PKR also claims that the duo had used taxpayers' money meant for NFC to set up private companies in Singapore.
KUALA LUMPUR: PKR today made fresh allegations on the publicly-funded National Feedlot Centre (NFC) – that it paid for a personal umrah trip package for its director Mohd Salleh Ismail and his son Wan Shahinur Azran.
Mohd Salleh is the husband of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil.
PKR also claimed that the two had used taxpayers’ money meant for NFC to set up private companies in Singapore.
The new allegation came as the NFC, tasked to spearhead Malaysia’s food security initiative, is struggling to clear its image from several graft exposé made by PKR leaders.
PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution claimed to have “clear evidence” that NFC had spent RM31,580 to finance the umrah package trip.
He said their evidence pointed to Mohd Salleh’s office which gave the instruction to fund the trip.
“These are private spendings that are not supposed to be financed by public funds,” Saifuddin, the Machang MP, told a press conference at the Parliament lobby here.
On the alleged private companies in Singapore, he urged the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the police to probe into all transactions between the NFC and its subsidiaries, and Global Biofuture Pte Ltd and Meatworks Singapore Pte Ltd.
The two companies – Global Biofuture and Meatworks – also owned by Shahrizat’s family, currently have debts with Real Food Company (RFC), whose majority shareholders are also her husband and sons.
As of June 2010, Saifuddin said, Global Biofuture, a firm in the food and fuel business, owed RFC RM939,495.
Personal companies
In the same period, Meatworks, a luxury restaurant chain, was found to be owing RFC RM2,416,815, he added.
“PKR believes that a sum of money was taken from the RM250 million loan meant for NFC and channelled to these personal companies of Shahrizat’s family, including to set up Global Biofuture,” said Saifuddin.
He said that the evidence given on the matter so far is enough to merit an investigation and urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who has defended the project as a success, to come clean.
The government’s denial, however, has failed to contain the damage from the disclosures and has prompted even Barisan Nasional lawmakers to demand action against Shahrizat and family.
This suggested discontent within the BN’s rank and file who view the scandal as a liability to BN amid preparations for the looming national polls.
Just a few days ago, PAC agreed to conduct an internal hearing on Wednesday.
The NFC first became embroiled in controversy when its operation was criticised in the Auditor-General’s Report for 2010.
The report, released last month, had criticised the RM250 million federally-funded cattle project, pointing out that it was now “in a mess”. It also said production in 2010 was only 3,289 head of cattle or 41.1% of the target set.
The government has been adamant about the project’s success despite the allegations made by Pakatan Rakyat leaders.
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