Auditor General: We never said NFC in a mess, but there were weaknesses

Bowing to pressure from hothead rights group Perkasa, Malaysia's Auditor-General said on Wednesday he had never labelled the National Feedlot Corporation as being "in a mess" or "in chaos"; neither did he use the word "misappropriation.

However, the Auditor General Ambrin Bujang, stressed there were weaknesses in areas of implementation of the NFC project.

“The department is of the opinion that if there are any elements of misappropriation in the implementation of the project, it would be up to the authorities such as the police or Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate,” the Star reported Ambrin as saying on Wednesday, breaking his silence after Umno-linked Perkasa created a stir over the weekend.

Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali claimed that during a private with the AG, Ambrin had agreed that the NFC was not "in a mess" but was "in order". He publicly harassed Ambrin to make a public clarification.

Additionally, Ibrahim blamed the RM250 million NFC debacle on a non-Malay whistle-blower, prompting civil society leaders and the Pakatan Rakyat to slam him for "racializing" corruption.

Not in a mess but not fully met

Meanwhile, Ambrin said the National Audit Department had looked at how the NFC fared since it was set up in 2006. Ambrin also said the audit was to evaluate whether the NFC project had been carefully planned, whether its implementation was carried out prudently and had met its objective.

"In the Auditor General's Report 2010, no where did words "in a mess," "in chaos" or "misappropriation" were used. These words were used by other parties and the department should not be held responsible.

He said the audit involved reviews on information obtained from several government agencies such as the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry and Finance Ministry. He said NFC's officials also provided information when the department made a site visit in March last year.

"Audit analysis showed the objective of the National Feedlot Centre project had not been fully met and this is due to various factors as explained in the Auditor General's Report 2010,” he said.

Among them was the centre's production target, which according to an agreement signed in March 2010 was to have 38,600 heads of cattle. This was not achieved because the Entreprenuer Developement Programme involving 130 satelite farm entrepreneurs had not been implemented.

“The department would like to stress that audit into the National Feedlot Centre project was made professionally and independently without prejudice to any parties. Statements questioning the integrity and credibility of the department's auditors is regretted,” Ambrin said.

Deliberate storm in a teacup over NFC and NFCorp

Ambrin also said the audit was never on the company, National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp), to which an RM250million government soft loan had been disbursed.

This point has been used by NFC chief Salleh Ismail, who is also the husband of Umno minister Shahrizat Jalil, to imply that his family was not involved in any wrongdoing as alleged by opposition party PKR.

"At this point several reports have already been lodged and numerous statements have also been given to the police together with NFCorp’s books and documents in the on-going investigations. They are all in the hands of the relevant authorities whose investigations have yet to be concluded," said Izmir.

But NFCorp is a privately held company with the government issued a single preference share in consideration of the loan granted to NFCorp whereas the NFC is a centre that comes under the direct purview of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, according to a statement issued on behalf of NFCorp on Wednesday.

Bid to cover up NFC by playing the race card

Prominent citizens and Pakatan Rakyat leaders said this means that there is all the more reason for the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission to immediately and thoroughly probe NFCorp without fear or favor since the RM250 million soft loan was disbursed to its account.

They asked, how can corruption be extinguished just because the whistle-blowers were non-Malay, as claimed by Ibrahim Ali, or that the Auditor had not alluded to NFC but to NFCorp since its is NFCorp that controls NFC. The point is, question marks still remain on NFCorp's alleged improper purchases of property using public money, they added.

"Race should not come into play. I am appalled that Najib has allowed Ibrahim Ali and gang to come into the picture. Unless and until, Najib issues a strong statement, he cannot expect Malaysians not to believe he was not involved. The best is for Prime Minister Najib Razak to clarify the government's official stand on corruption and to condemn Ibrahim Ali and gang for allegedly trying to intimidate the Auditor-General," Ramon Navaratnam, past chairman of the MACC committee of Prevention and Public Consultation, told Malaysia Chronicle.

All eyes on how Najib and Umno are willing to disgrace themselves

Meanwhile, NFCorp executive director Izmir Salleh said he welcomed the ongoing MACC probe.

"At this point several reports have already been lodged and numerous statements have also been given to the police together with NFCorp’s books and documents in the on-going investigations. They are all in the hands of the relevant authorities whose investigations have yet to be concluded," said Izmir.

Of the RM250 million loan, a huge chunk was alleged spent on two luxury condos in Bangsar, one in Singapor, a super-class Mercedes, million-ringgit discounts and cash transfers made to other firms controlled by Shahrizat's family. There were also expensive overseas holidays, huge paychecks as well as chunky credit charges to NFC.

"Something obviously smells fishy in NFC. Whether it is NFC or NFCorp, let us not lose sight it the public's RM250million that must be tracked down. Let Malaysians see for themselves to what extent Umno and Najib are willing to disgrace themselves by trying to escape the allegations," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Malaysia Chronicle