http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/nfc-a-case-of-greed-corruption-and-sh\
eer-financial-imbecility/

NFC: A Case of Greed, Corruption and Sheer Financial Imbecility
January 26, 2012

NFC: A Case of Greed, Corruption and Sheer Financial Imbecility
by Nawawi Mohamad, Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Since PKR leaders Rafizi Ramli and Zuraida Kamaruddin blew the lid off the
RM250mil NFC debacle with their well-timed series of expose' and revelations
of greed, corruption and sheer financial imbecility, the scandal has morphed
from being a mess into a quagmire for UMNO.

Make no mistake, the UMNO elite are watching this case a very wary eye
because NFC is also the gateway to UMNO's Pandora box. If not careful, it
can provide arch rival Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Rakyat coalition with a
political weapon of mass destruction for the 13th general election.

But scream and shout it may, UMNO has no one to blame but itself, its own
greed and its own infighting for this very critical situation. What a
blunder of fireworks for a grand finale of destruction for UMNO!

Even Houdini or David Copperfield could never make NFC and the spectre of
the Shahrizat clan, their cows, condos and Super-class Mercedes Benz
disappear from the people's minds! Sad to say, the two magicians could never
make the whole RM250mil government soft loan reappear for the people either!

'Safest' solution

Firstly, the UMNO elite have not been able to resolve the debacle amicably
as they have been able to with past cases. Why? Two main reasons - the 13th
general election and UMNO's own internal polls later this year. Yes, instead
of compromising and helping to cover up for each other, different factions
are using the NFC debacle as leverage to defeat each other.

The 'final' decision - for now that is - is to whitewash the debacle. In
other words, let Shahrizat and family squirm away, while Raja Nong Chik
(right)- blamed for instigating the scandal because he allegedly coveted
Shahrizat's Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat - may have to wait a while more
to get his wish. This is deemed the 'safest' solution - again, for now that
is!

The whitewash ordered by the UMNO elite is actually what Youth Chief Khairy
Jamaluddin had initially planned - which is to deny all wrongdoing and to
distance themselves from the debacle. Of course, they would lose credibility
and the confidence of everyone. But for the disgraceful UMNO, this is not,
and will not be the last time.

So regardless of how flimsy is the explanation, how obvious the lies they
produce, Khairy and the NFC other stars including Prime Minister Najib
Razak, DPM Muhyiddin Yassin, Agriculture Minister Noh Omar will just brazen
it out - like the Shahrizats. Anyone who asks will be told that everything
is alright and there is nothing to be concerned about.

Obviously, Shahrizat - the Wanita chief - too likes the 'whitewash' option.
She had been alarmed when former premier Mahathir Mohamad told her to quit
before she was chased out of the party. But of course, Khairy will win her
everlasting gratitude for taking her side and trying to clarify and justify
the alleged wrongdoings. Even so, will the latest plan work?

Salleh and Datuk Fix-it

Salleh Ismail, the NFC boss, had tried to keep cool and stay quiet for as
long as he could. But when the luxury condos in Bangsar, followed by another
one in Singapore - which worse still was registered to their personal
names - started to splash all over the newspapers, he could not keep quiet
anymore.

Shahrizat too tried to disassociate herself totally from the debacle, saying
NFC was her family's concern and nothing to do with her. But to no avail
because even her own UMNO women said that would be impossible. Salleh is her
husband and she is his wife, and there is bound to be lots of pillow talk
shared between the two - like any normal couple.

Then the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission raided the NFC offices, a tad
too dramatically, prompting many to accuse the commission of helping to
destroy rather than find evidence. As for the police, from initially saying
it found no elements of "criminal breach of trust", the cops U-turned and
suddenly found there could be some basis for the Attorney General to
prosecute after all.

The next Jack-in-Box to pop out was the unfortunate "Datuk Fix-it".
Initially, speculation was rife that Salleh had been arrested but it turned
out to be another real 'Datuk', someone who mingles well with the
high-and-mighty and does their dirty work for them. This "Datuk Fix-it"
could be most fortunate if he plays his cards right.

In the NFC case, he was detained for trying to bribe several Police
investigators, offering some RM1.7mil purportedly received from Salleh so as
to get the officers onto his side. Of course, the Datuk Fix-it will not be a
willing scapegoat for nothing. The Shahrizat-NFC debacle is so hot, many top
people could get burnt easily.

RM250million went into NFCorp: How was the money spent?

Unfortunately, Datuk Fix-it was not able to resolve the next PKR bombshell
on the credit cards spending binge by the Shahrizats, which amounted to some
RM600,000 in 2009 alone. The Malaysian public went livid when they saw the
news reports of Shahrizat's twenty-something-year-old kids drawing huge
5-figure salaries and who were also given similar-sized monthly credit card
limits to utilize.

