MACC clears Shahrizat of NFC contract, loan award

Former women and family development minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has been cleared of having had a hand in awarding the multi-million ringgit National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) project to her family members.

"We found that Shahrizat was not involved in the process - in awarding the project to the company and the RM250 million loan," Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) operations review panel chief Hadenan Abdul Jalil said today.

The NFC has been accused of mismanaging the loan.

Shahrizat’s husband Mohamed Salleh Ismail is the company’s chairperson with her children its directors.

Speaking on the matter briefly, Hadenan said the panel has decided to wrap up the matter.

Shahrizat relinquished her ministerial post on the expiry of her senatorship on April 8, but decided to continue as the Wanita Umno head and Wanita Barisan Nasional (BN) head.

She has repeatedly claimed she had nothing to do with the controversies surrounding the company and its management of the loans.

The project, meant to reduce Malaysia’s dependence on beef imports, received a negative assessment in the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 as being very far off-target.

NFC has also been accused of abusing its govrenment soft loan for the cattle breeding and beef supply project on purchases unrelated to the project.

In March, Salleh, 64, was finally charged with misappropriating RM9,758,140 to fund the purchase of two condominiums at 'One Menerung' in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

The trial begins on Nov 5.