In Salman Rushdie’s new novel The Golden House, a rich old Indian man in a fez tried to visit Bombay’s grand old hotel. But he was refused entry by the British imperialists, on account of his race. The old man nodded his head and walked away. It was 1903. This man then built the finest, grandest hotel ever seen in Bombay, putting the other hotel out of business.

This story was not true. It was a myth. But still the second grand hotel became, “in people’s minds, a symbol of rebellion, of beating the colonisers at their own game and driving them into the sea, and even when it was conclusively established that nothing of the sort had really happened it changed nothing, because a symbol of freedom and victory is more powerful than the facts”.

People will believe what they want to believe. They like their dreams, opinions and prejudices to be reinforced, and will resist facts which upset their equilibrium. Fake news and populist leadership thrive on this basis.

Here in Malta, two different narratives are competing. Is ‘rule of law’ a concern, as recently debated in the European Parliament? Or are we now governed by the ‘law and order movement’, as held by the Prime Minister last week?

The government has even announced that the army will soon patrol streets with the police, to reduce crime. This heavy-handed measure has alarmed people and is uncalled for. But I would welcome a general drive towards law and order. Here in Malta, that is quite a challenge. One reason is that we lack good self-regulation.

Our culture tolerates and almost encourages illegalities and cutting corners. Laws can be broken because the perpetrators reckon that they stand a good chance of getting away with it. If the government wishes to nurture a culture or ‘movement’ of law and order, deploying soldiers to confront criminals and the public in notorious areas is not the solution. Tackle the gangsters by all means, but don’t ignore the cowboys at each corner.

In the environmental sphere, the rot of impunity exists at the core of the system. Just look at the way illegalities are dealt with. In August last year, a new, additional scheme was introduced for property owners to ‘regularise’ illegal development by paying a fine. Environmental organisations warned that this risked sending out the message that abuse will pay off in the long run, and even filed a judicial letter in protest.

Tackle the gangsters by all means, but don’t ignore the cowboys at each corner

The Chamber of Planners complained that the scheme was unfair to those who abided by planning laws, as well as anyone adversely affected by illegalities. It undermines the planning system. The Sliema local council also objected, insisting that instead of condoning illegalities, the government should penalise them as a deterrent.

Yet the government went ahead, and this October it was reported that the scheme had raised nearly €10 million in its first year. The abuses considered for sanctioning range from balconies to building heights, to the construction of entire apartments. These are not relatively minor issues like the exact dimensions of a window or yard. They are significant, and were clearly built in full knowledge that they were not permitted.

Violating planning regulations is illegal. But this scheme allows people to break the law with near impunity. This mentality needs to be counteracted, not encouraged, for a law and order movement to be credible. The scheme does not include illegal developments outside the building zones. But the Planning Authority continues to ‘regularise’ those in other ways. This October a large complex on agricultural land was sanctioned, despite the objections of no less than the Planning Authority chairman, together with the Environment Authority chairman and the Siġġiewi mayor. But they were outnumbered by the rest of the appointees on the planning board. Environmental NGOs also objected, but to no avail.

The Environment Ombudsman has requested that the Environment Authority be given a power of veto on planning decisions with a detrimental effect on the environment. But this has not materialised, environmental concerns are frequently ignored, and piecemeal construction continues unabated in the countryside.

We live in a cynical world. Most of the €10 million raised by the scheme was allocated to the ‘Irrestawra Darek’ grant scheme, dishing out money to maintain or restore properties in urban cores. This means that illegalities are now funding restoration and urban improvement projects. Forget ethics. There was also the so-called ‘high-rise fund’ set up last year, intended to be funneled into arts projects. The arts community were among the more incensed objectors to high-rise. Whatever happened to that fund, by the way?

In this world, it is irrelevant where the money comes from, passports included. People feel content because the economic wheel is turning, but what kind of bizarre motor is this?

Do we have a problem with the rule of law, or is a law and order movement holding the reins? People may believe what they want to believe. But for those who care to look more closely, the facts should always speak for themselves.

petracdingli@gmail.com