Star highlighted the need to tackle anti-social behaviour

The Star I am referring to in the title of this week’s contribution is the dog that was first shot at and then buried alive.

Its rescue can be described as an extraordinary event. However, the story has not had the ending we all hoped for, as Star died last Sunday from complications that arose after the operation it had to undergo.

The story of Star found its way into the columns of foreign newspapers and a leading Italian newspaper also included it in its online edition – the best way of telling the whole world about it.

One might ask what Star has to do with economic and business issues.

This will become evident later on. However, to think that this event will not have an impact on the country’s image in Europe and beyond is extremely naïve. The truth is that this story has given us a great deal of negative publicity and will alter, in a negative way, perceptions about Malta. For this, we have to thank the individual or individuals that have perpetrated this crime. They will certainly get no stars on their copybook for what they have done.

The story of Star was strident because of the cruelty shown towards this dog. If we look at the bigger picture, this event is nothing more than one in a series of such events (which in their totality probably add up to hundreds every week) of anti-social behaviour.

This is where the link with the economy and with business starts to get created. As a country we pride ourselves of a relatively low crime rate.

This is especially so when one speaks of serious criminal acts. This is comforted by the fact that visitors to our islands speak of how safe they feel when walking in our streets. However, we must admit that anti-social behaviour is on the increase.

I am purposely not referring to criminal acts as very often these acts go unreported. On the other hand they are acts that infringe the law. They include acts such as littering, using pavements and other people’s houses as a watering hole, swearing, aggressive driving and other such behaviour.

These are the acts that impact most on law-abiding Maltese and the persons who visit our country for business or pleasure.

They have started to generate a sense of insecurity as we see law and order start being weakened.

Once this sense of insecurity permeates among the business sector, uncertainty creeps in and investment is bound to suffer. This is why we cannot restrict ourselves to the story of Star but have to look at the wider picture.

We can look at the example of Singapore, which has fairly draconian rules on anti social behaviour. The country may not be the best epitome of democracy; yet its stance to eradicate acts such as littering the street with chewing gum or dirtying of walls with graffiti has given this country a positive image with investors. Such a stance has supported its effort to attract business activity to the country.

There are people who want to give Star a hero’s burial. There could be arguments for and against such an action.

However, if we have to look for the proverbial silver lining in the cloud, we may one day be thankful for the story of Star as it has highlighted the need to tackle anti-social behaviour in Malta. Anti-social behaviour is only the start of a breakdown of the rules that govern relations between us and the onset of a malaise that will be hard to eliminate. No economy can possibly hope to thrive if such rules are not respected.