Watch: Robert Abela Warns PN Leader ‘Scaring’ Carers With Maltese Test Proposal
Prime Minister Robert Abela came out strongly against Opposition Leader Bernard Grech’s proposal that third-country nationals should have to pass a Maltese language test to be able to work in Malta.
“The Opposition Leader is frightening carers of our elderly that he will kick them out of Malta unless they pass a Maltese test,” Abela told a political rally this morning.
“The very next day, a PN MP [Rebekah Borg] goes on Radju Malta and says it’s not true that he said those words. Even she wanted to distance himself from her own leader.”
View this post on Instagram
“I have one thing to tell the Opposition Leader… thank God you’re not proposing an exam in maths or you would have to kick yourself out of Malta.”
Abela warned that Grech’s proposal amounts to nothing more than “populism”.
“Populism is spread by incompetent people who only care about what people are saying on social media and who don’t have a plan for the country,” he said.
Grech told Lovin Malta this week that if the PN is elected to government, third-country nationals will be obliged to take a test in basic Maltese after a year living in the country.
View this post on Instagram
Should they fail, they won’t be able to renew their work permit and will therefore be forced to leave the country. Grech, who claimed this proposal is part of a drive towards “quality”, said that workers will ideally take this test before even coming to Malta.
To stress his point, the PN leader opened up about the linguistic struggles his 92-year-old mother passed through at the very end of her life.
“We have nothing against the English language – it’s one of our official languages – but why did my 92-year-old mother, on her deathbed and during the worst moment of her life, have to try and speak in English to communicate with her carer?”
“Does this mean that we will kick out the carers? No, but the carers must understand that since they’re in Malta and working with the Maltese, they must respect the people of Malta, our language and the way we communicate.”
“We will be a country that embraces different cultures but the PN cannot allow our identity to fade away into nothingness.”
What do you make of Bernard Grech’s proposal?
READ NEXT: Mediterranean Goddesses: Mdina Biennale Returns To Explore Divine Fertility And Spirituality
