All professional associations and chambers have a duty to investigate professional misconduct and hold their members to account, the Kamra tal-Periti said on Tuesday.

"The time for dishonest masks pretending that all is in order is now over," the lobby group, which represents architects and civil engineers, said. 

In a statement on Tuesday, it said it was now time for those in authority to recognise the precipitous situation that has led to the current social unrest, and to urgently take all necessary decisions to safeguard the national interest. 

“It is clear that our society is in the throes of a deep-set and chronic malady that has pervaded its very foundations. It is the obligation of each of us to combat this scourge and eradicate it from our industries, our society and our country,” it said.

Failures in the construction and planning sectors were present in other sectors, it said. 

The KTP statement echoes other similar ones made by a variety of other professional bodies over the past weeks. 

On Monday, the Federated Association of Travel and Tourist Agents said it was time for the Prime Minister to put the national interest ahead of his own. The Malta Employers’ Association has warned that Malta's international reputation has been severely damaged and the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners said that "no one is above the law". 

The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Industry said late last week that it was time for the Prime Minister to "do the right thing" as the government's reputation had now been "tarnished by a long and heavy shadow it
cannot shake or shrug off." 

The Malta Institute of Taxation has made it clear it believes Dr Muscat should go and has cancelled a seminar scheduled for this week in protest. Other events, such as the KTP's Design Review Panel sessions and the National Book Council annual prize ceremony, have also been cancelled in protest.