About a fortnight ago, I came across a short MaltaToday report on a meeting with a mechanic. The report informs that this mechanic unknowingly participated in a scam allegedly pulled off by two second-hand car dealers.

The scam consisted of reducing, by thousands, the kilometres recorded on the odometers of imported Japanese second-hand cars. Allegedly, this allowed an upward effect on the price to be charged for each vehicle. It appears there are now hundreds of angry car buyers who feel cheated as they were allegedly sold deceptively described cars at inflated prices.

These buyers are offended that the authorities manifestly failed in their administrative duties, allowing these citizens to be taken for a ride.

In itself, this episode appears as a relatively mundane incident; however, on closer examination, interesting features start to emerge.  Some declarations, attributed to the mechanic, as well as the reactions to the incident of the authorities (the police, customs and Transport Malta), reveal a pattern of abnormal behaviour that does not surprise anymore and passes as normal.

In defence of his reputation, the mechanic declares that he was led to believe that the mileage corrections, seemingly running into hundreds, were genuine issues.

There is no reason to doubt the genuineness of this person. His suspicion was not alerted and he proceeds to speak about giving a routine service of odometer mileage correction, or adjustment or recalibration. 

At a point, a very Maltese “mind your own business” exhortation is directed at the MaltaToday reporter. As this reporter might have been unaware, his attention is drawn to the damage being caused in reporting on and pursuing this incident of alleged misbehaviour.

Another very Maltese twist follows in the shape of a passionate appeal to the reporter to stop adding more suffering to the alleged not so law-abiding salesmen, since they had already got enough punishment!  This mercy appeal was sealed with a bewildering declaration: “Nobody in Malta does everything legally. Nobody”. 

Finally, we are given to understand that, by omitting to perform the necessary checks, the various public authorities might have inadvertently encouraged whoever to take advantage of the system.

It seems morality standards have hit an abysmal low- Arthur Muscat

It has been confirmed once more that whenever wrongdoing is exposed, the implicated authorities run for cover. Transport Malta shifts the blame for this mileage mess on to the police; these, in turn, pass the buck on to the customs authorities. Often, many public entities hide their inaction and incompetence behind an alleged lack of power and exclusive authority to solve an issue.

We keep on witnessing our politicians repeatedly and deliberately pretending  it is correct to justify their misdeeds by simply highlighting those of their predecessors.  But the cherry on the cake is the belief held by so many people that gullible second-hand car buyers had it coming, they allowed themselves to be fooled, so serves them right. Never mind that citizens are always due and owed protection by public officials paid to correctly perform their duties.

It seems morality standards have hit an abysmal low. There is a constant readiness to trivialise wrongdoing. A drive to pursue justice and an application of justified punishments are often given a vindictive connotation. We are witnessing a delegitimisation, a wearing down, of any sense of outrage at manifestly bad behaviour and dismal public administration.

In conclusion, I want to declare support to Times of Malta, MaltaToday, The Shift, Repubblika, Graffitti and many others as they nurture and keep alive a desperately required sense of outrage. 

For significant revelatory insights perhaps we should also consider conferring on our sharp and observant mechanic a much deserved social studies degree, obviously ‘honoris causa’.

Arthur Muscat is a human resources and industrial relations specialist.