Nationalist Party MP Alex Borg was called out by prominent LGBTIQ+ activists after he put into question the prioritisation of making sex reassignment surgery free of charge. 

In a social media post, Borg said that despite being happy that there are advances in the LGBTIQ+ rights front, he asked why there was no money put into covering the costs for curing fibromyalgia. 

‘I cannot understand how the Prime Minister can tell people who are in constant pain 24/7 due to fibromyalgia and the other conditions it brings that there isn’t enough money!’

Borg said that we need to first help people who are undergoing such pain. ‘These people need some sort of monthly voucher so they can buy medicine and get access to pools and physiotherapists of their choice.’

‘Don’t keep choosing the road of populism but let us go down the road of common sense where all of Malta and Gozo’s population can be satisfied equally!’

The post did not sit down well with both LGBTIQ+ activists as well as Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg. 

MGRM addressed the post by addressing a logical fallacy known as ‘whataboutism’, wherein someone responds to a difficult question by raising a different issue that is completely unrelated. 

‘To us, it only shows that some politicians are out of touch with the electorate on which they depend for their re-election. Or else, they opt to be populists. It is particularly disappointing when new generations of politicians reason like this’ said MGRM.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg said that she was happy to see members of the opposition attending the Pride March, including Alex Borg. ‘However, Pride Week hadn’t finished before their true colours were shown.’ 

‘The assistance given to the LGBTIQ community does not come at a cost to other aid given by the government in other sectors. Your comment only shows one thing – that the PN still has members who do not believe in equality and celebrate pride week for political purposes and not because they believe in the cause.’

Borg responded to these posts, saying he is disappointed to see the parliamentary secretary attempting to deviate from the topic and accuse him of not believing in equality. 

‘I want to clarify that I in no way wanted to suggest that a particular condition should be given priority over another, or worse yet, minimise the suffering of trans and non-binary people.’ 

Acknowledging that the post may have been interpreted wrongly, Borg said that he welcomes the announcement by the government to help trans people. However, he said that he firmly believes that action needs to be taken to allocate more funds for those suffering with conditions like fibromyalgia. 

#MaltaDaily