Labour arrogance update
Published:
December 17, 2014 at 6:58pm
Our head of state popped in for a visit somewhere in St Christopher Street in Valletta today (consoling Jose Herrera after his car accident, perhaps?) and her chauffeur, instead parking the limo in the palace courtyard a few metres away or in the half-street of reserved parking, just left the car right outside the door, blocking the road completely.
The two police outriders did the same with their bikes. The man who sent me this photograph said that he asked one of the police officers whether the road was closed, and was told rudely “Iva, mintix tara” (‘OK siehbi’ is reserved for friends and associates).
He responded: “Ghalfejn?” and the police officer’s reply was: “Ghandi ghalfejn nghidlek?”.
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Everywhere in the civilised world police address people as ‘sir’ or ‘madam’.
If you ask your question with arrogance, prepared to be answered in such a manner.
It must be some time since you’ve visited the civilised world, Allo Allo. Do you know Sir Robert Peal personally?
It’s Peel, not Peal. Are you on potato duty again?
It’s Peel, kev.
Not in Malta would a courteous police officer address you respectfully. If you are among the privileged ones you may be addresses as “Siehbi”.
You are so very right.
Anywhere I have been, whenever I requested info from the police, I was invariably impressed with the courteous, helping and polite attitude – some of these countries are Mexico (Mexico City), California (anywhere), UK, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Crete, Turkey and Italy.
Il-hazin qed jigi minn min suppost jaghti l-ezempju. Qishom qieghedin jaghmlu apposta.
Dan mhux qieghed jarah il-kummissarju Cassar? Id-dixxiplina ilha li spiccat fix-xejn.
Ta’ Cassar ghadha gejja. Ha jitlaqghu l-ex kummissarji kollha li kellna f’dawn l-ahhar 19-il xahar taht il-Labour (PP Zammit, Ray Zammit, Rizzo /CPD) u l-kummissarji wannabes imxewqin l-ohrajn kollha (Harrison/VISA) mal-istess mejda jiddiskutu s-security u l-logistika tac-CHOGM, u naraw x’pulizija ghandna.
Jew kif irnexxielhom igibuha l-Labour, hamallagni u medjokrita’ igglorifikata. Boys with toys bickering in Joseph’s playground.
Il-Kummissarju l-ġdid, fl-ewwel intervista li ta, għolla l-aspettativi tal-poplu dwar il-korp. Lis-Sur Cassar ma nafux, ħlief mill-media. Jidher tal-affari tiegħu, għalkemm f’dal-pajjiz misħut, kulħadd jidher tajjeb fuq il-media.
Ħu mill-prim ministru li għandna u l-gvern tiegħu. Kemm dehru sbieħ u tajbin qabel l-elezzjoni! Tant dehru sbieħ li rnexxielhom jitilgħu b’maġġoranza straordinarja – fil-kuntest elettorali Malti.
Fil-każ ta’ Cassar, jekk hu tal-affari tiegħu kif jidher, għandu għadma iebsa xi jgerrem. Diġa l-pulizija ħarġu bl-unuri ftit ġranet biss wara li (rega’) nbidel il-Kummissarju meta ħarbilhom minn taħt għajnejhom detenut mill-għassa.
U b’affarijiet bħal dawn il-futur ma jidhirx sabiħ wisq. Għax mal-lejber ma taħdimx, anke jekk ikollok l-għola u l-isbaħ intenzjonijiet.
Daħħalt il-politika għax veru li ħadd m’hu perfett imma l-attitudni ta’ “U ijja”, il-korruzzjoni, in-nepotiżmu sfaċċat, l-arroganza u l-indixxiplina donnhom jispikkaw bil-kbir taħt gvernijiet tal-Lejber.
Ħafna minna ilhom hawn biżżejjed biex jixhdu kemm l-affarijiet fil-korp jieħdu żvolta l-isfel taħt il-lejber. L-indħil ta’ Mallia kompla jressaq il-korp lejn is-70-ijiet u t-80-ijiet.
Taħt il-lejber mhux biss ikollna l-korruzzjoni imma korruzzjoni arroganti!
X’tistenna minnhom?
Hamalli United.
Arroganti aktar milli hamalli.
Imma ghamilna l-pavimentar sabiex jitgawda mill-familji Maltin u Ghawdxin. “L-embellishment”, jghidulu.
It -triq Taghna Lkoll
Miskina, maybe she went shopping for a new coat.
Please allow me to share one of my favourite interactions with the Maltese police, who are what they are regardless of who’s in power.
About three years ago I was driving up the Mellieha bypass in the middle of one of those huge autumn deluges and thunderstorms. My car was swamped by water and stopped. I was in the inside lane at no great distance from the side of the road. There was little I could do but wait for the rain to stop.
As the storm cleared I got out of the car to wait for roadside assistance to show up (they were very busy). I opened the bonnet to see if there was something obvious, and seeing nothing sat on the side of the road to wait.
Down comes a police car in the opposite direction. It slows down and I think he’ll just check I’m OK seeing as there is a car with its bonnet open on a hill with the driver sitting by it.
No such luck. The police car (with 4 policemen in it) stops but doesn’t pull over and the one driving yells (and I mean, yells) at me in Maltese: “Move that car out of the way. What do you think you are doing?” And off they go.
“…He responded: “Ghalfejn?” and the police officer’s reply was: “Ghandi ghalfejn nghidlek?”…”
And the reply of the man who so kindly sent in the photograph, should have been: “Iva, ghandek ghalfejn tghidli ghax mit-taxxi tieghi inhallas il-paga tieghek. Int, sur kuntistabbli, impjegat tal-poplu”.
