Unable to get the warlords to compromise, Umno decides to whitewash the NFC debacle

Since PKR leaders Rafizi Ramli and Zuraidah 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 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 reappear for the people either!

'Safest' solution

Firstly, the UMNO elite have not been able to resolve the debacle amicably as it has been able to in the past with other 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, Raja Nong Chik - 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 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 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 nothing to be concerned about.

Obviously, Shahrizat - the Wanita chief - too likes the 'whitewash' idea. She had been alarmed when former premier Mahathir Mohamad told her to quit before she was chased out of the party. But Khairy will win her everlasting gratitude for taking her side, trying to take some responsibility off her by clarifying and justifying the alleged wrongdoings. But will the latest plan work?

Salleh and Datuk Fixit

Salleh Ismail, the NFC boss, had tried to keep cool and stay quiet for as long as he could. But when the condos in Bangsar, followed by the one in Singapore registered in the personal names started to splash all over the newspapers, he could keep quiet no more. 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 it was impossible. Salleh is her husband and she is his wife, and sleeping in the same room, 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 - many accused the commission of helping to destroy rather than find evidence. From saying it found no elements of "criminal breach of trust", it then 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 Fixit". Initially, speculation was high 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 Fixit" 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 about RM1.7mil purportedly received from Salleh Ismail so as to get the officers onto his side. Of course, the Datuk will not be a willing scapegoat for nothing. The Shahrizat NFC debacle is so hot, many top people could get burnt easily.

NFCorp to NFCentre: Father giving money to the kids

Unfortunately, the Datuk Fixit was not able to resolve the next PKR exposure on the credit card spending spree by Shahrizat's family amounting to over RM600K in 2009 alone. The Malaysian public went livid when they saw news reports of Shahrizat's twenty-something kids drawing huge 5-figure monthly salaries and were also given huge monthly credit card limits to spend.

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's racism immediately set backs up when he insisted the NFC was "in order" and the whole commotion was due to a disgruntled non-Malay staff who blew the whistle on NFC.

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 NFCorp's booksand not the National Feedlot Centre in Gemas, a 2,000 acre ranch. According to Salleh, this ranch is is managed by the government itself via the Ministry of Agriculture! But of course, this turned out to be inaccurate.

The only government help, apart from extending a most generous RM250 million soft loan - is to providing an abattoir facility. Additionally, Salleh is both involved in the family-owned NFCorp and overlooking the state-owned Gemas NFCentre, which is headed by his son and controlled by his other siblings. Thus Salleh is responsible both for his role under NFCorp and as the head of his family who managed the Gemas NFCentre. NFCorp was given money by the Badawi administration, and the money was in turn given to the NFCentre. In other words, the father gave money to the children to spend as they wished!

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 blinked. 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 off the hook for NFC.

Salleh has shown himself to be incompetent from the start and he should resign and be investigated for negligence and CBT; and for not even knowing the set-up and the organizational structure of the project; and lastly, for letting the debacle occur right under his own nose. No wonder the RM250 million loan is in a mess.

How much is left, how was it spent, how much can be recouped? These are the burning questions but neither Najib nor the Shahrizats are keen to answer. Thus, NFC is turning more and more into a total disaster by the day. The UMNO leader - Muhyiddin Yassin - who awarded the project and appointed Salleh as the NFCorp chairman must also be investigated as to why he allowed an incompetent 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 huge ugly scar that can never be hidden? Even a private auditor appointed by the government to probe into NFC may be suspect, given that its terms and reference of appointment may be skewed to favor certain UMNO parties.

No easy way out - a lesson UMNO can never learn

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

The only way to diffuse the weapon of mass destruction that Khairy, Muhyiddin, Shahrizat, Najib and Nong Chik built is the very way 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 dirty record, it is highly unlikely that it can ever do this. What next then? Whatever it is, it will never work unless UMNO owns up.

Malaysia Chronicle