NFCorp to open supermarket in Singapore

The supermarket in a luxury mall was bought through Farmhouse Supermarket Pte Ltd, another company owned by Sharizat Abdul Jalil's family.

PETALING JAYA: The embattled National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) has ventured into another business. This time it is opening a supermarket in a luxury mall complex in Singapore.

Through Farmhouse Supermarkets Pte Ltd, another company owned by the family of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, it has signed a tenancy agreement for 28 units of shop space at the second floor of luxury mall complex, Star Vista, near Nanyang Technology University (NTU).

This claim comes from PKR’s strategic director, Rafizi Ramli.

The tenancy agreement was signed with contractors CapitalMall and the upscale shopping mall, which is still under construction, is set to open in the third quarter of this year.

Farmhouse Supermarkets is owned by Sharizat’s husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail, and two of the couple’s three children – Wan Shahinur Izran Salleh and Wann Izzana Fatimah Zabedah.

“Since 2011, this company has been actively employing people… it did not even stop when Prime Minister (Najib Tun Razak) announced that NFCorp’s assets will be frozen,” he said, citing an advertisement Farmhouse made for the position of a purchasing manager on Jan 17, this year.

Najib announced on Jan 14 that the NFCorp’s assets will be frozen.

“It is business as usual for them while the people here are boiling with anger,” Rafizi added.

He said that by estimation, Farmhouse will be paying S$900 000 (RM2.2 million) a month in rent for the space which is about 3,000 square metres.

“In the past, NFCorp has justified its expenditures which are spent anyway it deemed fit. What is its explanation for this?” he asked.

Rafizi also said this was one way the RM250 million soft loan was “swindled” into the accounts of subsidiary companies, hence making it difficult to trace any wrongdoings.

The RM250 million loan has been allegedly used for purchases unrelated to cattle breeding, like luxury condominiums, premium land and a luxury car and to fund private overseas trips.

In November, Rafizi claimed that some of these purchases were made through subsidiary companies such as National Meat Livestocks Corporation Sdn Bhd (NMLC).

He reiterated today that although Najib has announced that the company’s assets will be frozen, it will not be effective unless private assets of the directors are frozen as well.

PKR said that stern action must be taken immediately to arrest the abuse of public funds.

It also asked Najib to speak up against the controversy before it revealed information implicating the prime minister.