Najib's alleged Kazakh ties in NFC: Khairy's camp tops list of suspected 'deep throats'

It never rains but it pours. Those, including Prime Minister Najib Razak who just days ago in his blog, had insinuated Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat coalition could not govern because they were too fond of creating 'conspiracies' would do well to spring clean their own habitat before criticizing others. Really, if the latest news leak on the RM250mil NFC financial debacle is anything to go by, Najib should not throw stones when he lives in a glass house.

For months now, it has been clear that the biggest conspiracy currently hogging public attention was started within his own Umno party. For sure, there is more than meets the eye in the 'cows and condo' scandal involving Women's minister Shahrizat Jalil and her family, who have been accused of corruptly spending a government soft loan on personal items including luxury condominiums in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, even expanding into high-end restaurants and a supermarket in the neighboring city state.

Najib's hand in NFC becomes clearer

The latest revelation made by unnamed police sources to the The Malaysian Insider, pointing to the NFC's little-known office in Kazakhstan, may well shed light on why Najib has been reluctant to sack Shahrizat, or at least ask her to step down.

It would also explain why the police had initially insisted there were no 'elements of breach of trust' only to U-turn and propose to the Attorney-General to charge NFC boss and Shahrizat's husband - Salleh Ismail - for CBT. Of course, it also came as no surprise to anyone when the A-G hesitated, taking the blame off the police by shuffling the investigation papers back to them for further details, in a time-worn delaying move.

Kazakhstan first burst into the consciousness of Malaysians when Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor made an official trip there last year. Malaysians were shocked to discover that the first couple took along a huge entourage allegedly including scores of personal guests traveling first class to attend the engagement of their daughter to the nephew of a high-ranking Kazakh leader.

Although the latest NFC scoop did not mention Najib's name, the mere sound of the country Kazakhstan immediately rang alarm bells. It is after all not implausible for Najib to try to link up deals for NFC with Kazakh parties he may be familiar with. The question, of course, is whether there was any impropriety involved, although this is what the commercial crimes police in Malaysia will surely try to avoid figuring out even though the leak allegedly came from them.

Even so, it is inevitable the dirty details will soon come pouring out.

RM1.7mil apartment

Meanwhile, according to the Malaysian Insider report, the police are now probing a RM1.7million apartment used by the NFC as an office in Kazakhstan. Located in the southern city of Almaty, it was bought in September last year, just a few months after the company signed on to help the Kazakh government breed cattle.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked in June 2011 between NFCorp and the Jambyl district of Kazakhstan to raise cattle for export to Malaysia and neighbouring countries.

“We are still trying to get the information from abroad,” a high-ranking source from the police had said on the condition of anonymity.

Khairy's camp behind the leak?

Against the backdrop of the latest questionable asset acquisition by Shahrizat's family that was exposed by PKR leaders a day ago - 9 luxurious shop-lot units worth a whopping RM12mil in Bangsar - the Kazakh office pales by comparison although a thorough probe could possibly open a giant can of worms later on.

But for now, the Kazakh office is certainly stirring up a storm of its own in Umno. All eyes are now on the identity of the 'master mind' behind the source for the news leak. Who was the deep throat?

Many in Umno believe the information came from the camp aligned to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and his father-in-law, the former premier Abdullah Badawi, who were the ones who allegedly picked the Shahrizats to manage NFC, a cattle breeding project aimed to help Malaysia supply up to 40% of its own beef consumption needs.

"Khairy is the first suspect as Najib recently gave the hint he won't be getting any Cabinet post, which in turn dims his chances of retaining the Youth chief post. Khairy might as well also say goodbye to his Rembau seat in such a case. This is very worrying for his faction, which stands to lose all the way down the line. They may be trying to warn Najib not to 'overkill' them or else they too can rake up all his scandals again," an Umno watcher told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Of course, Shahrizat also has a motive but we don't think so because her Senatorship will already expire next month and surely she can be so thick-skinned as not to understand that there is no way Najib can extend it. The other possibility is Muhyiddin, and yes, he is a dark horse too."

Ramming down a cover-up

When Najib was still the deputy prime minister, he had headed the selection committee awarding the Shahrizats the project over 5 other applicants in 2006. Current deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who was then Agriculture minister, endorsed the move and officially awarded the tender.

When PKR leaders first exposed the abuse of power in NFC, an under-pressure Shahrizat had snapped back to reporters 'which Umno leader does not have problems' - a comment that observers said was a threat to expose her Cabinet and party colleagues if they tried to prosecute her family over NFC.

Not surprising then that Najib recently intimated that it was not incumbent on the A-G to press charges despite the police recommendation to prosecute Salleh.

DAP MP for PJ Utara Tony Pua has estimated that at RM100mil of the RM250mil government loan has so far been siphoned out of NFC.

There is now growing fear that the Shahrizat will be let off the hook and the money forever lost to taxpayers, as Umno tries to ram a massive cover-up down the throats of the people.

Malaysia Chronicle