracy and transparency at the forefront of all issues. Being aware of the disillusionment and disgruntlement by various sectors of society towards the Nationalist Party, he promised us an era of a new way of doing things. Until a few months ago I was a keen Labour Party supporter and member. I was so thirsty to expe- rience a Labour government that I consider the 10th of March, 2013 as one of the best days of my life. With the benefit of hindsight I believe the Labour Party had promised the unimaginable to so- ciety in an attempt to win votes. Muscat and the party clearly didn't contemplate enough the repercussions of certain promises and possible pre-electoral deals. We are now witnessing the classic boomerang effect that will clearly haunt Muscat in the years to come. The robust economy cannot translate into the government getting away with everything. Cabinet members engaged dozens and dozens of individuals from outside the public sector to fill in sensitive executive roles on the basis of trust more than anything else. The recent case of the 18-year-old newly appointed director is the cherry on the cake. If this were to happen on my watch I would bury myself in shame. The Café Premier and the Gaffarena cases cannot be dis- sociated from the 'c' word. We have individuals getting paid to locate venues ideal for a certain purpose, tailor-made jobs for the boys in Brussels, Labour Party cronies serving in the diplomatic corps, the recently demeaned ministers' code of eth- ics, the apparent disregard for the environment, the amateurish way in which the citizenship scheme was introduced and later updated and re-updated, the relocation of the "monti" stalls saga which not only is immoral but is also a clear example of bad taste, the way in which the electorate got to know about Sai Mizzi's envoy position and also her mysterious wherea- bouts… The government urgently needs to pull up its socks and get its act together to first and foremost put into practice its main pledge of meritocracy, good governance and transparency. Only then can it hope to avoid losing more than half of its large majority in just five years. As far as my family and I are concerned, we certainly will not be casting our vote irrespective of any potentially excellent eco- nomic scenario by the end of the legislature. Needless to say, the PN is not in a position to give lectures about good governance and transpar- ency. Joseph Muscat should thank his lucky stars for the sorry situation the Nationalists have got themselves into. Michael Portelli Dingli John Guillaumier ("Religious sideshows") makes it abun- dantly clear that his sole sinister aim is to denigrate, lambast and ridicule the Catholic Church and this has been going on for at least four years. But now his sarcasm and cynical diatribes have reached absolutely boring proportions. There are expensive and free sideshows and possessions. While the average footballer in the UK can get a salary in the range of €2 million yearly, and some of them much more, a dress worn by Princess Diana in 1997 is expected to fetch more than £52,000, Moham- med Ali's knockout of Sonny Liston (a split-second) in a hologram goes for £2,400, even a cigar smoked by Winston Churchill was singled out and is expected to fetch thousands in an auction sale. There are however, free sideshows as well, like visiting the famous balcony in Verona, traditionally believed to be the meeting place of Romeo and Juliet, the current exposure of the Turin Shroud and the recent sideshows of the urn of St John Bosco in Malta. What's wrong in displaying, contemplating, and praying on a corpse whose soul has already entered the home of the blessed and angels, the City of Light? St John is a friend of God, and as we believe, he con- tinuously prays and intercedes for us. One of the greatest obstacles to an unwavering experience in the interior life of a believer is the difficulty of seeing God in everything. Imagine how hard this is for Mr Guillaumier (an unbeliever) before he sheds his mudslinging and prejudice in order to see God in everything. John Azzopardi Zabbar Maltese language: what future? A question of values and faith