‘Why not ask Muhyiddin about NFC affair?’
He was the minister when NFC was set up, says JMM president
THE now-PPBM president was the agriculture minister when the National Feedlot Corporation was formed, says an NGO chief.
ANY clarification of issues involving National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) should be sought from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the agriculture and agro-based industry minister when the company was set up in 2006.
On the heels of apparent attempts by opposition parties and several portals to revive the purported “scandal” in NFC, Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) president Datuk Azwanddin Hamzah said Muhyiddin would have inside knowledge of the matter.
Azwanddin said the opposition, including DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, had once called for Muhyiddin to be hauled up before the Public Accounts Committee to divulge the problems experienced by NFC.
Muhyiddin is now Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) president and Pakatan Harapan protem deputy president.
“There is no need to go here and there finding answers to any question concerning NFC. Muhyiddin is in their camp now. I am sure they can just meet him to throw some queries.
“He was the minister who allegedly approved setting up of NFC after all, or so the opposition had claimed. I believe Muhyiddin is just a call away,”Azwanddin told the New Straits Times yesterday.
Lim in a blog post dated Nov 21, 2011 had claimed Muhyiddin should bear responsibility for the NFC.
He had also questioned why the project’s objective, which was on cattle production to boost the nation’s beef self-sufficiency, could end up going so wrong.
In his posting, the opposition veteran had also alleged that NFC not only failed to meet its target, the RM250 million two per centinterest soft loan had been diverted to buy two luxury condominiums in Bangsar and also for other dubious transactions, as exposed by PKR secretarygeneral and member of parliament Saifuddin Nasution and PKR chief of strategy Rafizi Ramli.
Lim also said in his posting that Muhyiddin should have explained the NFC scandal, as to why there was a lack of government scrutiny, supervision and monitoring of the project, in particular, of the RM250 million soft loan.
He said this allowed a gross breach of trust and abuse of public funds to take place.
NFC is a private company owned by Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd, with participation from the government.
Lim was following up on Rafizi’s allegations of criminal breaches of trust (CBT) committed in NFC through purchases of luxury condominium units.
In November 2015, after a series of probes and exhaustive court proceedings, NFC executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail was finally acquitted of four CBT charges involving RM49.7 million.
About a year later, Rafizi was ordered by the Kuala Lumpur High Court here to pay Salleh and NFC RM200,000 in damages over a defamatory statement in relation to a loan to buy KL Eco City property.
Last Wednesday, Rafizi was sentenced to 30 months’ jail by the Sessions Court for illegally exposing the bank account details related to NFC and Salleh.