Shahrizat's Gemas 'Beef Valley' debacle: RM250mil not RM73mil

LETTER A RM73.64 million government project in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan linked to Minister Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family to produce 8,000 heads of cattle in 2010 and ultimately 60,000 heads in 2015 has turned into a mess when production was at only 3,289 heads in 2010 that is only 41.1 percent. This was reported by the Auditor-General – as reported in the media.

In parliament Noh Omar who is the Agriculture Minister said that the project is successful because “the total number of cattle brought into the farm between 2008 to 2010 was 8,016”

But, the main purpose of the farm is to produce cows and not to bring in cows from somewhere, feed them and slaughter! When we talk about producing, it involves breeding and everything that goes with it.

The reporting by the media and response by the minister was not entirely correct. The money involved was RM 131 ( not just RM73.64 million) a portion of RM250 million soft loan and thus far RM131 million have been disbursed as confirmed and defended by the Prime Minister.

The facts and figures

The Gemas feedlot is supposed to be the National Feedlot Authority in conjunction with the MoA and the Negeri Sembilan government.

The annual target envisaged by the Ministry of Agriculture is to produce 1.3 million heads in 2010 and not 60,000. It is a comprehensive scheme with the Gemas feedlot centre as the main anchor with 310 satellite feedlot sites all over the country and one private feedlot. This is how the loan was allocated;the Gemas feedlot was given RM80 million and the rest RM40 million.

The Gemas feedlot has to produce (for itself) 60,000 heads annually in 2010 (not 2015) and it has a major role to play in supplying the feeder cows, food, technical assistance, advise and other services for the entire feedlot schemes nationwide including the private one. Now remember, the target was 1.3 million cows believe it or not!

Thus when the main player in Gemas could only produced 3,289 heads for itself in 2010, how can it be able to provide all the feeder cows, food and other services for the rest of the satellite feedlots? The other question that needs to be asked is what happens to the 311 feedlots in the scheme? The next question is what should be done next? Would it be much cheaper to just import the cows? Is the MACC going in?

This is money-wasting scheme as a result of money-making and one more never ending burden the rakyat has to bear. Could it be that the UMNO/BN government thought that the rakyat are cows?

Nawawi Mohamad reads Malaysia Chronicle