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Shahrizat’s departure: What sacrifice?

Yap Mun Ching | Mar 14, 2012
Malaysiakini

The announced departure of Women and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil could not have come a moment too soon given the depth and breadth of the Cowgate scandal which has now festered for months.

It brings relief to many who have deplored the slow reaction of enforcement authorities in acting decisively to address the unfolding mess which has focused international spotlight on gross corruption in Malaysia.

In commenting on Shahrizat’s ‘resignation’, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak disappointingly described the action as one of sacrifice in the interest of the government and the party.

Najib had justified his statement on grounds that there is “no proof so far that she had committed any offence in terms of law”.

In the light of the statement by National Feedlot Corporation CEO Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh, Shahrizat’s son, admitting that the company had used funds meant for the development of a cattle business to purchase luxury condominiums, the prime minister, it would seem, has overstepped his attempts at neutrality.

If Shahrizat sacrificed for anything at all, it would be to raise some pertinent questions about the state of governance in Malaysia.

While there has been much focus on how Shahrizat’s family purportedly misused a RM250 million government soft loan, much less attention has been given to how the loan was approved in the first place.

Burning questions

In regulations on corporate governance, it is clearly stipulated that family members of the managers of a public-listed company are prohibited from benefitting from contracts awarded by the company to avoid a conflict of interest.

How can it be then that governance of billions in taxpayers’ money can fail this simple test?

The Australian government’s Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines, for instance, calls for agencies to recognise and deal with any conflicts of interest, including perceived conflicts of interest (emphasis added).

Other burning questions arise.

In awarding the contract, has the Agriculture Ministry, as the ministry responsible, checked the background of the NFC to verify whether it has a proven track record of running a cattle business before awarding it a generous RM250 million loan to develop a national beef industry?

What were the terms and conditions governing the issuance of the loan?

If Wan Shahinur (left) has any ground to stand on (a claim disputed by Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua), how prevalent is this practice of using government loans not for stated national interest purposes but to purchase luxury cars and condominiums?

If a layman can spot these glaring loopholes, what then is the attorney-general doing about it?

Not exactly resigning

Shahrizat’s decision to leave office can also hardly be framed as a resignation.

In fact, the minister will be staying on until the expiry of her term as senator, which means that she will only be leaving and not resigning.

By staying until her term expires, she will still be entitled to any pensions and benefits associated with her.

This brings me to my last point, which is that the decision to have Shahrizat in government was not at all the people’s intention.

The Wanita Umno chief lost her Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat to opposition MP Nurul Izzah Anwar in 2008 and is therefore not an elected representative of the people.

The responsibility for her being in a position that allowed the scandal to take place should be laid squarely on those who made her minister and cabinet member.

This is a lesson to be borne in mind in the next general election.

It is one thing if a qualified professional is appointed through senatorship to high office but it is another to elevate a politician who was once an elected representative and a minister but subsequently rejected by the people.

If a government cannot choose its leaders well, it should at least listen to the people.

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YAP MUN CHING was a former Malaysiakini journalist.

14 Replies to “Shahrizat’s departure: What sacrifice?”

  1. I think Shacicak’s brain power as well as Najib and Moojahatdin have reached its expiry term,that’s why they can’t differentiate one thing leaving the office at the end of the term and the other resigning from it.

  3. Of course she sacrifies for the sake of her party for not blowing her whistle that could bring almost the entire ‘party’ down with her. She merely sticks to the ‘win-win’ formula.

    Now that our PM’s popularity rating is climbing up, lets hope he’ll call for GE13 sooner than later. Either he is kicked out of Putrajaya by PR or kicked out of office by his own warlords, NR is definitely history after GE13.

    Perhaps he knows that hence the delay in dissolving parliament !

  6. “…Najib had justified his statement on grounds that there is “no proof so far that she had committed any offence in terms of law……”

    Hmm? Wonder what the Sharizats discussed around the dinner table every evening when they sit down to dinner together ever since the loan was disbursed? Probably the weather, who is getting married, where and when is their next overseas trip, everything under the sun EXCEPT the NFC. And Najib, Muhyuddin, Pak Lah, Khairy, Mohd Nor, the police, MACC etc wants us to believe that is what happened? In all these time, Sharizat never heard a word of the condo, Putrajaya land and luxury car purchases, never knew her husband and children were making all those overseas trips and never asked, and never asked her children how much their father was paying them? Or they are such corporate high fliers and important politicians they never had a chance to meet all these months at dinner or at home? Kesian!!

    Sheesh!! Don’t insult our intelligence lah!. By continuing to make the claims Sharizat knew nothing and was not involved is trying to ask us to believe the sun rises in the West and that Perkasa is not racist.

    BTW, Perkasa, why so silent on this RM250m scandal paid for from the rakyat’s money? That is, at least 60% (minus the Sharizats) of those rakyats are Malays and since Perkasa is such a great Protector of the Malays why are they not speaking up for the 60% who has also suffered losses? The non Malays won’t mind if you do not speak up for them on this issue but at least you must speak up for the Malays. No?

  7. Cinapek :
    since Perkasa is such a great Protector of the Malays why are they not speaking up for the 60% who has also suffered losses? The non Malays won’t mind if you do not speak up for them on this issue but at least you must speak up for the Malays. No?

    Quite right. This feedlot program would have benefited the Malays, the non-malays as usually would have gotten nothing from this government program.

    So where is Perkasa?

    They should be screaming murder in defense of Malay rights. The Malay population has been cheated by RM250 million.

    Where is Ibrahim Ali?

    Why isn’t he attacking this enemy of the Malay people? Or is it possible that Ibrahim Ali can not speak Malay well enough to debate in Bahasa Melayu?

  9. Majority of Malays are not comfortable at the current situation in the country eg. corruption, wastage, abuse of power, lack of freedom, gross mismanagement and etc..

    But the non Malay parties in BN do not mind……get rid of all of them first, other things will come naturally!

  10. ///In awarding the contract, has the Agriculture Ministry, as the ministry responsible, checked the background of the NFC to verify whether it has a proven track record of running a cattle business before awarding it a generous RM250 million loan to develop a national beef industry?///

    The MACC should investigate the Agriculture Ministry and those who approved the loan.

  11. If not because of the next GE is coming very soon, nobody will see any actions from the BN government. Just look at the PKFZ, this ghost project involved billions of government loans yet nothing happened until after the last GE.

    This cowgate draw many similarities with the PKFZ, the only different was that the sum was much much smaller and it involved the family members of a minister. In PKFZ it involved almost all parties from the BN & gangs.

    They have no learn any lessons as in their believe there are too many scandals and most like no actions will be taken against them. As Shahrizat has commended who is clean in UMNO, it was this mentality that she is so arrogance and refuse to resign. We have to understand if those on top are not clean do you think those below will listen to you by just resigning like that?

    even by not extended her term upon expired they have not forgotten to praise her.

    BN has not learn much since last GE and it was not easy for them to change. The legacy of corruption and abuse of power are just to deep rooted

  12. GEORGETOWN, March 17 (Bernama) — Women, Family and Community Development minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil advised people to not be swayed by emotions when deciding on a party which was eligible to form the country’s next government.

    .
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    But she herself was swayed by emotion when asked to account for her RM250million loan. She spat saliva, rolled up her sleeves and challenged her detractors to a fistfight

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