Comments on: Ninety-Nine L-A-B-O-U-R

By: Lorna

Lorna — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:37:53 +0000

Just a short reflection: is it because the MLP decided to enter the mobile telephony that it also proposed to lower the voting age to 16 years? Can you imagine the 16-year olds with their TOne (or whatever they’re calling it until and after the court settles the matter definitively after it has decreed in favour of the warrant of prohibitory injunction) receiving propaganda and nirvana-promises on their handsets?

Besides, where are the regulators in Malta? Isn’t it unfair competition for a political party to enter an industry as volatile as the telecommunications market? Above all, isn’t that a threat to democracy?

And yes, I do believe that they’re not merely after revenue but after “strategic gain” as Daphne has termed it in the column.

I’m amazed at how nobody seems to think in this country and nobody seems to look beyond the tips of their eyelashes.

(Daphne – Yes, the newspaper report was greeted with silence. People really don’t think beyond their noses and must have things spelled out to them. Taking the argument to its limits, what’s to stop a political party keeping its electorate primarily as a business market, and putting politics second? A political party in business is competiting unfairly.)

By: tax payer

tax payer — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:52:00 +0000

good point matthew and why not in partnership with the GWU and confirm SAMMY MEILAQ as CEO

By: David Buttigieg

David Buttigieg — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:18:21 +0000

@Matthew,

Well KMB does think that the workers should run it again …. My goodness, what a disaster that man is!

By: matthewl

matthewl — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:07:53 +0000

If the Labour Party are so keen to branch out into business ventures then I can think of an exciting investment opportunity which is just up their street. The chance to own a company to which the MLP has always pledged its unquestioning, whole-hearted support. Why on earth dabble in mobile phones when they have a once in a lifetime opportunity to take over the Malta Drydocks?

By: Michael A. Vella

Michael A. Vella — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:16:41 +0000

Jack: The conclusion to be drawn here is that people at MLP/One Productions did not even know about trademarks – witness the flagrant piracy illustrated by the URL’s – that is, until the mobile telephony case came up before the courts.

By: Michael A. Vella

Michael A. Vella — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:10:05 +0000

E. Grima:”Hope history will not repeat itself.” Do not hold your breath.

By: Michael A. Vella

Michael A. Vella — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:08:15 +0000

John Grech: “I am not mistaken Labour Party Mobile are going to use the network infrastructure of Vodafone, therefore if you switch to the Labour servcie provider you will have the exact technological service.”

So, in other words, the object of the exercise is to skim a commission off Vodafone, by encouraging MLP supporters to route their calls through a front organisation run by the MLP.

This is similar to the KMB cunning [but magnificently unsuccessful]plan back in the 80’s when AST o.b.o. MLP government was sent to the Middle East to borrow as many millions of dollars as possible at < 3% interest so that KMB government could reinvest the funds at a higher rate of interest.

By: Gerald

Gerald — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:03:23 +0000

I believe Bay Mobile have just launched something similar…..

By: John Meilak

John Meilak — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:02:05 +0000

One mobile’s market is already halved (due to obvious reasons). Additionally it will make use of existing Vodafone infrastructure, thus it will require the services of one of its competitors. This is funny! haha

By: Religio et Patria

Religio et Patria — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:17:38 +0000

If were to judge our political parties based on how they are structured and managed, I doubt whether any one of us would indeed cast a vote for any of them!

Today, Malta’s parties are heavily into debt despite the ever-present funding activities and their commercial arms are nothing but nests of vipers made up of people whose only intent in life is on preserving their little empire gloating in self-serving mediocrity and feeding upon the gullible general public for support through political machinations and marketing ploys such as the various ‘clubs’ and suchlike.

The solution is quite simple, really: Political parties should go back to their roots and do what they are supposed to do… Politics for the supposed benefit of the country and its people.

The moment we have people who aspire to be professional politicians, we are assured of having created a caste which shall do nothing but leech upon the country. A clear example can be seen of the going-ons in our neighbour, Italy.