Letters 2 November 2014

Sale of Aliyev villa ‘within the law’

I refer to the article in last Sunday’s MaltaToday (‘Ray Bugeja sold €3.5 million villa where Aliyev was living’). The sale of the property in question to Ganado Trustee & Fiduciaries Limited was conducted in full accordance with the law. The insinuations and allegations made by MaltaToday in my regard are completely unfounded and simply wrong.

Raymond Bugeja
St Julian's

Editorial note

MaltaToday has made no insinuation or allegation against Raymond Bugeja.

The news story was relevant because the villa searched by police in an investigation concerning money laundering related, as the story pointed out, to its then tenant, the former deputy head of the Kazakh secret service Rakhat Aliyev, currently in jail in Austria.

It is important to note that Aliyev had a legal relationship, as recently as February 2014, when a court issued an asset freeze, with Ganado Trustees & Fiduciaries, who were the buyers of Raymond Bugeja’s property in 2011.

MaltaToday never suggested that the property sale was not in line with the law; never alleged anything with regard to Bugeja except for the fact that the €3.5 million sale took place, and this is recorded in the Public Registry, and as such is a public document.

The 24-carat credit card

The recent remark made by a top public officer about the traffic problem in Malta being something short of a figment of the man-in-the-roads’ (where else?) imagination showed, perhaps unwittingly (who knows?), to what a sad level our Civil Service has descended.

If ever proof was needed that Hans Christian Andersen had more than children in mind when he wrote his tale, this remark seems to have signed, sealed and delivered it.

For Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” wasn’t merely a children’s tale, it was a telltale.

What is so depressing about this remark is that here we have a senior member of the public service fawning on the Royal Household to such a ridiculous extent as to embarrass in the extreme no other than the Emperor himself.

So much so that the Emperor went public with these words, which were uttered in such spontaneity.

“No, I don’t have clothes,” he found himself saying, in what was perhaps the most honest-to-goodness remark he made in his 19-month reign.

Had it been a low-ranking member who was responsible for such an inane remark, it would have been forgotten almost as quickly as it was laughed at.

But the rot seems to run so deep that top management types seem to be constrained to utter inanities, thoroughly convinced that sycophantic, boot-licking zeal is a 24-carat credit card to green pastures.

Joe Genovese
Birkirkara

The people’s voice on Little Armier

The majority of the Maltese have shown their support for your initiative, together with that of The Times of Malta and others, about holding a referendum on spring hunting.

May I suggest that a similar campaign be started to collect signatures asking the government to hold a referendum on whether the illegal boathouses at Little Armier should be demolished and the land given back to its rightful owners – the people and the government of Malta – thereby upholding the rule of law.

A clear indication of the people’s wishes can be seen from the current survey being conducted on The Times of Malta. Who knows – perhaps both referenda could be held at the same time!

George Busuttil
via email

Positive Mater Dei experience

If I say I am afraid of hospitals I would be lying – I am terrified.

On October 15, 2014 I was urgently admitted to Mater Dei Hospital. I started praying.

I went into emergency and doctors, nurses, radiographers, and ultrasound specialists attended to me non-stop. I was impressed. And I am a rather difficult character, not easily impressed.

After a deluge of tests, I was given a bed in Medical Ward One. The nursing officer in charge was Joe Camilleri and deputy N.O. was Antonio Mifsud. My treatment was under the complete supervision of Prof. Emmanuel Farrugia, consultant physician and nephrologist.

I spent a whole week as an inpatient. I never thought it was going to be such a wonderful experience. 100% perfection does not exist – only God is perfect. But I do not hesitate to put on record that the treatment and the staff-patient relationship left nothing to be desired. All staff looked truly happy doing their job – a fitting example of a state-of-the-art hospital.

I believe the C.E.O at MDH must be very pleased, same as the minister and parliamentary secretary. I kindly ask them to go on practising the feel-good factor. It gives courage to employees. Well done M1 and thank you.

Lino Callus
Hal Balzan