Why patriotic Malaysians must unite as one and in loud and clear voice demand for a RCI into the RM336.64 million NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal

Four things are clear.

First, that there is something very rotten about the RM336.64 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC)/National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) “cattle condo” scandal – what with a RM250 million soft loan at 2% interest to promote cattle production used to buy two units of luxury condominiums in Kuala Lumpur and another condominium in Singapore, purchase of land in Precinct 10 Putrajaya, close to a million ringgit expenditures on overseas trips and extraordinarily high salaries for the family members of Datuk Seri Shahrizat, Minister for Women, Family and Community Development.

Second, that very high-level personalities are involved whether in the scandal or in the decision-making process resulting in the scandal, and that the personalities who must clear themselves include not only Shahrizat but also the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who was then Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on High Impact Projects which approved the NFC project in 2006, Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was then the Minister for Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries, Datuk Seri Nor Omar, current Minister for Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries, even the former Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah as well as the entire former Cabinet before the 12th General Elections on March 8, 2008.

Third, the initial reactions of the various authorities unanimously trying to avoid touching the NFC/NF Corp scandal with a “barge pole”, although the Auditor-General, Tan Sri Ambrin Buang signed off the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 on 8th July 2011 with copies sent to the various relevant authorities, including the Cabinet – which probably explains the irresponsible inactions for more than six months, the delayed presentation of the Auditor-General’s Report in Parliament on October 25 when it should have been tabled in Parliament more than three weeks earlier on the first day of the Budget Parliament on 3rd October; the initial five-month refusal of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the scandal; the refusal of the Public Accounts Committee Chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid to allow the PAC to conduct immediate and urgent investigations into the scandal although the PAC may cease to exist any time with the imminent dissolution of Parliament for the 13th General Elections and the continued refusal of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister to agree to a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the scandal.

Fourth, latest efforts by various personalities in a “cover up” and to wriggle out of responsibility for the “cattle condo” scandal – whether by using semantics claiming that the Auditor-General had never used the word “mess” in his report (when the facts that have emerged reveal that it was more than a “mess” and was indeed a “terrible mess”) and that the Auditor-General had mixed up the two entities of NFC and NFCorp.

All in all, the building block for a grand conspiracy to cover up the NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal.

Such a conspiracy must not be allowed to succeed, as the NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal has become a symbol of the utter lack of seriousness of the Najib administration to combat corruption and head an accountable and transparent government, making nonsense of all the alphabet soup of GTP, NKRAs, MKRAs, etc as all propaganda with little real meaning.

Even without the RM336.64 million NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal, Malaysia has plunged to the worst ranking of 60th place and lowest score of 4.3 in 17 years in the 2011 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

With the continued obstruction and impediment placed in the way of a no-holds-barred investigation and full public accounting into the NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal, Malaysia can expect an even worse ranking and score in the 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

Patriotic Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation should unite as one to demand in a loud and clear voice for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal. - MP Lim Kit Siang