Pua laughs off NFC's defence

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua today laughed off the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFC) claim that it has documents to prove that its property investments were above board.

This was because the NFC had yesterday justified its purchase of luxury condominiums in Malaysia and Singapore by relying on a clause in its loan agreement which refers to “landed properties”.

Clause 12.1 of its RM250 million soft loan agreement with the government states that the borrower must “create the necessary charge/assignment over such landed properties in favour of the lender”.

“Surely NFC can’t be arguing that the luxury condominiums they have purchased can be defined in any possible way as’'landed property’.

“Or worse, that they were purchased for cattle-rearing purposes, or would we find new technological wonders on how to farm cattle in high-rise luxury residences?” asked Pua (left).

On a more serious note, Pua said that the loan agreement strictly defines its purposes which are to promote the cattle-farming industry.

Thus, any acquisition of property must be directly related to the industry such as cattle-grazing land, he said.

Legal gobbledygook

On Saturday, Pua had revealed the NFC loan agreement with the federal government and argued that the terms of the contract meant that the funds cannot be used for anything not related to cattle-rearing.

Yesterday, the NFC hit back, arguing that the loan agreement must be read alongside the memorandum and articles of association (MAA) and other related documents on MoF’s terms and conditions for the loan.

NFC argued that the MAA allows the company to use the money for landed properties, which can be liquidated as a short term investment.

Pua argued that the NFC’s explanation in its three-page press statement was “most preposterous” and also a “beautifully written legal gobbledygook”.

“There is absolutely no provision in the loan agreement for the use of the monies to be ‘guided’ by the company’s MAA.  

“The fact that NFC’s MAA may allow the company to set up a casino does not in any ‘legalise’ the use of the loan funds for its set-up,” said Pua.

Pua said that the government’s stake in the company has absolutely no legal effect on the loan agreement.

In his parting shot, Pua said the NFC was running out of ideas and advised them to hire a new legal adviser before issuing statements.