'Agama, bangsa dan negara': But aren't the Shahrizats siphoning Malaysians' money to Singapore?

The situation is looking pretty critical at the National Feedlot Centre, which has been shrouded in controversy over the past few months. With Prime Minister Najib Razak reluctant to act, a RM250million government soft loan may soon become irrecoverable if the overseas assets of its directors are not immediately frozen, warns DAP leader Tony Pua.

Additionally, not only is the question of corruption looming large but the loyalty of ruling party Umno, whose top leaders awarded the cattle breeding project to the family of its Women's chief Shahrizat Jalil, has come under serious question.

"Agama, bangsa dan negara' - religion, race and nation - the clarion cry and three sacred cows of the Malay nationalist party rang hollow after Tony, the DAP MP for PJ Utara, alleged that one of Shahrizat's children entrusted to manage the national project may be siphoning money derived from a RM250 million Malaysian government soft loan to Singapore.

The project, which aims to supply 40% of Malaysia's beef consumption needs and provide the ordinary folk with affordable meat, was awarded to the family in 2006.

Money laundering

According to Tony, Shahrizat's son and one of the NFC directors Wan Shahinur Izran Mohamad Salleh sold a food and beverage company, allegedly set up in the island republic using funds meant for the cattle-rearing firm.

Izran’s actions are tantamount money-laundering, warned Tony, urging the police to freeze the overseas assets of the NFC pending an investigation to ensure public funds can be recovered.

“This proves that the NFCorp director is either disposing of or hiding his assets in Singapore. We call upon the police to not only investigate the disposal of assets in Singapore but also discover how much of NFCorp loan funds have been transferred to Straits Beverages before it was ‘sold’ to other parties for sums unknown,” Tony told a press conference on Friday.

Tainted Najib unable to move

Despite the growing mountain of evidence against the Shahrizats, who have denied abusing their power and despite police recommendations to charge Shahrizat's husband, Salleh Ismail, for criminal breach of trust, Najib who is also the Umno president, has refused to take action.

But then Najib himself faces being exposed for similarly abusing power and corruptly using the people's money for personal purposes. Another opposition party, the PKR, is due to reveal his alleged misdeeds at a separate press conference this evening.

Pundits say this may be the reason why Najib has tried to defend Shahrizat, as she has previously warned that other Umno leaders too had 'problems', a remark that was taken to imply that she would not hesitate to blow the whistle on them, including Najib, if they prosecuted her family.

Meanwhile, according to Tony, the Singapore company set up by the Shahrizats, Straits Beverages Pte Ltd, was incorporated in March 2010 with Izran as the sole shareholder. It was sold to a British Virgin Islands company, Gold Index International Ltd, after he stepped down as director on December 2, 2011.

Izran, his two siblings and dad are also directors in NFCorp, the family-owned company overseeing the NFC project. According to Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, two Singaporeans, Alphonsus Wee and Amir Mulyani Mohamed Solay, were then appointed as Straits Beverages directors.

Keeping the money in FDs

Apart from the sale of this firm, the Shahrizats were also accused of using the NFC government soft loan placed in fixed deposits at two large banks to secure personal loans to buy luxury condominiums and even set up a costly supermarket in Singapore.

"It is telling that instead of using the RM250 million to beef up and expand NFC, the Shahrizats left most of the funds in idle FDs. This way the FDs can also be used to secure other loans. If this is what really happened, it may be good for the Shahrizats, but of course, it won't be good for NFC," PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli told Malaysia Chronicle.

Indeed, the Auditor-General had pointed out in its 2010 report that NFC had fundamental management weaknesses and that it was was also far behind in meeting its beef production targets.

Classic case of how the elite siphon money out of the country

The NFC has also been described as a classic case of how money was being channeled out of Malaysia by the corrupt ruling elite. Since 2000, more RM1 trillion in illicit outflows have disappeared from national coffers, according to the Global Financial Integrity, a renowned New York-based transparency body.

Yet, despite GFI's offers to help the Najib administration uncover the illicit trails, it is perhaps not surprising that the Malaysian leader has snubbed the offer. To do so may reveal the extent of Umno corruption in the country, which could well include his own.

Malaysia Chronicle