Shahrizat had no choice to to take 3-weeks leave. But instead of cooling
off, she roped in PERKASA chief Ibrahim Ali and several Malay NGOs to help
defend her and win the sympathy of the Malays. Ibrahim Ali's trademark
racism immediately ruffled feathers when he insisted NFC was "in order" and
the whole commotion was due to a disgruntled non-Malay staff who blew the
whistle on the project.

Then in true UMNO prime-time drama style, Salleh dutifully telephoned home
from Mecca, insisting that it was all a mistake! To Salleh, the
Auditor-General audited only the books of the government-owned National
Feedlot Centre in Gemas, which is a 2,000 acre ranch and not NFCorp, which
is his family-controlled firm that was awarded the job of overseeing the NFC
project. According to Salleh, the ranch is is managed by the government
itself via the Ministry of Agriculture! But of course, this turned out to be
inaccurate.

Apart from extending a most generous RM250 million soft loan, the only
government help seen at the NFC in Gemas was the abattoir facility it
provided. Additionally, Salleh is involved in both NFCorp and overseeing the
state-owned NFC, which is headed by his son and controlled by two other
siblings.

NFCorp was also granted a loan by the Badawi administration to run the NFC.
So to simply point out the difference in NFCorp and NFC makes no sense at
all. Whatever it is, public money in the form of the government loan may
have been improperly used, and this must be investigated thoroughly without
fear or favor.

Burning questions

Left with no other option, UMNO is now splitting hairs. Like Houdini and
Copperfield, they have to yell 'KAZAM' to deflect public attention. But
sorry to say, no one is blinking.

UMNO is now worse off than before. Its leaders, from Najib to Muhyiddin, to
Mahathir to Khairy, are seen as crooks willing to condone corruption,
willing even to 'racialize' corruption just to get UMNO off the NFC hook.

Salleh has shown himself to be incompetent from the start and he should
resign to make way for a probe for negligence and CBT; for not being alert
about the set-up and organizational structure of a project entrusted to him
to manage; and lastly, for letting the debacle occur right under his own
nose. No wonder the RM250 million loan is in a mess, with huge chunks spent
on non-cattle related items.

How much is left, how was it spent, how much can be recouped? These are the
burning questions but neither Najib nor the Shahrizats will be keen to
provide the answers. It looks like NFC is turning more and more into a total
disaster by the day. UMNO deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin who awarded the
project to Salleh's NFCorp must also be investigated as to why he selected
such an inexperienced person to manage a RM250 million fund.

But the most important questions to ask are why is UMNO taking so long to
solve the debacle; why is UMNO working so hard to distance itself from the
fallout; and why is it trying to white wash the debacle even though it must
know that such a move will leave a huge and ugly scar that can never heal or
be hidden?

Even if a private auditor is appointed by the government to probe into NFC,
the people will be suspicious, given that the terms and reference of the
audit may be skewed to favor certain UMNO parties.

No easy way out - a lesson UMNO can never learn

Be that as it may, the most likely reason for the whitewash is that UMNO
does not really have a solution to this debacle.There are just too many
inter-connections and to severe some of these may create repercussions that
could rock the elite. Yet, by trying to insist everything is fine is
equivalent to leaving a time bomb behind and waiting for it to explode,
taking UMNO down with it.

The only way to diffuse the political weapon of mass destruction that
Khairy, Muhyiddin, Shahrizat, Najib and Nong Chik have built is actually to
go in the direction that they are now turning away from.

To save UMNO, corruption must be punished and the perpetrators not allowed
to escape. But given UMNO's record, it is highly unlikely that it can ever
bring itself to do this. What next then? Put it this way, whatever new
shenanigan UMNO decides on, it will never work unless UMNO owns up.

Malaysia Chronicle
____

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/malaysia/article/nfcorp-rubbishes-abuse\
-claims-says-loan-must-be-repaid/

NFCorp rubbishes abuse claims, says loan must be repaid
By Shannon Teoh January 27, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 - The National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) rubbished
today claims it misappropriated public funds, stating that its RM250 million
government loan must be repaid else "we will be declared bankrupt or locked
up in jail".

Executive director Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh said at a briefing organised by
a group calling themselves the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs that "stories
saying we are getting free money are unreasonable."

"RM250 million is a big amount. If we play around without direction, my
children's future will be destroyed. For centuries, we will be saddled with
debt," he said, looking uncomfortable in front of attendees and reporters
who had waited for two hours for him to arrive.

"The loan agreement has been signed. If we don't pay back, we will be
declared bankrupt or locked up in jail. We will pay every sen plus interest.
The question of misappropriation does not arise," Izmir, who is Datuk Seri
Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's son, said.

After speaking for just 20 minutes, Izmir refused to field questions from
reporters.

