The Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Seri Noh Omar has denied that the decision to award the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project was discussed during Cabinet meetings.
He said: “I can confirm that NFC is under the High-Impact Projects Committee and at the time of the loan approval to NFC, that was not under the Cabinet, not (mentioned) in the meetings.”
It’s the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the Agriculture Minister in 2006 and who was responsible for the approval of the NFC project, who should answer whether the decision to award the NFC project was discussed during Cabinet meetings as Noh Omar only became Minister after the March 2008 general elections – and whether it gave rise to “conflict-of-interest” situations involving the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and her family responsible for the NFC project.
Muhyiddin should also explain whether he and his Ministry were aware of the involvement of Shahrizat’s family when his Ministry made the NFC award.
As pointed out by the Auditor-General’s Report 2010, approval of the NFC, which the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFCorp) website described as “a High-Impact Project under the Ninth Malaysia Plan….instrumental in attaining the 40% self-sufficiency for beef production by 2010”, was approved way back in 2006.
The NFC has lived up to its reputation as a “high impact project” although in a very perverse manner, not in terms of fulfilling its objective to attain 40% self-sufficiency for beef production by 2010 but in raising the hosts of issues about government efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency and integrity in the past month since the Auditor-General’s 2010 Report focussed spotlight on its operations.
The controversial RM250 million “soft loan” to NFCorp, leading to the highly questionable purchase of two luxury condominiums completely at variance with the objective of NFC, is not the only public expenditure on the NFC project.
From 2007 to 2010, the government had spent RM48.71 million to develop the project. The government has also given a RM13 million launching grant to NFCorp.
This means that the total public outlay in the controversial NFC project exceeded RM300 million.
Two days ago, the NFCorp executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr. Mohamad Salleh Ismail finally broke the 23-day silence of NFCorp but instead of being the last word to end the raging RM300 million NFC scandal, Salleh has opened up a Pandora’s Box raising even more questions waiting to be answered.
For instance, although Salleh claimed that NFCorp started in 2009, in actual fact it was offered to be the NFC Integrator on 27th October 2006 and as stated by the website of Real Food Company (one of the subsidiaries of NFCorp) on the launching of Gemas Gold Meats as Malaysia’s “premium brand of quality meats”
“A range of chilled beef products wholly produced by National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), Gemas Gold Meats has been penetrating into the market since 2008 under the house brand of NFC. This was done while building operations integrity, gain consumer confidence and establish a larger customer base.”
Salleh disputed the Auditor General’s 2010 Report which criticised the NFC as “a mess”, pointing out that it had failed to achieve the 2010 production target of 8,000 head of cattle – with only 3,289 head of cattle or 41.1 per cent of the target set.
It is not surprising that Salleh contested this but what is astonishing is that the NFCorp executive chairman seems to have the support of the Muhyiddin and Noh Omar, with the latter even claiming that the NFC was a “success” despite the strictures of the Auditor-General’s 2010 Report.
Malaysians would like to know from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak whether his slogan of “People First, Performance Now” has real meaning and whether he is on the same wavelength with the majority of people who are shocked by the RM300 million NFC scandal and want the Prime Minister to sternly and unequivocally dissociate himself from the “mess”, whether on government efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency or integrity questions.
By asking Najib whether he associates or dissociates from Muhyiddin/Omar’s support of NFC – that’s a deft political left hook by Kit, a poison pill, either way he wilkl be in trouble! If he does not associate, he’s on collision course with his deputy; if he associates, he will be mired down to defend NFC’s indefensible position and the Govt’s continuing to lend to it instead of recalling the loan.
NFC’s Salleh’s response, indeed, far from mitigating the scandal, worsens it and is ultimately indefensible. In talking about the Condos being good investment for NFC – hence its good use of Govt 2% soft loan to profit its own P&L – he mixes up rebates with income/yields, but whatever, he still entirely misses the issue of how Govt could give a soft loan for that it does not monitor or exercise oversight whether its utilised for the national purpose intended – and how NFC could justify profiting from a loan meant for national cattle project for another condo investment project that apparently gives better yield than cattle! Twisting and turning against what Auditor said does not change the fact that very scaled down production target of 8000 cattle heads per yr means that same number fed, slaughter and sold with proceeds added to NFC’s cash flow – not paying for some imported cows from Australia that are better fed by feedlots there and die halfway to here, with the other half needed to fed again…
///As pointed out by the Auditor-General’s Report 2010, approval of the NFC, which the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFCorp) website described as “a High-Impact Project under the Ninth Malaysia Plan….instrumental in attaining the 40% self-sufficiency for beef production by 2010”, was approved way back in 2006.///–Kit
Did 8,000 heads of cattle account for 40% of beef production in 2010? If what was needed was more than 20,000 heads of cattle in 2010, then the target of 8,000 set by NFC could not meet the 40% target, let alone the actual production of 3,289 in 2010. How then can Minister Nor claimed that the project was a complete success?
The BN government should stop treating taxpayers money as party money.
///Yang Berhormat Datuk Dr Hasan Haji Mohamed Ali,
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We must not forget you were once a Director of BTN, the government-owned propaganda and brainwashing arm that is the cause of much of Malaysia’s racial problems today. In other words, if you were really motivated by Islam, and if your agenda was to serve God, you would have distanced yourself from BTN. How can a man of the cloth be involved in racism and discrimination, the very thing that the Prophet Muhammad forbade in his sermon in Arafah the final year of his life?///RPK, http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/no-holds-barred/45072-open-letter-to-hassan-ali
Whoever served as a director of BTN has no credibility to be a member outside UMNO. We should know the resume of all candidates Pakatan Rakyat put up for the coming GE 13. Clearly, it might be better to lose the seats assigned to ex-BTN officials than to have them cause trouble as Trojan horse.
That’s their ways to protect their boss.
The new Defence Minister is willing to talk about the two submarines corruptions…. and not Najib .
Trace their tactics…one covering up for another.
Moo n Noh were COWed 2 support Salleh/NFC; what’s d BEEF, it’s UmnoB’s DNA using rakyat’s $$ as if their ah Kong’s $$, no need 2 account 4 it 1 lah
Muhiyiddin should resign as well as the entire Cabinet.
Cow dung smells better than this moohidin. why does this country always ends up with NEP retarded ministers? Sometimes you wonder where is their brains. Is it between their legs or between their ears?
Nothing udderly wrong 1 cos dis is d way UmnoB/BN MILK their CASH COWs under d pretence of NEP; dis is d way they keep flogging a dead COW
Husband n wife blatantly milk d system dry n also initiated their suckler calves 2 join in d sucking culture, just like other UmnoB/BN kaki
Mr Moo sure has his hands dirty in the NFC fiasco.But one thing is for sure.The cows will not be coming home until the lady cow’s minister is cooked.
Hairy monkey defended the one menerung 10m apartments by claiming that it was a good investment. Hey joe the funding went through the cabinet for approval and was approved for a specific purpose. How could it ever be used for something else without going back to cabinet for approval. If what moo said was correct ie that once the money goes into private hands they ie sharizat’s husband and children) can do what they want then why the hell cabinet bothered to discuss and approve the funding.