Shahrizat’s RM250mil Cowgate rip-off just the tip of the iceberg

It’s pointless debating over whether our RM 250 million was used for a “national” cattle feedlot, breeding centre, expensive cars, acquisition of luxury properties or holidays abroad for the whole Shahrizat family, if not their kampung. Even if the RM 250 million was used for the intended purposes, it would still be wrong by any standards.

Still, if Umno minister Shahrizat Jali, husband and family are at fault in this sordid episode, it’s only as willing accomplices of the powers-that-be. Theirs is a lesser crime -- a crime nevertheless -- than that of whomever and/or those who are still walking around scot-free under the Malaysia Boleh theme which “sanctions” a multitude of sins. These are mere mortals but they can act with impunity and get away literally even with murder.

The real culprit or culprits in our Cowgate Scandal are those who stage-managed the release of RM 250 million of public funds for a hare-brained – déjà vu! -- private business venture cooked up by those who wanted to get rich for their generations at public expense in the quickest possible time and with the least effort.

Kerala, Malay nationalism and corruption unlimited

For those unfamiliar with our history, the aim of Malay Nationalism – a concept hatched in the late 1880s by Malayalee Muslims from Kerala, India in Singapore – was based on jealousy of the Chinese in business. Muslim traders from the Indian subcontinent could not cope with the Chinese enterprising and commercial spirit and decided that politics would be a better option to make money.

Now we know where Umno leaders including Shahrizat - who like ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad is of Malay-Indian descent - and others who act with impunity are coming from!

In the case of the Wanita leader, she even had the temerity to roll up her sleeves during the recent Umno Assembly and challenge everyone to dare and stop her, presumably from continuing to put her grubby fat hands in the national cookie jar. Are we supposed to be intimidated by her antics and gimmicks if not outright clowning, put our collective tails between the legs, and flee howling in panic for dear life?

What is done is done! We have to move on. Life has to go on. We cannot continue to bogged down by Shahrizat and the like.

Muhyiddin has the solution?

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin claims that he has the solution to the Cowgate Scandal.

Presumably, this involves nationalizing the National Feedlot Centre and National Feedstock Corporation. No private citizen should be allowed to carry on as if they own what comes across as a Government Linked Corporation. Both outfits should eventually be corporatised and privatized.

Due diligence should show where and how the money trail began, continues and ends.

All those involved in this heinous crime against the people must be made to account for their sins, overt or covert, of omission and commission.

Spare no one, no matter how high their office

As with the Watergate Scandal in the 1970s – the burglary at the Democratic National Convention by Republicans --, no one, no matter how high up the chain of command, should be spared from the long arm of the law. In the case of Watergate, the “shit hitting the ceiling fan” as Richard Nixon agreed and was duly impeached.

Those involved in Cowgate should be asked to return every sen they took from the Public Treasury. Irrespective of whether they are able to reimburse the public funds they stole, they must be taken to court on criminal and civil charges. Reimbursement can be a factor in mitigating for a lesser sentence. Let there be transparency and public accountability in the matter.

The Godfathers in Government behind the NFC must be ferreted out and punished in no uncertain terms for abuse of power, corruption and criminal breach of trust.

Cowgate aside, how many other scandals has Umno swept under the carpet! We can’t wait for someone like the Auditor-General to probe financial misdeeds before the opposition alliance, the NGOs and all concerned citizens bay for the blood of Umno leaders who don’t make a distinction between our money and their money which, in any case, also comes from us.

The Godfathers in Government behind the NFC must be ferreted out and probed for other scandals similar to NFC which are yet to surface in public. This can only be rightly and properly done through a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).

Politics becoming a 'get-rich-quick' family business

Such a commission will discover that the roots of the problem lie in Umno functioning like a holding company made of many little subsidiaries literally “owned” by those who see politics as their family business.

Each subsidiary, like in the case of Shahrizat’s in Lembah Pantai, tries to come up with an ill-disguised scam no less to milk the Public Treasury. It’s an “I scratch your back, you scratch my back” situation where government money and projects go through many hands, all make believing that they are in serious business for themselves.

The Umno subsidiaries, in short, have a Licence to Steal. Entry into the subsidiaries is strictly controlled to keep out “the unwanted” with horrible ideas like demanding a share of the cake or rather “loot”, generally explained as spoils of office”

Shahrizat herself, when cornered on the NFC and NFC, bared her fangs with an ominous warning: there are others who are even more “guilty” than her i.e. in stealing from the Treasury.’ Hence, the decision made within the Umno Supreme Council to bundle her into political oblivion and silence.

Her predecessor as Umno Wanita Chief, Rafidah Aziz, had her own share of scandals when she couldn’t explain the Applied Permits (AP) and shares allotted by her to her son-in-law.

With mothers-in-law like these, who needs friends including girlfriends and/or mistresses? It’s all within the family and circulating among a tight circle.

Malaysia Chronicle