Momentum leader Arnold Cassola has called for specific anti-mafia legislation in Malta, arguing that such a law would strengthen the country’s ability to tackle organised crime rather than imply that Malta itself is a “mafia state”.His comments follow Prime Minister Robert Abela’s declaration in Parliament on Monday that, for as long as he remains Prime Minister, he will not introduce a specific criminal offence for mafia association. Abela argued that doing so would wrongly convey that Malta is a mafia state.Cassola rejected that reasoning, comparing anti-mafia legislation to existing laws targeting terrorism. “Legislation against terrorism does not mean that Malta is a terrorist state,” he said, arguing that specific legislation would instead give the State tools to confront criminal networks, corruption, money laundering and intimidation.Momentum said Malta needs a modern legal framework capable of tackling mafia-type organisations and the links that can develop between organised crime, business and political power.Cassola also pointed to recent comments by Labour Party president Alex Sciberras following the Yorgen Fenech trial. Sciberras told Labour delegates on Sunday that the party could not “pretend that we heard nothing” from testimony heard during the trial, while declining to comment on the verdict itself.Momentum argued that strengthening Malta’s laws and institutions, rather than denying the potential risks posed by organised crime, was the way forward.Do you think Malta should introduce a specific anti-mafia law?•