"I am sorry I cannot address the media today. I only came to explain matters
to the NGOs," he said before leaving in his SUV.

NFCorp, which is owned by Shahrizat's family, had its assets frozen recently
to facilitate investigations by police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) into allegations of breach of trust in the national cattle
farming project.

This came after a series of exposés by PKR, which claimed at least RM27
million was used for land, property and expenses unrelated to cattle farming
by Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat and her family.

The women, family and community development minister has since sued PKR's
strategic director Rafizi Ramli and Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin over the
claims.

Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also rejected
calls from the opposition for a royal commission of inquiry into the scandal
by saying the police and MACC were capable of handling the matter.

The RM250 million federally-funded cattle-farming project was first coined a
"mess" in an article in a local daily after it made it into the pages of the
A-G's 2010 Report.

The term was later repeatedly reused by various media organisations to
describe the NFC after PKR launched a series of exposés to show the project's
funds were being abused.

NFCorp, which was awarded the project in 2006, had thanked Auditor-General
Tan Sri Ambrin Buang yesterday for clarifying that he had not called the
company a "mess" in his 2010 report, saying the explanation would help
strengthen public perception of its operations.

The company said the Auditor-General's statement on Friday would help put to
rest months of "tireless bashing from hardline critics" against NFCorp,
which operates the scandal-ridden National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project.

Shahrizat returns to ministerial duties on February 6 after taking three
weeks' leave to allow authorities to complete their probes.
____

NFC Project Not A Failure
http://www.malaysianmirror.com/media-buzz-detail/6-nation/56390-nfc-project-not-\
a-failure

Penjelasan Noh Omar Tersekat?
http://bm.harakahdaily.net/index.php/terbaik-dari-blog/7780-penjelasan-noh-omar-\
tersekat

Unable to get the warlords to compromise, Umno decides to whitewash the NFC
debacle
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=26956:una\
ble-to-get-the-warlords-to-compromise-umno-decides-to-whitewash-the-nfc-debacle&\
Itemid=2
____

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/27/nation/20120127210832&sec=n\
ation

No loss of benefits after listing, Najib tells Felda settlers
Friday January 27, 2012 MYT 8:56:00 PM

KANGAR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has reiterated that Felda
settlers will enjoy the same benefits they have today after the listing of
Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) Sdn Bhd this April.

He said these included the yearly bonuses, aid for housing maintenance and
also duit raya.

"I can assure you that we will still give settlers all the benefits and
maybe after the listing they will get more duit raya.

"This is the promise that the Barisan Nasional government made which we will
honour," he said when meeting Felda settlers at Felda Chuping, near here.

Najib said there were efforts by certain quarters to influence the settlers
to go against the listing by creating stories including that the listing
would cause Felda to go bankrupt.

He said the stories were created to make the settlers lose their trust in
the Government.

"If they fail to influence people by the stories, they hope that it will
confuse the people. I will never betray what my father (the late Tun Abdul
Razak) fought for," he said.

Najib said the listing of FGVH was to make it an international company so
that it could compete at the global level and generate more profits.

"If we want to do business we cannot depend on others, we have to outsmart
them and learn how to make more profits," he said.
____

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/39239-felda-has-strategy-for-rm15bil-annual-\
turnover-post-listing.html

Felda Has Strategy for RM1.5bil Annual Turnover Post-Listing
Friday, 27 January 2012 10:05

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 JANUARY, 2012: Felda has outlined various strategies
to obtain an annual turnover of RM1.5 billion after the listing of its
subsidiary, Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH), in Bursa Malaysia by
June, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Ahmad
Maslan.

Refuting claims by several quarters that Felda would experience a
deficit if it floats FGVH, Ahmad stressed that this would not happen but
Felda would instead get revenue when the strategies are implemented.

"Prior to the listing, we have studied the mechanisms to ensure that
Felda will make money," he told a news conference before attending the
'Wacana Minda Angkatan Prihatin Terengganu' discourse, here today.

Ahmad said among the methods considered included leasing land to FGVH,
described as beneficial to both Felda and FGVH.

"Besides that, Felda will also profit big from the floating whereby
the returns, when invested each year will yield almost half a billion
ringgit," he said, adding that Felda's existing investments will also help
in attaining the (RM1.5 billion annual turnover) target.

National Felda Settlers' Children's Association (ANAK) economist Dr
Rosli Yaacop was recently reported as saying that Felda would incur a
deficit of between RM1.2 billion and RM1.5 billion annually with the listing
of the FGVH. - Bernama
____

Felda Will Face RM1.5mil Deficit by Listing, Says ANAK
http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/38-health/39206-felda-will-face-rm15mil-defi\
cit-by-listing-says-anak.html

Felda will face RM1.5bil deficit, warns NGO
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/187526