It’s our money

R. Nadeswaran
The Sun
12 February 2012

HAVING followed the issue of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) from afar and having had access to both sides of the divide in the past, it makes an interesting change to look at it up close from a local perspective and feel the pulse of the ordinary citizen.

Even if resolved, this issue is not going to go away and die a natural death as it involves people’s money. It has been argued that it is a misuse of public funds and that every sen must be accounted for and spent prudently. But NFCorp CEO Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh does not think so and came out with guns blazing last week claiming otherwise.

Short of saying that “it is our money, we can do what we want with it”, he declared: “On the note of investing in short-term investments, NFC retains the prerogative to invest the funds in the best interests of the company.”

Wan Shahinur charged: “The idea of NFCorp’s loan money being equated to public funds by hardline critics is a political play intended to deceive the public.”

This writer is not a politician and believes in honesty and integrity. Neither am I a hardline critic but an ardent campaigner for transparency and accountability and practise them to the hilt. However one looks at it, ultimately, it is the people’s money – hard-earned money from taxpayers who keep the administration and business machinery ticking, working hard, sometimes at odd hours and under adverse conditions.

It would be foolhardy to draw a line between “government money” and “people’s money”. Whatever money the government gives out in loans, subsidies or outright gifts, comes from the people. Let us agree on that.
In a statement issued by his public relations agency, Wan Shahinur unwittingly let the cat out of the bag. He said: “The loan agreement does not stipulate any express prohibitions on investments.”

So this begs the question as to why no conditions or restrictions were placed by the government. Surely RM250 million is not someone’s weekend rojak money or loose change after a day’s shopping. Do loans from the government come with a carte blanche on spending?

But reading and re-reading Wan Shahinur’s 600-word repartee to critics, one can only ask: “Even if there are no covenants to the loan, would it be morally right to use the money for personal investment rather than the company’s?”

From what has been reported in the media, the luxury condominiums are either in his name or in the name of his siblings. If it was an “investment” of the company, shouldn’t the properties have been bought and retained in the name of NFCorp?

So, is Wan Shahinur telling us that he and his siblings were given loans from “that” loan from the government to buy property? Are we to assume that the M & A of NFCorp allows for loans to be given to directors and shareholders? Are we to assume that a resolution to this effect was made before the purchase of the condominium units?

Even if all the legal requirements had been met, the morality of the whole case comes into question. If people’s money is advanced as a loan to help the country’s dependence on imports, would it be ethically right to use that money for something else?

On Jan 17, I wrote: “This problem will not go away with terse and selective statements. There’s a Tamil proverb which says that you cannot hide a whole pumpkin in a plate of rice, which is exactly what NFCorp is trying to do.

“Once and for all, put all the cards on the table, come clean and put up your hands if you have done wrong. Only then will the whole nation believe anything that comes from NFC itself or through consultants and counsellors.”

This position has not changed – neither mine nor that of journalistic colleagues or millions of ordinary people. If there’s nothing to hide, why don’t you face the media instead of hiding behind releases full of jargon which explain nothing or perhaps, little at the most?

R. Nadeswaran takes over from where he left off with a timely reminder that government money is the people’s money. He can be reached at: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com