Doctors are backing a call by a group of NGOs for a public inquiry into the benefits fraud scandal.
The scandal was revealed by Times of Malta last year, when it was reported that former MP Silvio Grixti was implicated as being at the centre of a scam which saw hundreds of people being granted benefits for severe disabilities they did not suffer from.
Grixti was subsequently arraigned, along with a number of other people.
Subsequently, the president of the Medical Association of Malta branded the benefit fraud racket as “organised crime”.
A group of NGOs last month demanded a public inquiry into the benefits fraud scandal.
The activists - Repubblika, aditus, The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, Moviment Graffitti, Kopin, KSU, Manueldelia.com, Occupy Justice and UĦM Voice of the Workers - handed a letter addressed to the prime minister at the Auberge de Castille, calling for a public inquiry.
On Monday, MAM joined the call for an independent public inquiry into the scandal, which it said had "significantly undermined the integrity of our institutions and eroded public trust in the sickness benefits process".
The association said that "disturbingly", members of the cabinet that approved a presidential pardon for those implicated in the fraud are allegedly linked to the fraud, "raising concern about the fairness of the process".
"In stark contrast, medical professionals, who had their signatures forged as part of this scheme, have received no justice, not even an official apology," MAM said.
It urged full accountability and transparency to restore public confidence and ensure justice is served.
"The medical community, along with the general public, deserves a thorough investigation and a genuine acknowledgement of the wrongs committed.
It is crucial that vulnerable patients receive the support they are entitled to without the interference of political misconduct."
MAM said a prospective public inquiry should also address the return of the embezzled funds and the timing of the presidential pardon.
The ministry involved in this fraud should never be the same one responsible for ensuring that the money is returned, it added.