Despite legal threat, PKR says more NFC exposes to come

By Shannon Teoh

March 31, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — PKR dismissed today the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFCorp) police report against its leaders, saying it will continue next week its series of allegations of abuse of a RM250 million federal loan by the firm.

Strategic director Rafizi Ramli, who has made the lion’s share of exposes surrounding the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) run by the company belonging to Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family, said in a statement that NFCorp should not hide behind the law.

“This police report will not at all disturb PKR’s plan to continue our series of exposes next week as announced earlier. I want to remind NFCorp not to use legal provisions to scare Malaysians who are becoming more active in revealing abuses by leaders and elites.

“The purpose of the law in any society is to ensure justice and prevent oppression, not to cover up abuses and allow those in the wrong to escape,” he said.

NFCorp had accused Rafizi (picture), PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin and vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar of breaching the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) when disclosing its financial documents to the media early this month.

The cattle-rearing firm said they seriously contravened BAFIA when they “illegally distributed private and confidential bank account documents” at a March 7 press conference and should be charged.

If guilty, they face a jail term of up to three years and a RM3 million fine.

NFCorp also said the bank from which the documents were sourced should also be investigated for allegedly contravening BAFIA by handing confidential information on its customers to unauthorised third parties.

The company pointed out that the documents given to reporters were internal bank printouts of credit ratings and bank balances, not regular statements sent to customers or downloaded via internet banking.

NFCorp hit the headlines last year when the Auditor-General reported that it had missed production targets.

Shahrizat and her family were then accused by the opposition of using public funds earmarked for the NFC to finance over RM62 million of land, property and expenses unrelated to cattle farming.

Shahrizat announced on March 11 she will quit as women, family and community development minister when her senatorship ends on April 8.

However, the former Lembah Pantai MP will continue as Wanita Umno chief despite being dogged for over four-and-a-half months by the NFC scandal.

Her husband and NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Mohamed Salleh Ismail pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here on March 12 to two counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM49.7 million with regard to the purchase of two condominium units.

He also pleaded not guilty to two other charges under the Companies Act.

Rafizi added today he was ready to give full cooperation to investigators and “if there is a charge, I am confident in facing NFCorp in court as the desire of the public to see the abuses in NFC exposed must be respected.”