Najib mulls new overseer for NFC: To be used an excuse to end probe into the Shahrizats?

"Non measures" by Prime Minister Najib Razak to deal with the RM250million NFC corruption scandal involving Women's minister Shahrizat Jalil and her family will only irritate the people more and trigger further loss of public confidence in the government.

"Basically, Najib hasn't done a thing about the NFC at all. The announcement by Noh Omar that they government is considering a fresh tender to replace Shahrizat's family as managers of the NFC project is meaningless without the key questions being answered first. The most crucial is of course, has the RM250 mil government soft loan been recovered and intact," PKR vice president Tia Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Then by openly supporting Shahrizat to stay as the Wanita chief, he is taking Umno, the BN government and the whole of Malaysia back to square one. After all, if she can stay as the head of the Umno women's wing, why not give her family aother national project to run. There is no logic in Najib's decisions. He is simply talking and doing nonsense. The fact is, he needs to weed out corruption and punish it. But he is not doing it."

New manager an excuse to close the probe into the Shahrizats?

Tian was referring to Agriculture minister Noh Omar, who said the government was planning to invite new firms to take over the ailing national cattle breeding project - the National Feedlot Centre - that had been awarded to a private company owned by Shahrizat's husband, Salleh Ismail, and their three children in 2006.

"We are also in the second stage of the process, that is to invite tenders for the project to be continued by any company that is interested,” Noh was reported to have told Parliament on Tuesday.

Indeed, Noh made no mention of the government loan that had been awarded to get the NFC project off the ground. Neither did he furnish any details as to whether the new tender would be an open exercise and if a third-party audit would continue to dig out all the dubious deals once the new firm took over. Would the Najib administration use the transfer to a new manager as cut-off to close the door on further investigation into the wrongdoings by the Shahrizats?

The Shahrizats have been accused of pillaging from the loan through direct siphoning of funds to personal accounts as well as leveraging on the funds to get bank loans to buy luxury condominiums and ever a supermarket lease.

Although Salleh has been charged for criminal breach of trust, and the Umno media has been quick to hint that even Shahrizat's children might be prosecuted, no further action has been taken by the Attorney General.

Silliest excuse given to mask corruption

Instead, Najib made another huge U-turn when he lavished praise on Shahrizat's contribution to Umno and ordered the Women's wing to support her as "not a single" charge has been brought against. Coming from no less than a prime minister, Najib's naive - even silly - statement was condemned and ridiculed all around the coffee shops in the nation.

How can Shahrizat, who enjoys a very close knit relationship with her husband and family, be unaware of what they were up to when they had purchased several condos - 2 in Bangsar and one in Singapore - and were also on the point of opening a huge high-end supermarket - also in Singapore? Would not shee too have partaken in the use and enjoyment of these facilities?

But in Umno fashion, and aided by a compliant press, all efforts were made to paint last week's meeting between Wanita Umno delegates and Najib as a huge success, culminating with Najib and the wing endorsing Shahrizat as the Wanita leader

"That is the same as endorsing corruption. What it tells the rest of the country is that nothing has changed. We can expect Salleh to be let off the hook with the lightest possible sentence. At this point in time, we are not even sure if the Najib administration will dare to order Shahrizat's family to return all the money owed to NFC. Instead what is more certain is that they will be allowed to escape," said Tian.

Rafidah worries but Shahrizat needs the leverage

Even Shahrizat's predecessor Rafidah Aziz is uneasy with Najib's stance, and "worry" about a backlash from the grassroots over the incident.

“I also worry. From the grassroots to the top, they (Wanita Umno leaders) have to go down and explain,” Rafidah, the Kuala Kangsar MP, told the press.

Together with Wanita deputy chief, Kamilia Ibrahim, she has been vocal about Shahrizat stepping down immediately so as not to tarnish Umno in the 13th general election, which Najib is expected to call this year.

“It is up to her (Shahrizat) to think. Withdrawing from the party is not a new thing, it has happened in the past,” said Rafidah.

Shahrizat is due to step down as Women's minister on April 8 when her Senatorship expires. Many Umno members want her to also give up the Wanita chief's post at the same time. Shahrizat has been steadfast in denying all knowledge of her family's alleged corruption and on this basis clings on to her party post.

However, political watchers say Shahrizat needs to hold onto the Wanita chief's post as leverage or bargaining power for her family. As long as she remains the Wanita chief, she has better bargaining power with Najib over the fate of her husband and 3 children.

Also, in Umno circles, many have pointed out that the most recent leak from the NFC pertained to its purchase of a RM1.7 million luxury apartment in Kazakhstan, prompting speculation it was a wedding gift to Najib's daughter who married into a powerful political family there. If true, it would confirm Najib too had a hand in the NFC abuses and this could explain why he has chosen to throw his support behind her, despite the obvious risk of alienating voters and his own Umno members.

Malaysia Chronicle