I was on a very recent visit to Malta and had to pop in for lunch at the Casino Maltese, and as I was drawing money out of the HSBC ATM on St. George’s Square, a police constable was very rudely telling people to get out of the way, so that a GM something or other car could park in the middle of the pavement.
My daughter who was with me, asked me in a loud voice: “Papa, why is the policeman getting so angry and shouting at people?” and I replied, loudly: “When you grow up I’ll explain to you why they think they’re the bee’s knees on this little island”, to which a couple of bystanders burst into laughter.
The overweight, shabby and squat constable (at least 50 years old) gave me a very long hard stare (the “ara ma titkessahx” sort of look which the Maltese underclass has perfected over many Mintoff-driven years of carrying large chips on their shoulders), and I gave him a very long hard stare back, which left him completely surprised. He actually looked away and started waving his hands about telling people to “muvf bakk naww”.
Pathetic primates, the whole blistering lot.
We live overseas and when a policeman stops your car, the first thing they do is salute, not shout at you.
From the mouth of babes comes the truth.
The rudeness and uneducated attitude shown by some police is astounding.
I tried asking a policeman if I could park behind some bollards when using my bicycle.
He kept saying “Mintix qed tarah is-sign No Entry?” This he kept repeating every time I tried to open my mouth. After saying it about 5 or 6 times he just walked off.
Madam President could you kindly teach your staff that this isn’t where they should leave the car. May you ever be so kind as to also advise them to be courteous with the public, because it reflects on you as well as on the nation you serve.
Tihom naqra power u jaraw kif juru lil kulhadd li huma qeghdin hemm fuq, u int bicca mbarazz tigri mas-saqajn.
Sakemm jasal il-vot, ghax imbaghad jibda z-zeghil u l-pjaciri.
Il-hmar taqtaghlu denbu hmar jibqa.
Sewwa rrisponda il-police. You don’t question authority. Who the hell does the man who sent you the photo think he is? He is just Cikku l-poplu. A nobody. A mere mortal.
A nuisance who shouldn’t have passed through that road. Probably shouldn’t have been in Valletta either.
My humble recommendation to the government is that in future when Her Majesty is out and about in Valletta, or Michelle goes shopping, Valletta should be closed to traffic. Yes, why not?
Kunu protagonisti.
X’tistenna meta il-Ministru ta’ l-Eduazzjoni jitkellem b’lingwagg baxx? Let’s not forget.
X’qed tistennew mill-kummissarju il-gdid, jekk dan aghar minnhom?
L-aghar li qed issir imma gol-Belt Valletta. L-arroganza li ghandhom uhud mix-xuffiera tal-ministri, u dawk li jakkumpanjaw lill Ministri, hija xi haga ta’ barra minn hawn.
Jipparkjaw kif iridu, fejn iridu u kemm iridu u jigu jaqaw u jqumu mill-poplu.
Hamalli, psatas, arroganti, jibbulijaw u fuq kollox ghalija huma hmieg, ghax lil nies trid tistmhom u mhux titnejjek bihom.
Viva l-gvern korrott ta’ Muscat.
Third World police escorts.
ARROGANZA COLEIRO PRECA!
Imbasta harget tghannaq lil dak u liehor! Oqbra mbajda kollha kemm huma.
Ghalxejn inbidel il- kummissarju, bqajna fejn konna.
Ma tmurx tixxawwat miskina.
She should have got out of the car and told her driver and the motorbike escorts to park where they should park.
That is the good example she should have given.
Then she should have walked to her destination.
Good exercise for an ever-increasingly inflated body. Just a suggestion for your good health, Madam President.
Police arrogance has always been something beyond belief in Malta.
As a minimum, the behaviour described in your post should amount to conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline under Rule 19 of the Third Schedule to the Police Act, and therefore an offence against discipline.
If the police expect the public to respect them, they must respect the public.
At worst, the said conduct amounts to the disciplinary offence of “unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority” in terms of Rule 8 of the same Schedule, that is to say when “a member of the Force without good and sufficient cause…is uncivil to any member of the public.”
The problem, of course, is that if Gazetted Officers, who are mainly themselves rankers, see nothing wrong in such behaviour, that behaviour will never be censured and will simply propagate among the rank and file.
I always thought that Madame President is another Labour arrogant no matter what. She should set the example but then who cares. Perhaps her weight is a bit too much to walk a few meters? or perhaps she forgot to leave instructions to her driver she is so busy.
More of the same. Does anybody think that these guys have changed or will change?
Their very nature and lack of education will not permit it.
Switchers United enjoy, more is yet to come.
Dawn il-manjieri maledukati huma tassew ta’ stmerrija.
Imisshom jisthu jaghmlu l-arja ghax liebsin uniformi li suppost taghti serhan ta’ mohh lic-cittadin.
Meta ser ikollna korp ta’ pulizija ta’ suret in-nies?
Hamsin sena ohra forsi. Meta imutu dal xaqbda maledukati li hawn ma-saqajn.
It’s not just arrogance but Third World dictatorship mentality.
At least he was not charged with oltraggio a pubblico ufficiale
F’sentejn, pajjiz nejkuh
Can someone remind me who had coined the expression Pajjiz tal-Mickey Mouse.
What does he think now?
Sirna Pajjiz taz-z**g.
Give the President a break please. Why are we being so critical?