3 weeks' leave a joke: Suspend Salleh and NFC board, send in the auditors

PKR leaders called on Prime Minister Najib Razak to immediately 'freeze' the operations at the National Feedlot Corp, pending an investigation into corruption claims against executive chairman Salleh Ismail, the husband of Umno minister Shahrizat Jalil.

It has been at least two months since allegations erupted that Salleh and his management team had misappropriated huge chunks of a RM250 million government soft loan granted to the NFC, a national project established to raise beef supply in the country.

The latest PKR revelation on Thursday was an email circulated by Megat NajmuddinMegat Khas, an Umno member on the MACC advisory board who recounted to a select mailing list of mostly Umno members how he was told by the NFC lawyer that Salleh had offered money to a "Datuk Fixit" to bribe police officers not to grill him too hard during interrogation into the graft claims.

"Till now, Najib has done nothing. What is the point of giving Shahrizat 3 weeks' leave but her family still gets complete control of the NFC accounts, books and records. They can do anything to the books. Righftfully, Najib should have straightaway suspended the NFC board and sent in a team of government auditors to protect public funds. But it looks like he is more concerned to play politics," PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli told Malaysia Chronicle.

Infighting and maligning each other

Indeed, Najib's camp has been accused of initiating the attack against Shahrizat, who is aligned to former premier Abdullah Badawi and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. Not only is the Badawi camp tussling with Najib for seats to contest in the coming 13th general election, the NFC fisaco also involved Muhyiddin Yassin, the Deputy Prime Minister who is widely expected to challenge Najib for the Umno presidency later this year.

Hence, the long drawn-out accusations-cum-counter-accusations. At one point, Shahrizat even threatened to expose her colleagues in Umno with a public comment that, 'who in Umno does not have problem' - referring to the party's notorious track record for corruption and abuse of power.

Just weeks ago, Shamsubahrin Ismail who is also known by his nickname of "Datuk Fixit" was arrested and remanded without bail for allegedly trying to influence ongoing investigations by the police.

Cows and condos follow Shahrizat, while APs still dog Rafidah

The NFC project was awarded to Shahrizat's family in 2006. It has been badly managed, with Auditor-General stating in his recently-released 2010 report that the project was now in "a mess".

Instead of investing on satellite farms to breed cattle or in other relevant investments, Shahrizat's husband Salleh was accused of splurging funds to buy 2 luxury condos in Bangsar, one in Singapore, a super-class Mercedes Benz, family holidays and overseas trips, million ringgit discounts and cash transfers to family-controlled firms.

Shahrizat will not be the only Wanita Umno or Women's chief to step down amid a cloud of scandal. Her predecessor Rafidah Aziz failed to retain her Cabinet post despite winning the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat due to widespread discontent over allegations she had favoured her family in the awarding of Authorized Permits to import motor vehicles for sale in Malaysia.

"For sure, Shahrizat no longer harbors any thoughts of a political career. How can she even if Umno allows? Everywhere she goes, the crowds will ask about her cows and her condos? Frankly, there is no place for her to hide her face. All she is fighting for now is some concessions for her family, for example exemption from prosecution, perhaps even some financial tradeoffs. In return, she will surrender peacefully her Cabinet and Wanita Umno positions," said Rafizi.

Malaysia Chronicle