The Maltese communities of Melbourne and Sydney who were accustomed to hearing their Maltese programme at noon on Wednesdays were, as from this week, regaled with a broadcast in Hindi instead.
The reduction in the hours allocated to the Maltese by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is resented by many Maltese families who often rely almost solely on such broadcasts for their contact with their native country. This is especially so in the case of the older element who also depend on the Maltese radio programmes for a good part of their entertainment.
SBS argue that there are "new" communities such as Arabic and Chinese that are more needful of the radio time.
Other communities, such as the Turks and Portuguese, have also been negatively affected. However, it seems that some of the other long-established and larger communities, such as the Italians and the Greeks, are not losing any hours, even though these communities have commercial stations in their own language they can tune to.
Several petitions were sent to SBS without success. The Maltese Community Council of Victoria, for instance, wrote to the Minister for Communications, Richard Alston, "to express its extreme disappointment in the axing of a Maltese programme from the SBS radio schedule of Maltese language programmes".
The protest letter was copied to the chairman, the managing director and the dead of division at SBS.
One of the principal casualties was the Ghana programme produced by Manuel Casha. The programme was a favourite with a significant section of the Maltese community. Apparently, this programme was axed because of a new direction that segments should be limited to very short periods of air time.
The Maltese Community Council of Victoria wrote that "Maltese folklore singing is an important and active pastime in our community, as it forms part of our rich cultural heritage. Ghana is very popular not only with our elderly, but also with the younger generation". The Maltese community's enthusiasm for this traditional music is such that its practitioners and followers have even built a club-house in the western suburbs of Melbourne for the purpose.
It is understood that other individuals have also written letters expressing their disappointment at the decision but their protests seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
This is not the first time that SBS has contemplated such unpopular measures. Suggestions have been made in the past that if the need for allocating hours to the "newer" communities is indeed so compelling, and it certainly is, then the authorities should have striven to provide additional air time. This should not have come at the expense of other needy communities.
It is indeed lamentable that part of a cathedral had to be dismantled to build a chapel!