Letters to the editor – June 8, 2026

Sheer disrespect

George Saliba, of Qawra, writes:

Allow me to point out the pitiful extent we have reached in values in Malta.

Has anyone witnessed young persons sitting on seats reserved for the elderly, fully engrossed in their mobile phone, ignoring their surroundings and not caring whether there are elderly passengers standing? 

Here they are, getting a free ride on our electric buses, using free internet and comfortably occupying our seats.

The message about priority seating is very clear in this Transport Malta notice. Photo: Facebook

Here is a short narration of an event I personally experienced on a public bus. 

All the seats were occupied and several passengers were standing. In a seat reserved for the elderly sat a young man. 

At one stage, an elderly (Maltese) man boarded. 

He looked for an available seat but there were none. 

The man spotted the young man and, recognising him as being foreign, addressed him in English: “Please, may I have your seat because it’s reserved for old people like me?” 

The young man, wearing a look of incomprehension, said: “No English. Speak me in Arabic.”

This brazen utterance attracted all the passengers’ attention, as if saying they could not believe what they had just heard. 

Then, we all so admired the Maltese man when he quickly retorted: “I am a Maltese man and this is Malta. I don’t have to speak to you in Arabic. Just…”

The gestures, body language and the expressions on our faces made the foreigner give up and vacate the seat.

Malta today

Michael Vella of Sliema writes:

The results are out and we woke up last Monday having a Nationalist Party (PN) leader, Alex Borg whose charismatic and humble ways managed to halve the majority the Labour Party (PL) had, besides winning the biggest number of votes among all the candidates.

Alex Borg. File photo

On the other hand, we have those who voted the PL into power happy we will still be facing traffic problems, long waiting lists at our hospitals, overpopulation, construction permits galore, the usual government handout cheques and jobs, and a €12 billion deficit. 

Oh, I almost forgot the Gozitans who are happily enjoying their daily trips on the crickety old ferry costing us thousands a day.

Well, that is Malta today in all its culture and mentality.