Opposition MP Marlene Farrugia, who on Monday called Parliamentary Secretary Clint Camilleri a “ġbejna", refused to alter her choice of words when instructed to do so by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Opening Tuesday’s plenary session of the House of Representatives, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia presented a ruling on the “unparliamentary language” used by Dr Farrugia.
The Speaker explained his decision, arguing that the verbiage in question was neither “in good temper” nor “in moderation,” and thus could not be considered jovial or good-natured. Furthermore, Dr Farrugia’s choice of words fostered disorder in the Committee room.
Ruling that Dr Farrugia acted improperly, the Speaker instructed her to rescind the word in question and, if she so wished, to replace it with another, more parliamentary description.
However, Dr Farrugia said that the word in question was “the best word to describe him given the situation,” adding that it was not in itself a rude word.
The Speaker said that he would consider her actions and decide which steps were to be taken, refusing to entertain her attempts to explain her vocabulary but informing her that she was free to contest the ruling if she so desired.
Environment and Development Planning Committee chairman Alex Muscat also took issue with the ruling, pointing out that it focused on the word ‘ġbejna’ when more serious insults were directed at Mr Camilleri following the initial outburst. The Speaker informed Mr Muscat that his ruling took into consideration the entire transcript of the exchange in question.
A further hubbub ensued when Government MP Rosianne Cutajar described Opposition Leader Adrian Delia’s proposal to offer young adults free public transport - a proposal which the government insists has been implemented since the 2017 budget - as a “froġa” (omelette).
The Opposition insisted that Ms Cutajar’s words should be judged according to the same measure as Dr Farrugia’s had been, but Ms Cutajar withdrew the assertion when prompted to do so by the Speaker.