GEORGE TOWN: Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Salahuddin Ayub today admitted to having written to the prime minister recommending that a RM1.4 billion padi farming tender be given to the National Farmers Organisation (Nafas).
On the sidelines of an event here, he said there was nothing wrong in writing a letter of support to Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the tender had yet to be decided.
Salahuddin said, ultimately, it would benefit the 920,000 members of Nafas and not enrich him, as some quarters are claiming.
“Yes, I wrote to the PM because it is my responsibility. It (the tender) is not finalised. Anyone can see me when the tender is open; people can participate.
“So long as it is not finalised, then it is ok. Once the tender decision is finalised, and the ‘surat sedia terima’ (SST) is given to the winning bid, then I will be wrong (to interfere).
“Actually, those making these claims know what I am talking about. They are simply making an issue in Parliament,” he said.
Salahuddin said Nafas was not a private company or contractor but a body governed by his ministry.
“Nafas had taken part in the open tender. Mind you, as a minister, I have no involvement in all matters related to tenders.”
He also denied that an earlier tender was also cancelled to give way to Nafas, demanding proof that this was so.
Salahuddin also decried the “scandal” label given by MCA president and Air Hitam MP Wee Ka Siong over this matter.
He reminded Wee that this issue was not such a huge scandal like the 1MDB.
“Alamak, to say that we have a RM1.4 billion ‘scandal’ is ridiculous. If that is the case, then my wife would have ‘wow’ branded handbags, and cash would be discovered in my possession.
“So let me ask all, what is a scandal, really? A good example of a scandal is 1MDB. A scandal is when money flowed into my account, my wife’s account, my deputy’s account and so on.
“But if Nafas gets this deal, it will go into an association managed governed directly by the ministry, for the welfare of farmers nationwide.”
When asked over Wee’s claims that money from the Nafas deal was used to fund campaigns during the recently-concluded Tanjung Piai by-election, Salahuddin denied the claim. “I ask Wee to prove his claims.”
Earlier, Salahuddin opened Fisheries Department’s 125th-anniversary celebration at the Fisheries Research Institute in Batu Maung here.
Yesterday, Salahuddin’s deputy, Sim Tze Tzin, said he and the minister did not interfere in the awarding of contracts to any party.
He rejected the allegation by Wee, made during the debate on the Supply Bill 2020, that three contracts connected to the padi project had been cancelled because the minister allegedly wanted to award the project to Nafas.
Sim said the tenders in connection with this project were still being validated by the finance ministry.
He explained that in accordance with procedure, after a tender is approved at the ministry level, it needs to be validated by the finance ministry, after which the minister would issue a letter of acceptance to the successful tenderer.
According to a finance ministry circular dated June 29, 2018, any tender exceeding RM50 million in value requires the ministry’s validation, Sim added.
Wee had claimed that a minister had made a request to the prime minister, in a letter dated Nov 7, 2019, for Nafas to be appointed for the project for a period of three years, from 2020 to 2022. - FMT
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